It’s August 10, 1996, and things looked bleak when the O’s trailed 4-3 in the eighth inning. But they took the lead with two in that frame and then poured on eight in the ninth to run away from the White Sox, 13-4, and get back to within three games in the wild card race.

“We waited until the ninth inning and we really started hitting the ball and it fell in for us,” said Eddie Murray, who had three hits, including a grand slam. “Right now, [the wild card] is our best shot. You can’t expect the Yankees to fall back that far. You’ve just got to go out and play good ball.” (Baltimore Sun, p. 1C, August 11, 1996)

Murray’s grand slam was the 18th of his career, which moved him into a tie with Willie McCovey for second all time behind Lou Gehrig’s 23.

When asked if he’d thought much about that achievement, he had a typical Eddie answer. “Not right now. There will probably be a proud day when I’m through playing when I can sit back and smile and look at what I’ve done in the game.” (Baltimore Sun, p. 10C, August 11, 1996)

Roberto Alomar chipped in three hits — including a homer — and drove in three runs for the Birds. Mike Devereaux hit his seventh homer of the season during the offensive explosion in the ninth.

Mike Mussina pitched 7⅔ innings, giving up four runs — three driven in by White Sox slugger Frank Thomas, who is hitting .588(!) in 34 career at bats against the O’s ace. When manager Davey Johnson tried to pull Moose in the seventh with the team trailing 4-3, the pitcher objected. 

“What I actually said you can’t print in the paper,” Mussina told the Sun’s Buster Olney. 

“We’re 9-3 on this trip,” Mussina said later. “We have a chance to have the best trip we’ve ever had since I’ve been here.”

Alomar also noted that the team is embracing its new role as road warriors. “It’s important to play good baseball on the road, and we’ve been playing great baseball on the road. That’s a good sign.”

It is a good sign. This was a good day.

Here’s the box score with the lovely totals. 

Brady Anderson was out of the O’s lineup today after leaving last night’s game with soreness in his right leg. “It feels sore,” Brady said, to provide more detail. (Baltimore Sun, p. 10C, August 11, 1996)

With a soft tissue injury like a muscle sprain, it is hard to tell how long Brady, who has 37 homers, will be out. Johnson guessed it could be two or three games. “Hopefully, he won’t be out very long, but it’s not the kind of injury you want to fool around with.”

It’s like three homers every game these days! Robbie, Eddie, Devo, come get your bricks!

Orioles (60-55) at White Sox (64-53) 2:05 p.m.

Starting Pitchers
BAL – RHP Scott Erickson (6-10, 5.15 ERA)
CHW – RHP Kevin Tapani (10-6, 3.94 ERA)

On an expressway to an almost certain loss in November, GOP presidential candidate Bob Dole tabbed former Chargers and Bills quarterback/New York Congressman/Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Jack Kemp as his running mate.

“A quarterback is always ready,” Kemp told reporters.

Karen Hosler’s story in the Sun describes Kemp as a “former rival [of Dole’s] who is both popular but considered hard to control.” 

Kemp is a big trickle-down economics guy and Dole is a big deficit hawk, and such disagreement on the nature of how you want to ruin the economy and inflict suffering on millions of people is what makes you rivals in the GOP. 

Billionaire Steve Forbes is close friends with Kemp and says a Dole-Kemp ticket would “excite the country.” Better grab the Viagra.

“It’s a bold move,” said right-wing extremist Newt Gingrich, the current Speaker of the House. “[Kemp is] one of the most dynamic and emotionally intense advocates of economic growth and opportunity for every American.” …but especially for the rich people who get all the tax cuts in his trickle-down plan.

Anyway, the upshot of this is that Kemp will get his name on some bumper stickers and be a moderately tricky bar trivia answer for the next two decades before being completely forgotten.

Welcome to a recurring segment where I find fun things in today’s (in 1996) Baltimore Sun!

Baltimore sketchbook is back!