The Juice: Orioles win again in extras, Gio Gonzalez becomes majors’ first 20-game winner

·Yahoo Sports Contributor

September 23, 2012 at 2:41 a.m.

The Juice is back for its fifth season of fun! Stop by each weekday (and now on Saturdays) for an ample serving of news from the action, plus great photos, stats and video highlights.

O's Own Overtime: The Baltimore Orioles worked extra innings again and came up winners again, knocking off the Red Sox 9-6 in 12 after Jim Thome's RBI double keyed their rally. That makes 16 straight consecutive victories overall in extra frames for the Orioles and an amazing 11 in a row on the road. But wait, there's more. The Orioles are now 4-0 in extra-inning games at Fenway Park this season while the Red Sox are 0-7.

The Big 2-0: Washington Nationals left-hander Gio Gonzalez became the majors' first 20-game winner in 2012 after beating the Brewers, 10-4. Gonzalez tossed seven innings of two-run ball — both unearned — and struck out five, putting him past the 200 strikeout plateau. He's the first pitcher in Washington baseball history to reach that number since Walter Johnson in 1916. He's also the first Nationals/Expos 20-game winner since Ross Grimsley in 1978. Big, big day for Gio as he makes his push for the National League's Cy Young.

Wacky 13th... and 14th: In a game that seemed destined to never end, the Yankees finally knocked off the A's 10-9 in 14 innings. It felt that way because after Oakland scored four runs on three homers in the top of the thirteenth inning, New York rallied for four of their own in the bottom half, capped by Raul Ibanez's game-tying two-run blast. That set the stage for the fourteenth, which saw the Yankees lose one opportunity to walkoff when runner Melky Mesa missed third base, and then take advantage of another after first baseman Brandon Moss bobbled an Eduardo Nunez groundball allowing Ichiro to score the winner.

Payback Time: After being stunned by a Cubs ninth inning rally and subsequent extra-inning victory on Friday, the St. Louis Cardinals turned the tables in their 5-4 victory on Saturday thanks to Carlos Beltran's game-tying home run off Carlos Marmol — first blown save in 20 chances — in the ninth, and Jon Jay's game-winning RBI double in the tenth. That kept the Cardinals alive in the NL Central for a couple extra hours, and also extended their lead in the wild-card to 2.5 over the Brewers.

Triple Crown Threat: Miguel Cabrera hit homer No. 42 in Detroit's 8-o shutout of the Twins, tying him Josh Hamilton for the league lead. Cabrera already leads the league in the other two triple crown categories with a .332 batting average and 131 RBIs.

* * *

Quote of the Day: ''We have to have another one-game winning streak (Sunday). Anxiety lives in the future. You've got to stay in the present. You've got to focus on today, and that's what we've been doing.''

— Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon after his squad extended their actual winning streak to four with an 11-5 win against the Blue Jays.

* * *

Photo of the Day: Seat with a view

The sun sets beyond Angel Stadium, but it hasn't set on the Angels quite yet thanks to Dan Haren, Albert Pujols and their 4-2 defeat of the White Sox.

* * *

Three Facts for the Water Cooler:

• The Rockies were 8-7 losers to the Diamondbacks, but catcher Wilin Rosario broke one of Todd Helton's many franchise records by hitting his 26th home run as a rookie. He also holds the Rockies' single season record for home runs by a catcher.

• While Gio Gonzalez was winning No. 20, RA Dickey was keeping pace with win No. 19 as the Mets topped the Marlins, 4-3.

• Matt Harrison's personal nine-game winning streak against the Seattle Mariners was snapped Saturday night despite going the distance and allowing only one. The Rangers fell 1-0.

Looking for more baseball chatter?
Follow @bigleaguestew, @Townie813 and check out the BLS Facebook Page