Backup catcher Alex Jackson smacked a pair of doubles, Gunnar Henderson recorded three hits, and Tomoyuki Sugano posted a quality start in a 7-3 win over the Mets.
The Orioles faced a fork in the road today with a doubleheader against the Mets. Fresh off a disappointing loss and a trade that may or may not have marked the start of a firesale, the Birds buckled down against one of the best teams in the National League.
Tomoyuki Sugano quietly turned in a quality start, the bullpen got things done without Bryan Baker, and Alex Jackson introduced himself to Birdland. Jordan Westburg smacked a two-run homer, and the O’s swept the doubleheader with a 7-3 win in Game 2.
The Birds had to battle back after failing take advantage of a pair of gifts from Francisco Lindor in the first inning.
Sugano allowed a leadoff single to Brandon Nimmo, and Lindor followed with a double to right. Juan Soto drove in the first run with a grounder to short, but Gunnar Henderson appeared to have Lindor hung up between second and third. Henderson could have pursued his fellow shortstop, but he inexplicably chose the safe out at first base. Lindor went on to score New York’s second run on a sacrifice fly by Pete Alonso.
Mets opener Brandon Waddell retired the first two hitters he faced, but Henderson slapped a two-out double. Ryan O’Hearn received a free pass, and Ramón Laureano tapped a grounder that should have ended the inning. Laureano had worked the count full, and both runners took off on the pitch. Lindor took his time flipping the ball to second, and O’Hearn slid in safely. Colton Cowser hit a ball sharply, but Alonso caught the fourth out of the inning to keep the O’s off the board.
Sugano bounced back with a clean second, and the Orioles offense came to life in the bottom half. Cedric Mullins ripped a double to right field, and Alex “Great First Name” Jackson came through in his first Baltimore at bat. Jackson skied a ball to shallow right field, and the ball dropped in for an RBI double.
Jackson cut the deficit in half, but Jordan Westburg washed it away. Westburg launched a ball 413 feet over the old wall in left field. The two-run blast provided Baltimore a 3-2 lead and sparked an offense that struggled for a majority of a 3-1 win earlier this afternoon.
Sugano posted another zero in the third, but a pair of walks came back to bite him in the fourth. Sugano walked Soto and Jeff McNeil before allowing a two-out single to Brett Baty. The Mets evened the score at three and appeared to have Sugano on the ropes.
Sugano had failed to complete six innings in his last five starts, and the 35-year-old rookie faced Luisangel Acuña with runners on the corners. Sugano dug deep and generated a harmless line out from Acuña to end the fourth. With his parents watching in the stands, Sugano posted a pair of zeros over the next two frames to secure his first quality start since June 3.
The Birds took control of the game in the bottom of the fifth. Henderson sparked the rally with a single, and Laureano kept the inning alive by taking four straight balls. Colton Cowser muscled a ball into the outfield, and Henderson scored the go-ahead run with ease.
Ramón Urías followed with a sharply hit ball to third base, and Baty failed to make the play. Laureano raced home for Baltimore’s fifth run, and Urías reached base safely on the error.
After a 1-2-3 shutdown inning from Sugano, the O’s tacked on two more in the sixth. Jackson led off the frame with a more traditional double to right-center field, and Jackson Holliday advanced the catcher to third with a grounder to the right side.
Westburg stepped up with the infield playing in and hit a sharp grounder to Lindor’s right. Jackson broke home on contact, and Baltimore’s sixth catcher of the season beat the tag with a head-first slide. Jackson finished 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored.
Working without Baker, the O’s bullpen took things from there. Andrew Kittredge tossed a scoreless seventh, and Gregory Soto hit 100 MPH while silencing the heart of New York’s order in the eighth.
Seranthony Domínguez entered in a non-save situation, but things got a little dicey after a leadoff single and a one-out walk. Urías made a tremendous sliding catch in foul territory for the second out, and Domínguez kept the tying-run in the on-deck circle with a strikeout of Luis Torrens.
The victory secured Baltimore’s first doubleheader sweep since 6/25/2016. The Orioles moved to 42-50 and now have an opportunity to get within five games of .500 before the All-Star break. Dean Kremer will take the ball tomorrow evening against the Marlins.