Orioles break out the lumber to earn a series split in Cleveland, 9-5

The bats overcame Corbin Burnes’ worst start of the season, racking up nine runs on 15 hits, seven for extra bases.

After today’s game, all I can say is: I wouldn’t want to pitch to either of these teams. There have been times this season where the Orioles have looked nothing like a first-place outfit, but today’s approach against Cleveland youngster Gavin Williams was ruthlessly professional. Timing up his 100-mph fastball and waiting out the misses, they hung six runs off Williams, three on home runs, and bounced him after an effortful four innings on 86 pitches. The Guardians, for their part, hounded O’s ace Corbin Burnes all day, putting up eight hits and five stolen bases off the right hander. Despite racking up his 1000th career strikeout and 12th win this season, the veteran failed to close the door with two outs in the fifth, surrendering a three-run home run to Josh Naylor to make it a 6-5 game.

After that blow, it felt like anyone’s game to win. But it was the Orioles offense that recovered first, putting up two critical runs in the sixth and one more in the eighth en route to a 9-5 victory. It was the youngsters who came through: Gunnar Henderson went 3-for-4 with a home run, Jackson Holliday went 2-for-4 with a homer of his own, and Colton Cowser kept a 17-game hit streak alive. With the win, the Orioles take the last two of a four-game series to earn a split. I’m glad not to face Cleveland against for the rest of the regular season.

A first-round pick for Cleveland in 2021, the 6’5” Williams is a big man with a big breaking ball, and a fastball that can hit 100. That’s cool, but, failing to establish his breaking ball early, he got predictable. With two outs in the first inning, he threw three fastballs in a row to Gunnar Henderson, and the O’s shortstop rapped the third to center field. Ryan O’Hearn followed with a cue shot into the left-field corner that allowed Henderson, just flying around the bases, to score easily.

Two more O’s runs crossed the plate in the third inning, despite home ump Cory Blaser’s best attempts to kill the rally. A Colton Cowser walk and double by Anthony Santander, who’s OPS’d 1.020 over the last month, put runners on second and third with a double. O’Hearn was livid when the home ump rung him up on a pitch well wide of the plate. MASN’s Geoff Arnold said simply, “That’s not a strike.” Still, two more runs scored on an Adley Rutschman sac fly and an RBI single out of the six hole from Eloy Jiménez, who continues to look like the big bat the Orioles hoped he was when they acquired him at the deadline. Today, Jiménez had three hits, a feat he hadn’t accomplished in almost a year. Guess he likes wearing the black and orange.

As for Corbin Burnes, a 5.0 IP, 5 R (4 ER), 7 H line looks bad, but some of that was Cleveland tenacity and some was shitty luck. Staked a 3-0 lead, Burnes handed back two runs in a third inning that was painful, and not just because Adley Rutschman took a foul ball between the legs. With a man on second, Cleveland hit two singles that took lousy bounces: Steven Kwan’s caromed off the mound, scoring a run, and José Ramírez’s line drive hit off of Burnes’ glove. The pitcher attempted to field the ricochet himself and make a sliding web gem throw to first, but the throw sailed, I don’t know, somewhere, and Kwan made it 3-2. Burnes had to throw an uncharacteristic 27 pitches that inning, and it showed in a rare shortened outing.

The Orioles extended the lead again with three more runs off Gavin Williams in the fourth inning. True, Coby Mayo continues to look like a deer in headlights, striking out three times today on a bunch of curveballs, but Jackson Holliday doesn’t. ID’ing a Williams curve right out of the hand, the 20-year-old infielder demolished it, putting the Birds up 4-2 and earning himself a trip to the Hydration Station:

The Birds weren’t even done that inning. With one on, Gunnar Henderson teed off on another Williams curveball, his 29^th home run and first since July 14^th. The O’s shortstop reached base four times today and also made some beautiful plays in the field, for those counting. Hopefully the slump is over.

Sadly Corbin Burnes ran out of gas in the fifth inning. Again, you could say some crummy luck was involved. With two outs and a man on second, José Ramírez hit a squibber to third that Mayo couldn’t make a play on. But then Burnes hung a 2-0 changeup to Josh Naylor and like that, a four-run lead had shrunk to one. That hurts.

Who would seize the momentum first? Cleveland brought in new pitcher Tim Herrin in the sixth inning, who got two outs but allowed singles to Cowser and Henderson. Brandon Hyde called on Ryan Mountcastle to pinch-hit, and this move worked well. Mountcastle hit what the booth aptly called a duck snort, scoring Cowser. Rutschman followed him with an RBI double, and now it was 8-5.

What would the Orioles bullpen, sometimes a different animal every night, do with a three-run lead? Gregory Soto had the sixth, and despite looking a little off, he got lucky when Guardians infielder Andrés Giménez ran a single into an out at second base. Burch Smith retired two with no hits allowed. And Cionel Pérez also kept the Guardians hitless.

The Orioles got a crucial insurance run in the eighth. Anthony Santander walked and stole second—yes, you read that right: it was Santander’s second SB of the year. On second thought, he’s moving so well, with several nice catches in right today, that I think we may have to retire the jokes about his foot speed. Adley singled him home, the catcher’s third RBI of the game.

Brandon Hyde gave Yennier Cano custody of the eighth and Seranthony Domínguez of the ninth. The two had no trouble with their assignments today.

So, the bad news, I guess: Corbin Burnes got pretty roughed up today. The good: Gunnar Henderson is back. So is Adley Rutschman. Jackson Holliday is on fire. Colton Cowser has a 17-game hit streak. Could the offensive doldrums be over?

The Orioles have a day off tomorrow and then resume action against Toronto on Tuesday.