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Baltimore Orioles: Chris Davis with a poetic finish in final game

By Domenic A. Vadala

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I don’t need to remind Baltimore Orioles fans that Chris Davis is going to be a free agent. Heck, both he, Matt Wieters, Darren O’Day, and others are well aware of what their situations are right now. However at the end of the day, it was Davis for whom yesterday’s season finale will be remembered.

Chris Tillman gave the Orioles a halfway decent start, but held on to qualify for the win. Tillman’s line: 5.1 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 4 BB, 5 K. Speaking of Wieters, his two-RBI single in the first inning gave the Orioles a 2-0 lead. Dustin Ackley of New York grounded into an out which scored a run in the second, cutting the Birds’ lead to 2-1. However the O’s would pump the lead back up to two runs in the fourth, when J.J. Hardy’s RBI-single ran the score to 3-1.

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Chris Davis being put on Bobby Bonilla payout plan by the Orioles
Chris Davis being put on Bobby Bonilla payout plan by the Orioles /

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    • Later in the inning Gerardo Parra’s two-RBI single broke the game wide open, as the O’s held a 5-1 lead. And one inning later, we saw what we thought was Davis’ curtain call in Baltimore – his two-run homer pumped the lead to 7-1. Let’s be frank; for a player as beloved as Davis in Baltimore, it’s tough to write a storybook with a better plotline than one with him homering in what could be his final game for that team. But if there’s a guy who could top that, it’s Davis.

    New York would put three runs across in the top of the seventh to cut the lead to 7-4. That brought them a bit closer to potentially securing home field advantage in Tuesday’s wild card game, but not totally there. (They would later clinch it when Houston lost.) And that brought Davis to the plate one last time in the last of the eighth. With a runner on base, the crowd rose in anticipation for what could end up being Davis’ final at-bat as an Oriole. The respect and mutual affection between Davis and the fans is evident. And there’s a funny thing about hero’s…

    Courtesy of Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

    …and it’s that they normally come through. While the result of the game wasn’t really in doubt, Davis’ two-run homer in the eighth put it out of reach, and helped the Birds to a 9-4 victory. With the win, the O’s finished at 81-81, securing their fourth consecutive non-losing season. [related-category}

    Some moments don’t need a lot written about them, nor do they need much written about them. They speak for themselves. Davis hitting a home run in what could have been his final appearance as an Oriole is one of those moments. Perhaps it’s not quite Johnny Unitas lifting a touchdown on a Hail Mary pass in his final appearance as a Baltimore Colt, but it’s pretty special.

    And that’s all she wrote for 2015! It seems like yesterday we were talking about spring training games, Opening Day, etc. This season didn’t turn out as many fans wanted. But it was noteworthy for a lot of reasons. It shouldn’t be lost on people that this team battled to get back to .500 on the year, and thus not finishing with a losing record was obviously important.

    What happens next? It’s tough to say, but whatever it is we’ll cover it! In the coming week I’ll give you a season recap, however not until I digest the season itself for a few days. I never write my season recap in the immediate aftermath of the year – I take a few days and think about it first!

    However here and now, in the penultimate game recap of the season, I want to thank all of our loyal readers for sticking with us over the course of this year. It wasn’t always easy, but it was always fun. And stay with us as the off season and hot stove season gets cooking, as the season never truly ends here at Birds Watcher! But again, on behalf of our staff, the Fansided Network, and from the bottom of my heart – thank you all!

    Next: Baltimore Orioles: Ranking the roster

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