The Orioles clubhouse must be tired of answering questions about the trade deadline. With several deals likely looming, the team forced everyone’s attention back to the field. Baltimore dominated the first two games against the first-place Jays, but things went down to the wire tonight.
Twenty-seventh man Brandon Young delivered a quality start, Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman teamed up for a late run, and CORBIN MARTIN recorded an emotional save as the Birds took the series with a 3-2 win.
Baltimore
traded Seranthony Domínguez to the opposing clubhouse in between Game 1 and Game 2 of the doubleheader. The Birds had cruised to blowout victories in their last two games, but they got their first taste of what it’s like without three of their high-leverage relievers.
Despite receiving six strong from Young, the Birds quickly ran out of options. Keegan Akin and Andrew Kittredge posted zeros in the seventh and the eighth, but Mansolino turned to Martin in the ninth.
Martin, facing the bottom of Toronto’s order, did not immediately look comfortable. Clinging to a one-run lead, Martin plunked Ernie Clement and walked Tyler Heineman to put the tying and go-ahead runs on base.
Even with a rattled Martin on the mound, the Blue Jays handed Baltimore an out with a sacrifice bunt. The play allowed the 29-year-old reliever to catch his breath, and he responded with a clutch strikeout for the second out.
Bo Bichette stepped in with both runners still in scoring position, and Martin went to the heater. He got ahead 1-2 with three consecutive fastballs, but Bichette failed to chase a pair of breaking balls outside of the zone. With first base open, Martin refused to give in. He fired a four-seamer well north of the zone, but Bichette chased the pitch for an inning-ending strikeout.
Martin found himself in a save situation after Baltimore took the lead in the bottom of the eighth. Henderson absolutely smoked a ball 113.9 MPH off the scoreboard for a one-out double against almost-Oriole Jeff Hoffman.
With Henderson in scoring position, Rutschman skied a high fly toward the same wall. The right fielder Lukes nearly made a jumping catch, but the ball deflected off his glove and fell to his feet. Lukes struggled to find the ball for a moment, and Henderson raced home for the go-ahead run.
The Orioles summoned Brand Young as the 27th-man for the doubleheader and Young did his part. Young went six innings, allowed two runs, and struck out six.
Tony Mansolino likely would have signed up for five solid innings in Game 2 of a doubleheader, but Young exceeded expectations with a quality start. He played with fire a couple of times but did an excellent job minimizing damage in big spots.
Young needed only four pitches to get the first two outs before allowing three runners to reach in the first. The Jays sandwiched an infield single between a pair of walks, and Young fell behind Will Wagner before securing an inning-ending strikeout with a 3-2 fastball.
Young, to his credit, did not walk another batter, but he managed to find a few more jams. He allowed two singles to start the second, and Toronto manufactured its first run with a sacrifice bunt and an RBI groundout. Young retired the side in order in the third, but he allowed another run after a pair of singles and another RBI grounder in the fourth.
Six innings of two-run ball plays any day of the week but especially against a first-place offense. Young turned heads with some clutch strikeouts, and he delivered a drama-free shutdown inning in the fifth.
The Birds finally got on the board in the bottom of the fourth. Ramón Laureano ripped a base hit up the middle, and Ryan O’Hearn smacked a pitch the other way. O’Hearn’s ball bounced off the top of the wall in left field and took a wicked bounce toward center. Laureano raced home for Baltimore’s first run, and O’Hearn reached third for a standup triple.
Ramón Urías, fresh off a two homer performance in Game 1, followed with an RBI groundout to even the score at two. The game remained square over the next three innings.
The Birds nearly took a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth. With Jackson Holliday on second, Tyler O’Neill skied a ball that appeared to sail over the left field foul pole. The ball was originally called foul, and the call stood after a crew chief review. A homer would have marked O’Neill’s fifth long ball in as many games. He eventually hit a harmless fly ball to center.
Seranthony Domínguez entered and posted a clean seventh against his former team. Domínguez hit Dylan Carlson with a curveball, but he picked off Carlson with an impressive inside move to avoid any damage.
Jeff Hoffman received credit for the loss.
The Orioles (50-58) will now have an opportunity to complete a four-game sweep of the top team in the American League. Dean Kremer will take the ball in another day game tomorrow at 12:35.
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