BALTIMORE–What happened? It took 41-year-old Charlie Morton just under two months, but he finally has his first win as an Oriole, and his team has its first three-game winning streak of the season.
Morton (1-7), who lost his first six starts, allowed only a two-run home run by Pedro Pages in the fifth inning as he completed six innings in the Orioles’ 5-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals before 21,717 at Oriole Park on Monday.
The Orioles moved Morton to the bullpen after his sixth unsuccessful start, and he’s thrown better since.
“A very different look than his previous starts,” interim manager Tony Mansolino said. “I think it’s OK to connect the dots between, you go to the ‘pen, you get taken out of a lot of pressure situations, you get some time to work on some things and kind of get things fixed to where they need to be, and then they come back and kind of look like their former selves.”
The Orioles (19-34), who last won three straight at the end of the 2024 season, played aggressively, hitting to the opposite field early in the game.
Gunnar Henderson’s fielder’s choice scored Jackson Holliday in the first, and Holliday had a run-scoring single in the third. Dylan Carlson, who began the season 1-for-22, hit a three-run home run in the fourth against St. Louis starter Erick Fedde (3-4). Carlson singled, stole second and scored on Holliday’s single in the third.
Morton allowed just one hit in the first four innings. After Pages’ two-run home run in the fifth, he hit Victor Scott II with a pitch before recording two outs to end the fifth.
Brendan Donovan singled to start the sixth, and Morton hung in to retire the next three batters and finish six innings.
Morton allowed two runs on four hits, walking two and striking out five.
Seranthony Domínguez, Yennier Cano and Félix Bautista combined for three spotless innings. It was Bautista’s eighth save.
Cedric Mullins was rested for the second time in the last three games.
“Just trying to keep the guy fresh,” Mansolino said. “Just trying to make sure that Ced is in a place to help carry us going forward.”
What was different about Morton? Morton hadn’t worked more than five innings and looked in command.
“I think, honestly, I think it’s more of just getting it going,” Morton said. “It’s a momentum type of thing. It’s a vibe. It’s a feeling. It’s not just one single win, it’s a feeling. And I think I started to feel better a couple weeks ago, and I’m glad they gave me some chances to get some innings and then start to feel it again, and start to feel like I was back to myself. So, obviously, in this situation, while we’re just trying to get something going, yeah, this is a big deal. It is.”
What was different about the offense? Four of the Orioles’ 10 hits were by left-handed hitters to the opposite field.
“I’ve sat in those hitter meetings all year and they’ve talked about that a lot,” Mansolino said. “So just the messaging probably wasn’t a whole lot different from the hitting staff and the game prep in that sense. Obviously, they executed it probably as good as we’ve seen all year today.”
What’s different about Carlson? Carlson is 5-for-12 in his last three games, and Monday’s game was against a team he’d spent his first five big league seasons with.
“I mean, I’d be lying if I said no,” Carlson said. “I mean, yeah, it feels good. I think ultimately stacking some wins together for us here is nice and feels really good.”
Carlson didn’t make the team after an excellent spring training.
“He had a great camp. He goes to Norfolk. That’s tough,” Mansolino said. “When you go to the big leagues for five, six years and go back to Triple-A, there’s some soul searching that happens right there, and then you get back to the big leagues, and you sit for four days and then you might get a pinch-hit [chance] against a late-inning reliever, and then we make assumptions that he can’t do it.
“The reality is he probably just needed an opportunity.”
Anything new on Rutschman? Shortly before game time, the Orioles selected the contract of Chadwick Tromp from Triple-A Norfolk and designated utility player Cooper Hummel for assignment. The Orioles will wait to make a decision on catcher Adley Rutschman.
Rutschman, who was hit on the mask by a foul ball on Sunday, remains on the active roster. Rutschman took the blow in the third inning and left the game in the fifth. It’s still possible that Rutschman could go on the 7-day concussion injured list.
“Adley was unavailable today,” Mansolino said. “He was going through the process, still, and we just wanted to make sure we had a guy who’s caught in the major leagues recently, available … He’s just going through the process now. We’ll see where it goes.”
What does it mean? The Orioles have looked sharp in the last three games. Strong starts by Trevor Rogers, Dean Kremer and Morton have been the difference.
What’s the word? “People in a Major League Baseball clubhouse will tell you momentum is real, and I would be in agreement.”-Mansolino on the Orioles’ three-game winning streak
What’s the stat of the day? O’Hearn is batting .600 in his last six games. (15-for-25).
What’s next? Tomoyuki Sugano (4-3, 3.07) will face Andre Pallante (4-3, 4.18) on Tuesday night at 6:35.
Call for questions: Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com