This day in history, 19 year-old Jim Palmer earns first career W, tossing 3.1 innings of relief, against the Yankees. He also hit a home run.

[Natty]

https://imgur.com/17oZcGf

 

[WillyM]

Very true.

Palmer entered the game in the third inning in relief of starter Dave McNally, homered in his only at-bat, and stayed in to pitch through the sixth.  He actually allowed the Yankees to score the go-ahead run in the top of the sixth and was removed for a pinch-hitter in the bottom half.  A two-run homer by Luis Aparicio in the bottom half gave the lead back to the Orioles and made Palmer a winner.

Interesting to note that the man who came on in relief of Palmer in the seventh inning was Don Larsen of World Series perfect game fame.  Larsen was in his second tour of duty with the Orioles in 1965, having begun his major league career with the St. Louis Browns in 1953 and then spent one season in Baltimore before moving on to the Yankees.

Larsen remains the only pitcher in Oriole history to lose twenty games in a season, going 3-21 for the 1954 club.  He pitched 12 complete games that year, nine of which were losses.