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Kim, Jimenez To Thank For Saving The Orioles Postseason Dreams?

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- If we told you in May that Hyun Soo Kim and Ubaldo Jimenez would be the ones saving the Orioles' postseason dreams in the last weeks of September, would you believe us?

On Thursday night, the Toronto Blue Jays could not figure out Jimenez's pitches which led the Orioles to a 4-0 victory. The win gave them a chance at the wild-card spot once again.

"Boy, he was solid," Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said. "He had both sides of the plate, stayed aggressive and didn't let them get comfortable. You could tell he was a confident pitcher tonight."

In earlier months, Orioles fans and experts alike couldn't help but notice Jimenez struggling to find any kind of consistency or rhythm, but it seems he heard the music just in time. Jimenez threw a season-high 116 pitches, allowed just one hit and retired 20 of the final 22 batters he faced.

The Orioles took the rubber match of the three-game series and Baltimore's victory eliminated both the Houston Astros and the New York Yankees from wild-card contention.

Pinch hitter Hyun Soo Kim has also stepped up to the plate...literally. When he did on Wednesday night, he took the 3-2 pitch from Toronto Blue Jays closer Roberto Osuna to right field for a two-run home run that gave the Orioles a 3-2 victory to bring them to within one game of the first American League wild-card spot.

It was the sixth homer of the season for Kim and increased his batting average to .305.

Then last night, Kim singled to right to score Bourn to give the Orioles a 3-0 lead. Kim walked, Machado hit a fly to deep center that brought Hardy home.

"This time if year, momentum is huge," Wieters said. "Over 162 (games), momentum is going to come and go but once you start getting close to the playoffs, momentum is big. We're going to try and keep it going as long as we can."

Baltimore visits the New York Yankees for a three-game series to conclude the regular season while Toronto travels to Boston.

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