Gordon Edes, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Takeaways on a night where attention was focused outside ballpark's walls

BALTIMORE -- Takeaways from Camden Yards, where they tried to play a baseball game inside a bubble Saturday night but couldn’t quite pull it off, not when police helicopters were hovering overhead and police and demonstrators were clashing just outside:

  • In the ninth inning, an announcement was made over the stadium PA and posted on the video scoreboard stating that at the request of the mayor and the Baltimore Police Department, fans were asked to remain at the ballpark because of an “ongoing public safety issue."

    But in the middle of the 10th, that order was lifted and fans were advised that they could leave safely, though they were advised to exercise caution. After David Lough's home run made the Baltimore Orioles 5-4 victors over the Boston Red Sox in 10 innings, the crowd dispersed without incident.

    “Constant noise of helicopters, that’s something new," manager John Farrell said. “We were well aware of what was taking place outside because of all the coverage. Hopefully, it’s a situation that settles down and there’s some peace going forward."

    Farrell expected that the club's bus would take them back to their hotel by a route that would avoid any potential trouble spots.

    Orioles manager Buck Showalter, who was not here for the start of the game because he was attending a memorial service for his father-in-law in Nashville, spoke to the broader issues of what was going on outside the ballpark walls after the game.

    "It's a challenging day to a lot of people -- a lot more challenging than a baseball game," Showalter said. "I mean, this is a game. And those are life issues. This kind of pales in comparison with what's going on in my life off the field and what's going on in our city. We have to continue to have confidence that we'll get through it, like we get through lots of things in this city."

    • The game itself? It was striking that Farrell thought Lough's game-winning home run in the 10th came on a fastball thrown by closer Koji Uehara, when in fact it was a 76 mile-an-hour splitter that crossed the middle of the plate and never dived.

      Uehara had converted his first three save opportunities, but working on the second night of back-to-back appearances took its toll. He had a fastball that was timed at 86 miles an hour, three to four miles slower than his norm. That could become problematic, though Uehara brushed off any concerns about that with reporters afterward.

    • Not a good way to end the night for Allen Craig, who got the start in right field in place of Shane Victorino, who went on the DL with a strained right hamstring. Craig singled in the fourth, but Hanley Ramirez was cut down at the plate trying to score on the play. In the ninth, after the Sox tied the score on a throwing error by Manny Machado, Craig struck out with the go-ahead runs on second and third.

      Then, in the 10th, Craig made a diving attempt to catch Adam Jones’s sinking liner rather than playing it safe. He missed, the ball rolled to the wall, Jones made it to third with a triple and scored the tying run on Chris Davis' sacrifice fly.

    • The first home runs of the season for Mike Napoli and Xander Bogaerts offered some hope that they will be adding more thump to a lineup that needs their production.

    • Matt Barnes, who pitched two scoreless innings in relief of Justin Masterson on the first day of his callup from Pawtucket, was in line to pick up the victory until the Orioles rallied against Uehara.

    • Orioles DH Jimmy Paredes had four hits Saturday and has homered in each of the first two games of this series.

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