LOS ANGELES-What happened? The Orioles hoped that the three-game series at Dodger Stadium would be a preview of the World Series. Each of the three games was a sellout, and the loud, passionate crowds made for an intense atmosphere.
The Orioles won the first game, but they dropped the last two and left Los Angeles with a 6-3 loss before 53,203 on Thursday night.
With the New York Yankees off, the Orioles (77-58) lost a ½ game and trail New York by 1 ½ games in the American League East.
For the fourth time in their past five games, the Orioles scored just three runs. They had just four hits.
Cade Povich (1-7) allowed five runs on 10 hits in 3 1/3 innings. Chris Taylor’s RBI single in the second gave the Dodgers a 1-0 lead. Austin Barnes’ two-run double keyed a four-run fourth. Mookie Betts and Miguel Rojas had RBI singles.
Povich struck out three and walked one in his second shortest start of the 11 he’s made in his major league career.
“I thought he was OK,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “It’s a tough lineup to pitch against, a tough team to punch out. There was some soft contact in there that kind of led to a couple runs, but I thought we did a nice job out of the bullpen. We just didn’t have enough offense tonight.”
Colton Cowser hit a three-run home run, his 20th, off Bobby Miller (2-3) in the fifth. It was just the second hit for the Orioles.
Miller allowed three runs on two hits in five innings. After Anthony Banda threw a scoreless sixth, the Orioles loaded the bases on a single by Jackson Holliday and walks to Cowser and Adley Rutschman against Daniel Hudson. Gunnar Henderson struck out against Blake Treinen, who quickly retired the Orioles in the eighth.
Former Oriole Evan Phillips pitched a scoreless ninth for his 17th save.
Tommy Edman’s sacrifice fly in the eighth gave the Dodgers a 6-3 lead.
What can revive the offense? Rutschman and Henderson were both 1-for-12 in the series. After Henderson struck out on a high pitch with the bases loaded in the eighth, he slammed his bat on the ground.
“Yeah, he’s hard on himself,” Hyde said. “We had opportunities. We only had four hits. Tough to beat the Dodgers with four hits, but we had some guys on base. Our at-bats early in the game weren’t very good, and I thought they got better as the game went on. We created some traffic, but just not enough offense.”
None of the Orioles are hitting particularly well.
“We created some offense,” Hyde said. “We’re getting some walks. We’re not stringing many hits together right now. We scored on a three-run homer after a couple walks. Santander swung the bat well. Cow hit that homer. But we’re just not doing enough offensively against good teams.”
Hyde said he’d contemplate lineup changes, but he often changes the lineup.
What’s wrong with Henderson? Henderson hasn’t had a good second half, and it’s wearing on him.
Treinen clearly frustrated him.
“Coming out the ‘pen when you get down 2-0, obviously you’re looking for the pitch you want and top-shelf cutter is probably not the most ideal pitch to swing at,” he said. “So, feel like I was waiting on a good pitch and didn’t really get one.”
The last two months have been difficult, and the Orioles are fortunate the Yankees haven’t broken away.
“It’s not ideal. Battling our butts off but it’s how the game goes. It sucks but just how it goes,” he said.
The Orioles need a relaxed Henderson to get hot.
“Probably firsthand trying to do that,” he said. “But, yeah, just need to try to buy in and just try to do what I can to help the team win. Yeah, it stinks that the guys are getting injured but, yeah, just got to buy in together and try to hold it down the stretch.”
How did Povich pitch? Povich was not pleased with how he performed.
“I mean, stuff I look to improve after coming up, sure, it was fine,” he said. “Command was still better, only one walk, but I’ve got to make pitches when it counts. I think just a couple things didn’t fall the right way. Maybe split in half as far as what was hit hard.”
How was Dodger Stadium for the Orioles? It was the first time Hyde managed at Dodger Stadium, a ballpark he visited as a boy with his grandparents. He’s now managed at all 30 major league parks.
“Difficult? I think it’s fun,” Hyde said. “I think our guys enjoyed the environment . I don’t know how many people were here, but it’s a lot in all three games. It feels playoff atmosphere-ish, as close as you can in the regular season.
“That’s a really good team over there with a tough lineup. They’re missing [Freddie] Freeman, too. They’ve got a really good club. We had a chance to win. We won one. We had a chance to win in the other two if we string some hits together, but we just didn’t do it.”
Povich was a Dodgers fan as a child in Reno, Nevada.
“Growing up watching this team, it was obviously really cool. But not happy with the results,” he said.
How does Pérez get Ohtani out? Cionel Pérez has had great success against Shohei Ohtani, who’s just 1-for-8 against him. Pérez has struck him out three times.
“I use a lot of sliders against him,” Pérez said. “The other day, the plan was to throw sliders for strikes and finish with sinkers. I throw the first slider [for a] ball, then throw a sinker [for a] strike. Pitch-by-pitch, throw it away from him, nothing middle in. He can [do] damage.”
Pérez doesn’t shy away from facing Ohtani and Mookie Betts, the first two hitters in the Dodgers’ order.
“When you face those couple of hitters, the focus is that’s my big at-bats here against really good players,” he said. “That’s big for me.”
Whenever Pérez enters from the bullpen, he jumps and clicks his heels.
“I started doing that in Houston in 2018,” Pérez said. “It helps me with [my’ energy. It’s like [flipping] a switch. It’s routine and my mentality. When I throw my last pitch in the bullpen, it’s get my glove, pull on my hat and jump.”
What does it mean? After playing three games against the team with the best record in baseball, the Orioles have six games against two of the worst, three in Colorado and three more at home against the woeful Chicago White Sox, who’ve lost 104 games.
What’s the word? “I’m tired of seeing him. Tonight’s the last night. I’ve never seen a player like him.” –Hyde on the Orioles facing Shohei Ohtani
What’s the stat of the day? 2-for-25. Henderson is in a 2-for-25 slide.
“Probably just need to not try as hard,” Henderson said. “Taking a lot of swings so just trying to do what I can to help the team. But, yeah, just need to probably take it a little bit easier.”
What’s going on in the minor leagues? In his first game for Triple-A Norfolk, Forrest Wall hit a three-run home run in a seven-run 10th inning for a 12-7 win over Jacksonville. Catcher Samuel Basallo hit his first home run for Norfolk.
Centerfielder Enrique Bradfield Jr. had two hits and scored two runs in Double-A Bowie’s 3-2 loss to Akron.
Daniel Lloyd (3-2) allowed three hits in five scoreless innings as High-A Aberdeen beat Wilmington, 4-2. Shortstop Leandro Arias drove in two runs.
Braxton Bragg (4-6) allowed three runs, two unearned, on four hits in 5 1/3 innings with nine strikeouts in Single-A Delmarva’s 6-0 loss to Salem.
Bowie placed outfielder Reed Trimble on the 7-day injured list and received outfielder Douglas Hodo from Aberdeen.
What’s next? The Orioles begin a three-game series with the Colorado Rockies on Friday night at Coors Field. Albert Suárez (6-4, 3.18) will face Austin Gomber (4-9, 4.70) at 8:40.
Call for questions: Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com