Orioles blast four homers to beat Phillies 8-3, clinch series win

Corbin Burnes was predictably dominant on the mound, while the O’s lineup beat up on Zack Wheeler in the series finale.

The Orioles used four home runs and yet another outstanding start from Corbin Burnes to beat the Phillies 8-3, clinching a series win against the NL’s top team on Sunday afternoon at Camden Yards.

The stage was set for a pitcher’s duel in this one. Burnes and Zack Wheeler took the bump for their respective teams. Each of them entered the game on fire in their recent efforts. Burnes owned a 1.15 ERA over his last six starts while Wheeler had a 1.57 ERA in his last five outings. It would have shocked no one for this to be a low-scoring affair, but the Philadelphia righty was unable to uphold his half of the deal.

Gunnar Henderson gave us an idea early on of the type of day Wheeler would have. At the end of a nine-pitch battle, Henderson took a 97-mph sinker deep to centerfield for a long home run. In one fell swoop he gave the O’s a 1-0 lead and put himself stop the leaderboard for the most lead-off home runs (eight) in the entire league.

The second big blow came in the bottom of the second inning. With Jordan Westburg at first base following a lead-off single, Colton Cowser smoked a thigh-high cutter and sent it flying well into the center field bleachers. The 110-mph long ball was the hardest hit ball by an Oriole all day, and at 443-feet it is tied with Ryan Mountcastle for the farthest homer hit by an Oriole this season.

Adley Rutschman made it three home runs in as many innings for the home team when he led off the third inning with a majestic dong that left the bat at a 33-degree launch angle and landed about five rows deep in centerfield. Somewhat shockingly, the Orioles had leapt out to a 4-0 lead against one of the game’s top arms.

That was party because their own ace, Burnes, was continually keep the Phillies at arms length. He got into a bit of a jam in the first inning, allowing two runners, making a throwing error, and coughing up two stolen bases, but emerged unscathed. The visitors led off the second with a single and stole their third base of the game, but still couldn’t score. The third inning was Burnes’ first 1-2-3 inning, and then he wiggled out of another lead off single in the fourth before his luck ran out a bit in the fifth.

Garrett Stubbs singled with one out to turn the line-up over and spell trouble for Burnes in the fifth. Kyle Schwarber followed with a line drive double to center to put two runners in scoring position. Nick Castellanos had a productive out by grounding to Henderson at short, which scored a run and moved Schwarber to third, and inched the Phillies closer. A walk for Bryce Harper brought the red hot Alec Bohm to the plate, where he continued to hit. A weak single up the middle drove in Schwarber and made it a two-run deficit.

Burnes escaped after that and wouldn’t allow any more runs on the day. He completed six innings, gave up the two aforementioned runs on seven hits and two walks. Most of his struggles were contained to a wild first frame and then that run-scoring fifth. It was the type of performance we have grown accustomed to for Burnes. He had his good velocity, gave up some hits, but kept the ball in the park, and avoided disaster. That continues to be a winning formula for the Cy Young contender.

Unfortunately for Wheeler, the Orioles weren’t quite done with him. He returned for the fifth inning, but would not survive it. Ryan Mountcastle led off with a single, Ryan O’Hearn followed with a walk, and Anthony Santander knocked in the O’s fifth run of the day with a single into right field.

A few pitches later, Westburg essentially put the nail in Wheeler’s coffin. He lined a fly ball to right-center field and exited the park via the groundskeeper’s shed roof. There was some confusion, but a quick review confirmed the reality. Westburg had hit an Earl Weaver special for his 11th homer of the season to give the O’s an 8-2 advantage. Wheeler would exit the game a few batters later.

The Orioles were unable to add to their lead anymore as Spencer Turnbull and Seranthony Domínguez shut them down for the final 3.2 frames. But scoring eight runs on any day, especially against a starter like Wheeler, should leave you with a pretty good taste in your mouth.

It was not quite as smooth for the Orioles’ bullpen. They needed four pitchers to get through the final three innings, and three of them worked in a wacky ninth inning. In that ninth, they made two errors—the first a fielding error by Westburg, and the second a throwing error from Mountcastle trying to feed a covering Jacob Webb at first base. Things got tense for a moment as this Phillies lineup is capable of scoring quickly. But it faded quickly as Yennier Cano came on to record the final out on just four pitches. The final few moments were not pretty, but it was a win all the same.

This was not a Phillies team at 100% strength. They are missing some big pieces in Trea Turner and JT Realmuto. But that does not lessen what the Orioles achieved this weekend at Camden Yards. The were able to score some runs against the likes of Wheeler today and Matt Strahm, a talented reliever, in game one, not to mention the production in game two against some lesser arms. Meanwhile, their starting pitchers all did well against a very good Philadelphia lineup. There is certainly room to improve, but they just won a series against the NL’s top team and they weren’t all that far from a sweep. This was a fun weekend of baseball.

Next up for the Birds is an off day, their only one this month. Then, they will head up to the Bronx for a huge three-game series against the vaunted Yankees. Game one is Tuesday with Albert Suárez on the bump to face a Bombers hurler to be named. First pitch is 7:05.