Attention Little Leaguers. Know How Many Outs There Are Before You Run.

Even to the trained reporting eye, every once in a while the most important fact in a game escapes you. That happened to me last night. To be fair, I was at a great party and there’s only so much phone gawking one can do without drawing stares from partygoers and, specifically, your spouse. Yeah, I was covering the game…well, sort of. And that is the point of this piece.

Jun 9, 2013; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Baltimore Orioles second baseman Alexi Casilla (12) runs back to first base after he singled during the seventh inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Baltimore Orioles defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 10-7. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

I’d reported that Andrew Bailey once again got himself into a jam in the ninth inning by giving up a two-run homer to Matt Wieter’s to allow the Orioles to pull to within one run of Boston. While factually correct, I missed the most important and dramatic part of the ninth inning that actually allowed Boston to win the game.

Following Wieter’s homer, J.J. Hardy singled with one out to put the game tying run on first base. Orioles manager Buck Showalter made the right move by substituting the speedy Alexi Casilla for Hardy. Baltimore’s next hitter, Ryan Flaherty, flew out to right fielder Shane Victorino and Casilla was doubled off first rounding the bag and turning for third on the Flaherty out thinking that there were two outs.

Oops. Game over. Sox win. Egg on face. Must face media. Pain, pain, pain.