It was an improbable winning streak that I think would be best compared to winning a coin toss 17 times in a row. It just doesn't seem possible, but the Baltimore Orioles accomplished it by winning 16 consecutive extra inning games to close out their wild card clinching 2012 campaign and adding another on Matt Wieters’ walkoff grand slam against the Rays on April 18.

Seventeen coin flips in a row. Or at least baseball's version of a coin flip.

Of course the odds had to catch up with Baltimore eventually. Four games short of tying the Pittsburgh Pirates record of 21 consecutive extra inning wins set back in 1959-60, they finally did as the Orioles fell 6-5 to the Toronto Blue Jays in 11 innings on Wednesday afternoon.

The manner in which they ultimately lost was equal parts astonishing and head-scratching. Orioles closer Jim Johnson retired the first two batters in the deciding 11th inning before allowing singles to J.P. Arencibia and Munenori Kawaski. He then plunked Brett Lawrie to load the bases and walked No. 9 hitter Maicer Izturis on four pitches to plate the winning run.

(Will Middlebrooks on Twitter)There are many different ways we can remember and reflect on the tragic events that have taken place in Boston over the past seven days. The way Boston Red Sox outfielder and sometimes designed hitter Jonny Gomes is doing it, however, may be the most creative and is certainly among the coolest.

[Related: David Ortiz punctuates Red Sox pregame with strong, profane statement]

As revealed by teammate Will Middlebrooks on Twitter, Gomes ordered a pair of custom bats to be used in Sunday's doubleheader against the Kansas City Royals that feature the names of Boston Marathon bombing victims Martin Richard, Lu Lingzi and Krystle Campbell, and slain MIT campus officer Sean Collier.

Jonny Gomes bat today twitter.com/middlebrooks/s…

— Will Middlebrooks (@middlebrooks) April 21, 2013

It was reported during the Red Sox television broadcast on NESN that Gomes plans on auctioning both bats off in the coming days with proceeds going to the victims of the attack and towards the recovery effort. The Red Sox official Twitter account later confirmed it.

You probably remember Texas Rangers fan Trent Williams from his past adventures on "Greene's Hill" at the Ballpark in Arlington.

He's quite the expert home run catcher — or ballhawk, if you will — and he's made a little name for himself over the past couple years thanks to his success rate, his throwing arm and perhaps even his unique (awkward?) celebrations and dance skills. Heck, he even narrated a segment for MLB Network last season, so chances are you've seen or heard him somewhere.

As per usual, the Rangers season ticket holder was in his seat just off to the right field side of Greene's Hill — the grassy area in straightaway center — during the home team's 5-0 win over the Seattle Mariners on Saturday night. And, once again, he was the first person on the scene when A.J. Pierzynski's flyball came souring towards his property.

This time, though, as Williams reached down to snatch his latest souvenir, Mariners' center fielder Franklin Gutierrez was in the middle of an athletic leap hoping to steal it away and keep it in the park. According to Williams, the two even touched gloves as the ball closed in, but he ultimately won out because of his higher position.

We haven't hit May yet and it feels like there have been more bizarre plays and moments this season than any full season in recent memory.

The latest comes to us from Tampa Bay Rays centerfielder Desmond Jennings, who on Saturday night did something very, very rare. He completed a double play. All by himself. If you're scoring at home, that would be 8-unassisted.

Here's how it happened.

Eric Sogard delivered a one-out single and was stationed at first base for the Oakland A's in the top half of the third inning. Coco Crisp then hit a soft flyball to center field that Jennings got a great jump on but Sogard misjudged and incorrectly assumed would drop. Sogard continued right on running towards third base when he should have been retreating. All Jennings had to do at that point is make sure he secured the catch. He did, and then he casually strolled in from short center all the way to first base for the double play.

Update: Barstool Sports Boston has put their own David Ortiz inspired t-shirts and tank tops (and several other awesome Boston related t-shirts) on sale in the past 24 hours with ALL proceeds of their sale going directly to victims of the marathon bombings.

So far they've raised over $10,000 and we hope they're just getting started.

Here's a sampling of their attire.

(Barstool Sports Boston)

Trust us, they do have Ortiz inspired shirts, too, though probably not censored enough to show here. But they definitely exist and they're terrific.

The Juice returns for season No. 6! It's almost eligible for free-agency! Stop by daily for news from the action, along with great photos, stats, video highlights and more.

Boston Strong: An emotional day at Fenway Park ended on a pair of high notes. The first, of course, was the entire stadium singing along with Neil Diamond as he performed “Sweet Caroline” down the right field line in the middle of the eighth inning. The second, was Daniel Nava’s two-out, three-run homer in the bottom half that gave Boston a 4-2 lead.

Andrew Bailey would come in to lock things down in the ninth, but not before Lorenzo Cain’s solo home run narrowed it down to the eventual final score of 4-3. Clay Buchholz, who tossed eight innings of two-run ball, gets the victory to become the American League’s first four-game winner. A big day for him individually and the team as a whole, but obviously it was much bigger for the city of Boston.

Daniel Nava acknowledged as much after the victory.

''Knowing everything that went into the day for the city, for us to get the win, it came in a special way, special fashion,'' Nava said. ''It made it all that more important.''

David Ortiz, who caused quite a stir with his pregame comments, added.

''I think today was different because we haven't been through what we've been through this past week,'' Ortiz said. ''Driving around and looking around at people's faces, it was a very emotional day here just looking at those guys that were injured by those bombs going off and watching the news nearly every day, it was painful, very painful. Today I could see people opening their chest and letting it go.''

"Sweet Caroline" is the song most closely associated with the Boston Red Sox, and all week long we've heard it played in stadiums all across the country (even Yankee Stadium) as a tribute to the city of Boston.

On Saturday, Neil Diamond, the man who originally wrote and performed the song, flew into Boston from his California home unannounced and on his own dime to lead the 35,152 on hand at Fenway Park in one very special rendition.

It was pretty much awesome.

While Pittsburgh Pirates pitchers faced the minimum number of batters in their 6-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Friday night, third baseman Pedro Alvarez did the maximum amount of damage to a Tim Hudson breaking ball during the second inning.

To say he destroyed it may not be a strong enough description. The ball actually clears the right field bleachers at PNC Park, which as you can see in the video is a pretty amazing feat. It's not something that happens very often, either, and he actually came very close to being only the second player in the stadium's 13-year history to hit one directly into the Allegheny River.

As it stands, Daryle Ward is still the only player to accomplish the impressive feat of strength all the way back on July 6, 2002 as a member of the Houston Astros. Ward's ball traveled an estimated 479 feet. It's said the shortest possible distance a home run can travel and land directly in the water is 456 feet right down the right field line. Alvarez's homer was officially listed at 448, but was closer to straight away right field.