Orioles' Urrutia hits walk-off vs. Mets for first career homer
BALTIMORE — Henry Urrutia was rounding the bases after hitting his first major league home run, and one thought crossed his mind:
"I can't believe this."
Urrutia broke a ninth-inning tie with a drive into the seats in left field, and the Baltimore Orioles ended a nine-game losing streak against the New York Mets with a 5-4 victory Wednesday night.
Jonathan Schoop and Adam Jones also homered for the Orioles, who hadn't defeated the Mets since June 18, 2009.
Baltimore rallied from 3-1 and 4-3 deficits before Urrutia led off the ninth against Carlos Torres (4-5).
On a 1-2 pitch, Urrutia smacked an opposite-field liner that landed in the hands of a Mets fan. That guy later provided Urrutia with the ball, a treasured souvenir for the Cuban-born outfielder.
"That's the best gift for me tonight," Urrutia said. "Now I can give that baseball to my son."
Never mind that this was only his 29th game in the big leagues. Hitting a game-winning home run for a team in the middle of a playoff run is pretty special.
"This is the best moment of my career," Urrutia said. "When I make good contact I was running for the base and in my mind I said, `I can't believe this.'"
Zach Britton (4-0) worked the ninth for the Orioles, who earned a split of the two-game series.
Daniel Murphy and Wilmer Flores both homered and had two RBIs for the first-place Mets, who have lost four of five.
After Schoop made it 3-3 in the sixth with a two-run homer, Flores put New York up 4-3 in the seventh with a shot off rookie Mychal Givens.
Jones connected off Hansel Robles in the bottom half.
Mets rookie Noah Syndergaard gave up three runs and eight hits in five-plus innings. He had a 3-1 lead in the sixth before yielding a double to Chris Davis and Schoop's home run.
That ruined Syndergaard's bid for his first big league road win. He's 7-1 at home and 0-5 in eight starts on the road.
"For all the people who have been concerned about my performances on the road, this was a step in the right direction," Syndergaard said. "I feel like I made some really good pitches out there except for that mistake, a curveball to Schoop that he hit out of the ballpark."
Orioles starter Ubaldo Jimenez allowed three runs, five hits and four walks in five innings.
After Murphy homered in the top of the first, Syndergaard walked to the mound eager to see if an adjustment in his pregame workout would increase his effectiveness. Because he had given up 10 first-inning runs in 17 starts, the right-hander pushed back his warmup session in the bullpen to lessen the down time before his first pitch.
The experiment started poorly. Manny Machado doubled on the first pitch and the Orioles quickly loaded the bases with no outs. Syndergaard then struck out Davis on a 3-2 pitch, and after Schoop bounced into a double play, Syndergaard pumped his fist before heading to the dugout.
"Obviously our little plan in the beginning didn't pan out," manager Terry Collins said. "Actually in the first inning, I thought he threw the ball good."
New York made it 2-0 in the fourth when Jimenez issued three walks and Flores delivered a two-out RBI single.
After Steve Clevenger hit a run-scoring single in the bottom half, a double by Curtis Granderson and a single by Murphy put the Mets up 3-1 in the fifth.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Mets: 3B David Wright (spinal stenosis) will be activated from the DL next week, Collins said. ... OF Yeonis Cespedes played DH after complaining of a sore right shoulder. He did not receive treatment for the injury.
Orioles: OF Steve Pearce's bid to return from a strained left oblique was stalled when he got hit in the back by a pitch in Florida. ... RHP Chaz Roe (right shoulder tendinitis) threw off flat ground Wednesday.
ON DECK
Mets: After a day off Thursday, New York sends Bartolo Colon (10-11, 4.58 ERA) to the mound Friday night in Colorado in the opener of a three-game series.
Orioles: Winless in his past four starts, Miguel Gonzalez (9-8, 4.42 ERA) faces the Minnesota Twins on Thursday night to launch a four-game series.
