It seems the Orioles only win via walk-offs nowadays. A Dylan Beavers walk-off single in the 10th inning gave them their fourth walk-off win in the last five games, and improved their record in the month of September to 7-1.
As exciting as the final moments of the game were on the offensive side, this evening was dominated by the pitchers. Between Tyler Wells, Paul Skenes, and both bullpens, the two lineups were unable to put up much of a fight.
Wells was terrific in his second start off the IL. The
6.2 innings he threw were his most in an outing since June 15, 2023. He allowed two baserunners: a walk and a solo home run to Baltimore County’s own Spencer Horwitz. And he struck out six Pirates in the process.
Wells’ entire arsenal was working, and he was mixing in everything. His four-seamer led the way, but he used his change, slider, and cutter equally, then mixed in a curveball to keep them honest. The lone home run he allowed did come off of a cutter.
The Orioles are not going to give Wells a huge workload down the stretch. He came into this game on seven days of rest, and the team is sticking with a six-man rotation for the rest of the year. But if he can continue to put up solid outings like this, he might be a legitimate consideration for the 2026 rotation rather than a leading candidate for a revamped bullpen.
There was less encouraging news on the offensive front for the Orioles. As was expected, the struggling Oriole’s offense had a tough time against the league’s top pitcher, Skenes. The 23-year-old skated through five shutout innings in which he allowed just two baserunners, issued no walks, and struck out eight. His MLB-best ERA lowered to 1.92.
The Orioles were helped by the Pirates’ own cautious approach to their young ace. Skenes was removed after throwing just 64 pitches. The Pirates won’t be going to the playoffs, and Skenes is closing in on 180 innings this year, 20 more than he threw in all of 2024. Ratcheting him down in the season’s closing weeks makes sense.
With Skenes out, the Orioles offense looked slightly more potent. They put two runners on via walk in the sixth inning. But the first, Beavers, was thrown out trying to steal second base. And the second walker, Jackson Holliday, ended up as the third out of the inning on a force out.
The Orioles finally got on the board in the bottom of the eighth, when they painstakingly manufactured their first run of the day. Colton Cowser opened the frame with a single off the right field wall. He advanced on a a base knock up the middle by Dylan Carlson. The following two hitters were retired, and it seemed like the Orioles were going to blow their best chance of the day. That was before Holliday poked a single through the left side of the infield to bring home Cowser and tie the score at 1-1.
That’s all they would get in the standard nine innings. The combination of Skenes, Carmen Mlodzinski, Isaac Mattson, and Dennis Santana held the Orioles to just the one run on five hits, two walks, and 12 strikeouts. It was yet another poor showing for the lineup.
Thankfully, the Orioles bullpen was even better. Shawn Dubin, Kade Strowd, and Rico Garcia tossed 2.1 shutout innings, allowed only one hit, walked two, and struck out three to help send the game to extra innings. Albert Suárez was called on to pitch the 10th inning, and he kept the ‘pen’s impressive day doing. With the Manfred runner on second base, he forced a ground out, a strikeout, and another ground out to keep the game knotted.
That set the stage for the Orioles to win yet another game via a walk off, and that is exactly what they did in the 10th. Cowser walked, Daniel Johnson reached base on a bunt single, and this time it was Beavers that sent the crowd home happy with a hard-hit single into right field. Jorge Mateo, who had pinch-run for Samuel Basallo as the Manfred runner at second base came in as the winning run, and the Orioles prevailed 2-1 over the visiting Pirates.
This game was more of the same from the Orioles. Their pitching continues to impress while the offense is lacking. When they don’t hit home runs, they struggle to score at all. It’s reasonable to be shut down against someone of Skenes talent, but this sort of performance from the Orioles has become far too common. They need to get it sorted out this offseason if they have any hope of compete in 2026. Getting some of their bigger names healthy will help.
The Orioles will go for a series sweep on Thursday afternoon. Cade Povich will start for the O’s, and he will be opposed by Johan Oviedo. First pitcher is 1:05 from the Yard.
