BALTIMORE — It was a historic Saturday night at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
Baseball's Iron Man, Cal Ripken Jr., celebrated the 30th anniversary of his breaking Lou Gehrig's 2,130 consecutive games streak.
Several legendary Orioles from the past returned to celebrate, including Eddie Murray, Jim Palmer, Mike Mussina, Rafael Palmeiro, Bobby Bonilla, Harold Baines, B.J. Surhoff, Brady Anderson, and even fellow baseball hall-of-famer Ken Griffey Jr., a long-time rival of Ripken's Orioles in the mid-90's. (Photos courtesy of the Baltimore Orioles)
The O's reenacted some of the most memorable highlights from three decades ago.
Before first pitch, Cal took a lap around the field in the very same red convertible Corvette he rode during his retirement ceremony.
Cal's son, Ryan Ripken, who once followed in his dad's footsteps by playing in the Birds minor league system, threw out the first pitch.
Then, in the middle of the fifth inning, much like how it played out in 1995, Palmeiro and Bonilla donned Orioles jerseys to push Cal out of the dugout so he could greet the fans once more.
The Baltimore Orioles provided these amazing photos highlighting the special occasion.
Although the now 65-year-old didn't jog around the entire field this time, he made sure to shake hands with several Orioles faithful along the first base side dugout. Ex Orioles pitcher and current color commentator, Ben McDonald, captured the whole thing on camcorder as he did when Cal first broke the record.
Throughout the night broadcasting greats like John Miller and Chris Berman helped call the game from the booth.
As for the game, Orioles magic was certainly in the air, but didn't make its presence felt until the bottom of the ninth inning when the team was down to their last out.
Up until that point, the Birds trailed the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-0.
Opposing pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto was in the midst of tossing a no-hitter.
After getting two easy outs, the team's fate was in the hands of 21-year-old Jackson Holliday.
The second baseman blasted a solo home run over the right field wall, erasing Yamamoto's no-hit bid and complete game shutout.
Reliever Blake Treinen entered the game replacing Yamamoto, with rookie Jeremiah Jackson welcoming him with a two-out double.
Gunnar Henderson then reached after being hit by a pitch, followed by a Ryan Mountcastle walk loading up the bases.
Colton Cowser batted next and was walked as well, forcing in the Orioles second run of the night.
LA called upon their closer, former Oriole, Tanner Scott, to face Emmanuel Rivera.
That decision backfired when Rivera lined a two-run single earning the O's their second straight walk-off win.
With that the Orioles are a game away from sweeping the first place Dodgers.
The wild night comes just one day after the passing of former Orioles player and manager Davey Johnson.
