WEST SACRAMENTO, California–What happened? The Orioles overcame a bad first inning by Charlie Morton and won for the seventh time in eight games on Saturday night.
Baltimore is 4-1 on its West Coast trip after a 7-4 win over the Athletics before 9,185 at Sutter Health Park. The Orioles have won 10 of 13.
Morton, who had two solid starts, reverted to his early-season version, when he allowed four runs in the first inning. Ten batters came to the plate, and he allowed five hits, four of them singles, including a failed swipe tag by Morton on Max Schuemann, whose infield hit scored a run.
Leftfielder Dylan Carlson couldn’t catch Lawrence Butler’s leadoff fly ball. Carlson was battling the sun and wind, and Butler had a double as the four-run inning began.
Interim manager Tony Mansolino stayed with the 41-year-old Morton into the third, and his 2 1/3 innings matched his shortest of the season. That came on April 20th when he allowed the first seven runs in a 24-2 loss to Cincinnati.
He allowed four runs on six hits, walking four and striking out five.
The Orioles failed to cash in on a wonderful scoring opportunity in the first when they loaded the bases with none against Luis Severino, who had a 6.99 ERA in his previous eight home starts. Severino (1-6), who had started against the Orioles 12 previous times, has an 0.87 ERA on the road.
Ryan O’Hearn’s sacrifice fly in the first scored Jackson Holliday, but the inning quickly ended when Ramón Laureano hit into a double play.
Laureano’s seventh home run in the fourth cut the lead to 4-3, and the Orioles tied it at 4 on Adley Rutschman’s double and Gunnar Henderson’s RBI single in the fifth.
Laureano, who was activated from the injured list on Friday, had a three-hit game.
“I mean when you’re talking about 10-plus guys on the IL, and now, little by little, they’re coming back, if you understand that, you know that things will turn around,” he said. “And that’s what we’re seeing right now.”
Matt Bowman relieved Morton and threw 2 1/3 hitless innings. He walked JJ Bleday to start the fifth, and after Keegan Akin (1-0) relieved him with two outs, Bleday tried to score on Butler’s double. A strong throw from Carlson to Henderson to catcher Maverick Handley was in time for the third out.
“The whole time, it felt like we were going to win the game,” Mansolino said. “Even in the first inning when we went down [three]. I don’t think anybody thought we were going to lose the game. When you have those feelings, those vibes and that energy, I think that’s when you give yourself a chance to come back, and we did.”
Colton Cowser’s third home run, with one out in the sixth, put the Orioles ahead, 5-4. Holliday reached on an error by third baseman Logan Davidson, allowing Ramón Urías to score to give the Orioles a 6-4 lead.
Cowser returned to the Orioles on Tuesday, and he’s made an immediate impact.
“It’s exciting just to be back and contributing any way I can,” he said. “I feel like the vibe never really shifted. Being around the team, it just felt like we were in one of those streaks and I don’t think anything’s really changed. I think that just as a whole we’ve continued to start playing well on both sides of the ball, and it’s something that keeps the vibes up, that’s for sure. Because winning is a lot more fun.”
Laureano’s RBI single in the seventh scored Henderson and put the Orioles ahead, 7-4.
Seranthony Domínguez, Gregory Soto, Andrew Kittredge and Félix Bautista each threw a scoreless inning with Bautista earning his 12th save
Mansolino said that right-hander Scott Blewett, who was acquired on Friday from Atlanta, has yet to report. He said he would report “soon.” The Orioles have three days to activate him.
How strong has the Orioles’ bullpen been? On the first five games of the road trip, the bullpen has pitched 18 scoreless innings, allowing just nine hits and six walks while striking out 23.
“They’ve been really good,” Mansolino said. “I feel like guys are settling in right now. It’s June; we’ve been here a little bit. I think they kind of understand what their roles are … I think they understand that we’re trying to match up the best we can with so many right, left, switch kind of configurations in these lineups. It’s hard to say, ‘Hey, you’re the eighth, you’re the seventh’ just because of how the lineups are constructed right now in today’s game and how many left-handed hitters there are. They’re doing a great job. We feel very fortunate right now, they’re helping us win games.”
What does it mean? The Orioles scored seven runs in a nine-inning game for the first time since May 11th.
What’s the stat of the day? Cowser’s home run was measured at 455 feet, the longest Orioles home run since Ryan Mountcastle’s 472 foot shot in 2023.
What’s the word? “On a night like tonight when I go out there and throw two innings, and then they pick me up, it’s just huge.”-Morton on the Orioles’ bullpen.
What’s going on in the minor leagues? Trevor Rogers allowed two runs on 11 hits in 6 2/3 innings, striking out five without a walk in Triple-A Norfolk’s 2-1 loss to Louisville in the first game of a scheduled doubleheader. Jordan Westburg homered while Tyler O’Neill and Gary Sánchez were both hitless in three at-bats in their rehab assignment. The second game was postponed by rain.
Mansolino doesn’t’ know when Rogers might be called up.
“I haven’t been in this very long, but I do know that having an excess of pitching rarely lasts too long,” he said. “He needs to do what he’s been doing, and as time goes, we’ll see him at some point.”
Mansolino didn’t dismiss the possibility of a six-man rotation.
“Usually when the starters are going six, seven, eight innings every night, it becomes more possible. When they’re not, it’s hard to do.”
Double-A Chesapeake’s Braxton Bragg, who was scheduled to start for the Baysox, was scratched because of what the Orioles say is mild right forearm discomfort.
Trey Gibson made his first start for Chesapeake and allowed one run on one hit in six innings, striking out eight and walking three in a 4-2 win over Akron.
Luis De Léon allowed one run on four hits in five innings in High-A Aberdeen’s 3-2 win in 10 innings over Hudson Valley.
First baseman Yasmil Bucce, second baseman Edrei Campos and shortstop Maikol Hernández each homered in Single-A Delmarva’s 8-7 loss in 10 innings to Fredericksburg.
What’s next? Tomoyuki Sugano (5-3, 3.04) will start for the Orioles against Jacob Lopez (0-4, 7.20). The Athletics have yet to name a starter. Game time is 4:05 p.m.
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