Jordan Lyles took to the mound last night for the Baltimore Orioles in the series finale against Seattle. In effect, he was bled to death by paper cuts – a base hit here, a walk there. Those things add up in games if you give up enough of them. Lyles’ line: 5 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 3 K.
The Birds took the lead early. Austin Hays’ RBI-single in the first inning gave them a 1-0 lead. Ryan Mountcastle would follow later in the inning with an RBI-double, and the O’s led 2-0.
But they ran into trouble starting in the third. Winker’s RBI-single cut the lead in half at 2-1. With a runner at third later in the inning, Rodriguez would attempt to steal second. But Adley Rutschman’s errant throw allowed the runner to score, tying the game.
And while Rutschman was baseball’s top prospect for some time, he’s still a rookie and he’s still learning. You have to allow for those types of mistakes with a young catcher. But as much potential as Rutschman has, odds are he’ll use it as a learning experience and simply get better. Sure enough, he nailed a runner at second later in the game.
The O’s took the lead back however on Hays’ second RBI-single of the game in the bottom of that inning. But Seattle stormed back in the sixth, putting up three runs and taking a 6-3 lead. Ramon Urias’ RBI-double netted one back for the O’s in the last of the sixth inning, but the damage was done.
Or was it? Because Cedric Mullins smacked a two-RBI double later in the inning to tie the game back up at six. Win or lose, these Orioles battle. And another thing about them…they don’t get cheated at the plate. They complete their at-bats, and they don’t give in.
The score remained tied, and to extra innings we went. Seattle would win it on Toro’s run-scoring triple in the tenth. This of course given MLB’s extra-innings ghost runner rule, starting the inning with a runner on second base. So it goes as an unearned run.
Tough game to lose, but again you have to look at the fact that the O’s battled. The bigger loss for the team is that we found out before the game that top pitching prospect Grayson Rodriguez will be sidelined for much of the season with a strained lateral muscle. Tough pill to swallow for the organization, but you have to work through issues like this. Reliever Joey Krehbiel also exited the game in the sixth with shoulder discomfort, and will undergo tests today.
The Orioles will now open up a three-game set against the Cleveland Guardians this evening at Camden Yards. Bruce Zimmermann gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Cleveland’s Shane Bieber. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.
Birdland Crush 