Cole Irvin struggled for the Baltimore Orioles this evening. He had what appeared to be a revolving strike zone, with his mound opponent seeming to get the outside corners and he not, but Cleveland continued their trend of swinging early and often. And it paid off – again. Irvin’s line: 4.0 IP, 10 H, 8 R (4 earned), 0 BB, 1 K.
Through the first two games of this series, Cleveland’s never backed off taking risks in games. And it’s paid off. The aforementioned strike zone issues…were they getting the calls because for the most part their pitchers were attacking the strike zone, whereas Irvin and subsequent pitchers were nibbling? Were they getting good pitches to hit with two strikes because they forced Oriole pitchers to give in? Tough to say.
Irvin recorded two quick outs, then surrendered back-to-back doubles. However the O’s immediately made their presence felt with a two-run homer by Gunnar Henderson in the last of the first. However Arias’ two-run double in the second gave Cleveland the lead back at 3-2.
And that set the table for the type of game this was going to be. An RBI-single by James McCann in the second and an RBI-double by Jordan Westburg in the third put the Birds back in the lead at 4-3. However both last night and tonight, the O’s couldn’t stay out in front of Cleveland. They’d slap Cleveland down, and they’d pop right back up.
Rocchio and Kwan would hit run-scoring single s in the fourth, re-taking the lead for Cleveland. However Ramirez would slug a three-run homer, extending the lead to 8-4. And that’s the frustration with an opponent like Cleveland. To that point they had piecemealed runs across innings. Then suddenly they put out some big time power.
However, the Orioles weren’t quite done yet. James McCann and Colton Cowser would slug back-to-back solo home runs in the last of the fourth. That cut the lead to 8-6, and it reminded people that the Orioles don’t give up either. However in my mind, the game was decided in the seventh inning.
With a walk to Ryan O’Hearn, the Orioles loaded the bases with nobody out in the seventh. Brandon Hyde sent rookie Heston Kjerstad up as a pinch hitter, and he struck out. James McCann then appeared to hit into an inning-ending double-play. It was a tough play to make, and it required the Cleveland infield to make a bit of a caddywampus maneuver…
…after the play the umpires huddled up and said that the call on the field was that the runner at second was safe. Which was the right call, as the infielder never touched second base while he had the ball. The Orioles challenged that the runner at first (James McCann) was safe, but the call was upheld. The inning ended moments later.
O’Hearn (who walked to load the bases) was a pinch hitter. Heston Kjerstad was a pinch hitter. Brandon Hyde burned two pinch hitters and left Cedric Mullins on the bench, all at once. And the fact that Mullins later got on base in the ninth as a pinch hitter should be duly noted.
It’s tough to look at Brandon Hyde’s body of work and criticize that one move. It’s just something that stuck out at me. Heston Kjerstad is also a rookie; that’s a high pressure moment…is it fair to put a rookie in there? As I said above, all of Cleveland’s risks paid off. That was one the Orioles took, and it did not.
Cleveland would put across two more in the eighth, although the O’s had one more in them as well. Anthony Santander smacked a solo homer in the last of the eighth. But Cleveland closed the Orioles up, and the Birds have now lost five straight for the first time since 2022.
Again, the seventh inning is what sticks out at me. They mustered one run after having the bases loaded and nobody out. And for a split second, it appeared that Cleveland had gotten out of it without surrendering a run. That ended up not being the case, but I digress.
The two pinch hitters were curious in that seventh inning. And McCann, the backup catcher, was the guy who was allowed to see by the bat. Granted McCann had already homered in the game, so there’s that. But if that was anyone other than a backup catcher running, odds are the Birds either score two runs or they have a run in and the bases still loaded.
And again, this is a tough position in which to put the rookie Kjerstad. Granted he has to learn how to play in high leverage situations if he’s going to be a major league player. But it’s a tough situation in which to put him. In no way am I saying Brandon Hyde hung him out to dry or anything like that. I’m just suggesting maybe there was someone better to use as a pinch hitter, or maybe not pinch hit at all.
The series concludes tomorrow at Camden Yards. Grayson Rodriguez gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Cleveland’s Carlos Carasco. Game time is set for just after 6:30 PM,
Birdland Crush 