BOSTON–What happened? After the Orioles traded four key relief pitchers last July and lost closer Félix Bautista to a shoulder injury, they’ve been searching for relievers to close out the ninth inning.
They took a two-run lead against the Boston Red Sox into the ninth after an exceptional eighth inning by Rico Garcia. The 31-year-old right-hander inherited a bases-loaded, none out situation from Kade Strowd and struck out Jarren Duran, Trevor Story and Masataka Yoshida.
In the ninth, Yaramil Hiraldo struggled mightily, walking four and giving up a game-tying two-run home run to Nathaniel Lowe. But he didn’t give up the lead.
Yennier Cano kept the Red Sox scoreless in the 10th with the help of a double play. In the top of the 11th, Samuel Basallo’s dribbler just in front of the plate scored automatic runner Jeremiah Jackson with the go-ahead run.
Corbin Martin got the save in the bottom of the 11th when Boston third base coach Kyle Hudson, a onetime Oriole, didn’t send Nate Eaton, the automatic runner, home on a fly to short center.
Colton Cowser’s throw home was far offline, and after Alex Bregman popped to short, the Orioles had a pulsating 4-3 win over the Red Sox in 11 before 37,435 at Fenway Park on Tuesday night.
Asked if he felt fortunate to win after some great escapes, interim manager Tony Mansolino said: “We played good. I don’t know if fortunate is the right word. I feel like we deserved to win that game in a lot of ways.”
The Orioles (59-67) won for the sixth time in seven games despite not having Jordan Westburg, out with a right ankle injury, and Adley Rutschman, who was scratched because of right abdominal soreness.
They’ve won three straight series against three playoff contenders: Seattle, Houston and Boston.
How about the Orioles bullpen? After Tomoyuki Sugano threw five effective innings, giving up one unearned run on five hits, the bullpen was strong, except for Strowd, who was bailed out by Garcia’s heroics, and Hiraldo. The 29-year-old right-hander threw just 12 strikes in 34 pitches, but after walking the bases loaded with two outs, Story grounded into a force play to send the game into the 10th.
Finding a closer has been an issue.
“It’s been tough,” Mansolino said. “I mean, we’ve had our issues here in the ninth inning. It hasn’t been super clean.”
Mansolino said Dietrich Enns was unavailable, and he used six of his other seven relievers, including Keegan Akin, who retired all six batters he faced.
“It kind of landed on Hiraldo and, unfortunately, kind of walked that first guy, probably would have loved to see him use his fastball more against Romy Gonzalez the leadoff hitter,” Mansolino said. “It became a little bit of a mess early on. But fortunately, Hiraldo settled down and bases were loaded. He was in a big spot and he got us through the inning right there and gave us a chance to extend the game and win the game.”
Garcia was in just his fourth game since joining the Orioles on August 8th. He threw 12 pitches, striking out Duran on a changeup, Story on a slider and Yoshide on a fastball. But Mansolino didn’t consider bringing him back for the ninth.
“I think with how emotional of a high it was to punch out three guys, bases loaded, right there, I felt like it would have been irresponsible to send him back out,” Mansolino said.
Garcia’s big moment came in his just 43rd game. He’s pitched for seven big league teams, including two stints with the Orioles
“It’s just been great playing with these other guys that are kind of in the same position, because we’re all grinding and trying to prove ourselves to everyone,” Garcia said.
How big was Basallo’s dribbler? Basallo didn’t start. Alex Jackson, filling in for Rutschman, played the first 10 innings until Basallo pinch-hit for him and drove in his fifth run in three games.
On Monday night, the 21-year-old rookie lined an inside fastball that was 4 inches above the strike zone into right-center for a two-run single. On Tuesday night, he managed to hit a changeup that was outside and just inches off the ground.
“I just tried to put the ball in play,” Basallo said through the team translator. “I think in that situation, you can’t try to do too much and be the hero, so to speak, can’t really focus on trying to hit the ball out of the ballpark. My goal was to put the ball in play and try to make something happen in that moment.”
“Contact is king,” Mansolino said.
Basallo has five RBIs in his first three games, the first Oriole to do that since Manny Machado in 2012.
His pinch-hit appearance was impressive.
“I try to go out there and have fun and not try to focus on what the results might look like,” Basallo said. “Honestly, this is something I worked on a lot in the minors when they put me in those types of situations, pinch-hitting and possibly getting me ready for situations like tonight, not trying to do too much, but I think it’s something I’ve been working on for a while.”
What does it mean? The final 36 games of the season are going to be difficult with an eight-game homestand against Houston and Boston before a West Coast trip to San Francisco and San Dirgo.
What’s the stat of the day? Basallo joins Rhyne Hughes (2010) as the only Orioles to record RBIs in their first three games.
What’s the word? “I think God controlled the ball in that situation, but I think I’ve had this really good ability to put the bat on the ball ever since I was a little kid, so I think that’s something I’ve taken a lot of pride in, being able to put the bat on the ball, so I think it worked out today.”-Basallo on his game-winning dribbler
What’s going on in the minor leagues? Bleke Money allowed two runs on five hits in five innings, striking out seven as Double-A Chesapeake lost to Richmond, 8-0.
Wellington Aracena gave up five runs, four earned, on two hits and four walks in four innings as High-A Aberdeen lost to Brooklyn, 5-4.
Single-A Delmarva scored eight runs in the last three innings in a 12-9 win over Kannapolis. RJ Austin and Brayden Smith each drove in three runs.
Triple-A Norfolk’s game with Charlotte was rained out. The teams will play a doubleheader on Wednesday.
What’s next? After Wednesday’s offday, the Orioles host the Houston Astros for four games. Neither team has listed a starter for Thursday’s 7:15 p.m. game, which will be seen on FOX.
Call for questions: Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com