It’s May 9, 1996, and it took longer than they thought, but the O’s picked up a much needed 6-4 win over the White Sox.

Spotted to a 5-0 lead in the first inning, Orioles ace Mike Mussina battled through five innings, giving up three runs. Roger McDowell and Randy Myers combined for four innings of 1-run ball to hold the lead on a dreary night on the South Side.

Because of a rain delay, the game ended quite late in Chicago, so we don’t get quotes in our Sun game story, but know that the O’s are relieved to be back over .500.

The O’s walked nine times, and every member of the lineup reached base safely at least once. And that’s a good thing, because it was a short-handed lineup. Bobby Bonilla, who twisted his ankle last night in the 11-2 loss, and Roberto Alomar, who is nursing a sore hamstring, both didn’t play in the damp conditions. Manny Alexander and Billy Ripken got rare starts in their place. It was Alexander’s first ever appearance in left field. And it was the first time Billy had started at second base next to his brother, Cal, since 1992.

Brady Anderson missed a second straight game with his sore quad. “I hope to be able to play, but I have to see,” Anderson said. “It’s kind of hard. I don’t want to test it, aggravate it, but you have to test it at some point to see where you are.” (Baltimore Sun, p. 5D, May 10, 1996)

O’s manager Davey Johnson is doing what he can to light a fire under his team. He’s been juggling lineups and contemplating changes to the pitching rotation. “If you’re not fighting for a pennant, sometimes you get less emotional,” Johnson told the Sun’s Ken Rosenthal about the team’s perceived laidback attitude during the last few years of not making the playoffs. “Still, the bottom line is, it is a sport. I don’t care how cool you try to be, a lot of emotion has to be there to be successful.” (Baltimore Sun, p. 5D, May 10, 1996) We’ll see if that emotion can translate to better performances on the field.

Here’s the box score with the lovely totals. 

No homers today.

Orioles (17-16) vs. Brewers (14-17), 8:05 p.m.

Starting Pitchers
BAL – RHP Jimmy Haynes (1-4, 9.26 ERA)
MIL – RHP Ben McDonald (4-1, 3.76 ERA)

Front Page News

South Africa’s Parliament approved the country’s new constitution, which permanently eliminates apartheid and replaces it with nonracial democracy. It comes two years after electing Nelson Mandela as the first Black president. 

“And so it has come to pass that South Africa today undergoes her rebirth, cleansed of a horrible past, matured from a tentative beginning, and reaching out to the future with confidence,” Mandela said. “Never and never again shall the laws of our land rend our people apart or legalize their oppression and repression.”

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

Mother’s Day is tomorrow. There’s still time.