After a one-day reprieve, the Orioles were back to their losing ways today. Starter Brandon Young had his worst start of the season, failing to complete four innings. The offense attempted a comeback, but it was too little, too late. And the bullpen wasn’t able to keep the Guardians’ offense in check. In the end, another sloppy loss, which is the team’s seventh in the last eight games.
Before tonight, Guardians starter Tanner Bibee had the lowest run support in baseball at 2.90 runs per game. So naturally,
tonight, the Guardians gave him a ton of support. They scored six runs in their first three innings tonight to push his run support up to 3.12 runs per game. He no longer has the lowest run support in baseball; Shane Baz now holds that honor.
Young gave up one run in the first inning after Steven Kwan led off with a double. He moved to third on a groundout and scored on a single by Jo Adell. But Young struck out Nathaniel Lowe to end the inning. Unfortunately, more trouble was to come in the second.
The first batter of the second inning, Angel Martínez, is credited with hitting a triple to right field. The ball got past a diving Pete Alonso just inside the foul line. Leody Taveras misplayed the carom off the fence. The ball bounced away from him as it hit off the wall in foul territory. He chased it down inefficiently as it ended up near the base of the out-of-town scoreboard. Martínez landed easily at third. I mean, honestly.
Patrick Bailey immediately singled Martínez in, then Petey Halprin singled behind him. All of these hits went to Taveras in right field. Young almost got out of it with just one run. Brayan Rocchio bunted for the first out. Steven Kwan grounded to second base and Jackson Holliday fired home to get the runner. Then Young battled Travis Bazzana for nine pitches. The ninth pitch was a fastball in the middle of the plate. Bazzana didn’t miss. His 11th home run of the year landed in the Eutaw Street seats, just clearing the wall.
Young walked Lowe in the third inning. He came in to score on singles from Martínez and Halpin. It felt like the game had barely started, and already the Orioles were in a big hole.
Young didn’t get out of the fourth inning. He did get two outs, but he also walked a batter, threw a wild pitch, and hit a guy. Not great. Grant Wolfram came on in relief and got the final out. Young’s final pitching line: 3.2 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 2 BB, 2 K.
While all that was going on, it felt like the Orioles’ offense had gone back into its slumber. But it stirred in the bottom of the fourth inning. Holliday doubled and Pete Alonso singled him over to third. After Gunnar Henderson grounded into a fielder’s choice that erased Alonso, Coby Mayo walked to load the bases. It was a big opportunity for Samuel Basallo. He didn’t completely blow it, but he sort of blew it. He chopped a ground ball to first base. Lowe touched first for the out and Holliday scored. Dylan Beavers lined out to end the inning.
The bottom of the fifth inning was more exciting. Blaze Alexander led off with a double, then scored on a double by Taveras. Holliday got his second hit of the night, a funky single that bounced weirdly after being deflected by the first baseman Martínez. The hit knocked in Taveras.
Alonso made it a one-run game in the next at-bat. His 34th home run of the year landed in the Bird Bath to make the score 6-5. The homer gave him his 96th and 97th RBI, which is tops in the AL and fourth in baseball.
The home run drove Bibee from the game, and Tim Herrin retired Henderson and Mayo. The Orioles didn’t score again.
Wolfram pitched a scoreless fifth inning, and Luis De León had a nice sixth. He gave up a leadoff single, but induced a double play and faced just three batters.
Things went south in the seventh, with a little bad pitching and a little bad fielding (luck?). Alex Hoppe, who hadn’t allowed a run in 13 games since joining the Orioles, finally cracked. José Ramírez lined a single to center field, then Hoppe walked Adell. He struck out Lowe, then Martínez hit what looked like it might be an inning-ending double play.
Alonso fielded the ball and fired to second base. But the ball hit Adell in the helmet! It bounced into the outfield as Ramírez scored and Adell moved to third base. Martínez was safe at first. Hoppe got the second out, but walked Halpin to load the bases. Rocchio singled in two runs to make the score 9-5 and end Hoppe’s night.
Those three runs were frustrating, but in the end didn’t matter as the Orioles failed to record a hit against four Guardians’ relievers over the final 4.2 innings.
There were some strange goings on with the Orioles at the end of the game. In the eighth inning, Henderson fouled a ball off his leg. The trainers came out to check on him, but he finished his at-bat with a walk and took his base. But after a groundout from Mayo, Henderson was clearly in pain running the bases. He was removed for pinch hitter Carlos Narváez. If you think that’s a weird choice for a pinch hitter, how do you feel about him being a second baseman?
In the top of the ninth, Holliday moved over to shortstop, and Narváez took over at second. The backup catcher! Christian Encarnacion-Strand replaced Blaze Alexander, who was having back spasms. So…ok. Narváez did not have any plays in the inning.
Orioles lose, 9-5. They are back to four games out of the Wild Card, now with 16 games to play.
