BALTIMORE–What happened? On the day before the trade deadline, the two most likely Orioles to depart, Ryan O’Hearn and Cedric Mullins, gave the 17,049 fans at Camden Yards moments to remember.
Unfortunately, Yennier Cano allowed five runs in the seventh inning, and the Orioles’ five-game winning streak came to an end in a 9-8 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday.
O’Hearn hit a two-run home run in the first, and Mullins’ sensational leaping catch in the sixth temporarily held off the Blue Jays.
Mullins, the senior Oriole, gave the fans three exceptional catches in the last six games to remember, assuming he and O’Hearn are traded before the Thursday 6 p.m. deadline.
With the Orioles ahead 5-4 in the sixth, Ali Sánchez hit a long drive to center that Mullins jumped for and caught, taking away a second home from the Blue Jays in the four-game series. On Monday, he took away a homer from Nathan Lukes.
After a long run, Mullins planted his left spike in the T. Rowe Price sign and used his left arm to elevate even more, catching the ball at the peak of his jump, with his glove arm leaning over the fence.
“In terms of that, it’s just good timing, I guess,” Mullins said. “In terms of my legacy here, I just wanted to leave it all out there. I try to play hard every single day, regardless of the results. I feel like I did that today.”
O’Hearn acknowledged the meaning of the day to him.
“Yeah, a little bit. Hard not to,” he said. “It was a good game. We battled all the way through, didn’t come out on top, but yeah, just trying to soak it in and enjoy the game with my teammates.”
Lukes hit a three-run home run against Cano (1-6) to cap the five-run inning. Bo Bichette gave Toronto (64-46) a 6-5 lead with a two-run single earlier in the inning.
The Orioles cut the lead to 9-8 in the seventh on Gunnar Henderson’s RBI single against Yariel Rodriguez, a sharp grounder by Adley Rutschman that went through the legs of first baseman Ernie Clement and scored Jordan Westburg, and a bases-loaded walk to Colton Cowser.
Braydon Fisher struck out Mullins on a breaking ball and pinch-hitter Ramón Laureano was called out on strikes on a 3-2 pitch on a pitch that appeared to be outside with the bases loaded.
Seranthony Domínguez, who was traded by the Orioles to the Blue Jays between games on Tuesday, pitched a perfect eighth and Jeff Hoffman polished off the Orioles in the ninth, striking out O’Hearn on a breaking ball to end it.
“Get on base,” O’Hearn said of his last at-bat. “And 2-2, threw a fastball, which might have been a strike. I figured, maybe he’ll throw it again. He didn’t. But, yeah, I was just trying to get on base.”
Interim manager Tony Mansolino thought Mullins and O’Hearn had contributed to a win before Cano imploded.
“No doubt. And almost won us a game, both of those plays,” Mansolino said. “Another huge play, defensive metrics people, by Cedric … I thought O was gonna hit a homer and tie that thing up at the end. That would have been pretty neat. We’ll see what happens with him and with Ced and see where they’re at here in a couple days.”
Westburg’s two-run home run in the fifth put the Orioles (50-59) ahead, 5-3.
Dean Kremer allowed three runs on six hits in five innings and was saved from further damage when Cowser made a terrific throw to the plate on Bichette’s fly ball to catch Clement at the plate to end the fifth.
Myles Straw hit a two-run home run against Kremer in the second and had three RBIs.
What does Mullins mean to the Orioles? Mullins debuted with the Orioles on August 10th, 2018, and hopes he didn’t play his final game with the team.
“Honestly, just treat it like any other day,” he said. “We were shooting for the win, had a really good series. Tough loss today. We had a lot of good things going on, but it is what it is.”
O’Hearn has had a wonderful time playing with Mullins.
“I love Ced, man,” O’Hearn said. “I’ve enjoyed playing with Ced every day. His defense is incredible. Today was kind of patented Cedric with robbing the homer. He makes it look so easy, man. The best at that, specifically, and center fielder I’ve ever played with by far.
“Yeah, Ced means a lot to the organization, a lot to the team. He’s been here the longest. Been through a total rebuild and kind of seen all sides of it, which makes whatever happens the next few days tough. But a lot of love for Ced and I’ve enjoyed going to battle with him every day.”
Kremer has been helped immeasurably by Mullins.
“Not just for me, for every pitcher that’s ever taken the mound with him patrolling center field,” he said. “He’s been unbelievable out there. There’s not a play that he takes off, there’s not a ball that he thinks he can’t catch. So having him back there — he’s one of the best centerfielders in the big leagues. It’s a big comfort for us, because we know that if a ball is potentially down, it may not be. He’s one of the best center ielders in the game right now.”
What does O’Hearn mean? Mullins has enjoyed playing with O’Hearn, as well.
“He’s been huge. He’s been a big voice in the clubhouse,” Mullins said. “One of our DJs on the road, so he definitely brings a quality vibe to the clubhouse every single day. Yeah, he’s going to be missed, 100 percent.”
What does it mean? Mullins and O’Hearn will be missed if they’re traded.
Rodriguez, Roth added: Two right-handers, Elvin Rodriguez, whom the Orioles claimed off waivers from Milwaukee on July 18th, and Houston Roth, a 29th round draft pick in 2019, were added to the roster before Tuesday night’s game.
“I knew there was a lot of movement, so I knew it was a possibility,” Rodriguez said through a team translator. “To be able to receive that call is a good thing.”
Roth’s stats improved this year. At Triple-A Norfolk and Double-A Chesapeake, he was 4-0 with a 2.21 ERA with two saves.
“I wanted to come out this year and see what I’m made of,” Roth said. “It hasn’t been easy,” Roth said of his minor league journey. “I haven’t been given anything. I had to work for what I got.”
What’s the stat of the day? The Orioles have allowed nine or more runs 16 times this season.
What’s the word? “It will be difficult, and it will be weird. It’s just more responsibility on the core group of players here. It’s their responsibility. It’s their team. As veterans leave, they have to take this thing over. In some ways, they already are starting to. It’s up to them. This is theirs.”-Mansolino on who will lead Mullins and O’Hearn depart
What’s going on in the minor leagues? Tyler Wells needed just 22 pitches to retire all six batters he faced in his first rehab start for Double-A Chesapeake. He struck out one as the Baysox lost to New Hampshire, 7-5.
The five Chesapeake runs came on home runs by Adam Retzbach, Douglas Hodo and Aron Estrada, who has homered in the first two games after his promotion from High-A Aberdeen.
Cade Povich had a rough night at Norfolk in his rehab start. He allowed five runs, four earned, on seven hits in 4 2/3 innings on Tuesday night.
“It’s hard to look too much into that stuff,” Mansolino said. He’s skeptical on numbers from rehab assignments.
“Rehab stuff, be careful. It’s just different, looking at results. It’s more the accumulation of work in rehab for big league players.”
Braxton Bragg, the Orioles’ No. 7 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, had Tommy John surgery on his right elbow by Dr. Keith Meister in Arlington, Texas. The Orioles say the surgery was successful.
What’s next? After Thursday’s offday, with the trade deadline at 6 p.m., the Orioles will play a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. All three games will begin at 2:20 p.m. ET. No pitchers have been announced.
Call for questions: Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com