The win streak is now a season-high five games.
Here’s a cliché that’s a cliché for a reason: Baseball is played on grass, not on paper. Tonight was the only matchup in this Orioles-Mariners series featuring two starting pitchers with ERA’s north of five: Cade Povich, a slim lefty as capable of racking up strikeouts as of getting blown up by hitters versus Emerson Hancock—whom I think, if you and I were at trivia together, I could convince you was a forgotten Founding Father—who entered this with a 5.69 ERA and a Statcast page full of ugly blue peripherals.
So, of course, we got a pitchers’ duel, a 2-1 game when the starters left in the sixth inning that turned into a tight 3-2 Orioles win. Against the Seattle bullpen, the O’s put together a gorgeous two-run rally in the seventh, capped by a two-run triple from Heston Kjerstad. A 3-2 lead in the seventh felt like it could evaporate any second, but the Baltimore bullpen did what it needed to and held on for the win.
The Orioles have been swinging the bat well lately, but tonight against the unsung Emerson Hancock, runs were hard to come by. For five innings, the Seattle righty had the Orioles swinging over a changeup and a slider that was even nastier. The pitch stumped even the hot Ryan O’Hearn, who struck out along with the rest of the side that inning. (Excuse me, BaseballSavant: a little bone to pick. You told me Hancock has a bad fastball and bad offspeed and breaking stuff. Fine, then.)
Despite the box score, Orioles hitters did not always look hopeless against Hancock. Some of the early AB’s were great and worth mentioning. Take the third inning, for example. With two outs, Dylan Carlson smoked a ball 101 mph over the infielders, Jackson Holliday worked a walk and Adley Rutschman smoked a bunch of balls foul before grounding out noisily.
Rutschman was hitting the ball hard all night, and he was pivotal in two big win-probability-adding moments for his team. First, he blasted this bomb into the stands to make it a 1-1 game in the sixth inning.
Then in the bottom half of the inning, he single-handedly saved a run from behind the plate. A flagging Povich hit a batter, walked the next, and gave up an RBI single to Cal Raleigh. (Some good defense already here: Carlson cut the ball off and fired to second to ring up Raleigh.) Yennier Cano came in and did what he was supposed to, getting a ground ball. Gunnar Henderson fired home, a little high, and Adley had to sweep the glove down to tag the speedy J.P. Crawford on the leg. The ump called him safe; Adley’s meme-worthy expression said different. Upon review, Adley was right.
Cade Povich starts are always an adventure, but the lefty was mostly effective tonight. Over 5.1 innings he allowed just four hits and one walk, struck out five and drew eight whiffs, four with his fastball, three with his curve. Sometimes he made you hold your breath, like when he hung a slider to the 21-year-old Cole Young, who missed a home run by perhaps a foot, then struck out instead. Or, in the fourth, when Povich allowed back-to-back hits to Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodríguez and then got bailed out by (Gold Glover) Ramón Urías, who started a double play on a 102-mph grounder many other third basemen wouldn’t have fielded cleanly.
Of his first ten batters, Povich retired nine, the lone hit on an infield single. (The eleventh, alas, was Raleigh, who hit a “freak double” down the right-field line, then scored on a Randy Arozarena sac fly to make it 1-0.) But tonight, we won’t argue with the approach or the results. Povich showed poise and maturity, attacking the zone and staying even-keeled.
Both starters were pulled ahead of the seventh inning, and against Seattle relievers Gabe Speier and Carlos Vargas the Orioles put together their biggest rally of the game. Ramón Urías walked and so, even more impressively, did rookie Coby Mayo. With two outs, Heston Kjerstad served an 0-2 slider into the right-field corner, scoring two. The Orioles had themselves a 3-2 lead.
What would this often-wayward Orioles bullpen do with a 3-2 lead? Make us sweat a little, but eventually hold firm. Seranthony Domínguez looked dominant, facing three batters and striking out two. Gregory Soto looked even meaner: he got two quick K’s, walked a batter to bring the dangerous Cal Raleigh up again, then got him whiffing on a slider. Alright, Soto!
Félix Bautista is not having many easy outings of late, and it looked like the ninth inning would go sideways. Randy Arozarena legged out an infield single, Mitch Garver walked, and with two outs, big bopper Rowdy Tellez came out looking to win it all with one swing. Bautista hung an 0-2 splitter and Tellez sent it 371 feet, just short enough for defensive replacement Jordyn Adams to reel it in in center. Game, set and match.
Surprising as it is, the Orioles are playing good all-around baseball right now. They beat a competent team tonight, their young starter showing toughness, the bats doing just enough to rally late, the bullpen gritting its teeth and not bending. With the win streak a season-best five games, we’re back here at T-Mobile Park for a 3:40 start as Zach Eflin takes on righty Bryan Woo.