Adley Rutschman’s two-run homer proved to be too little, too late in a 4-2 loss to Detroit.
This whole not scoring run things is turning into a real bummer. The Orioles posted seven zeros before Adley Rutschman finally broke through with a two-run homer in the eighth inning. Rutschman trimmed the lead to one with his first homer in almost a month, but the Tigers outlasted Baltimore for a 4-2 victory.
The Orioles had their chances early on and failed to take advantage. Baltimore declined to capitalize after a two-out double in each of the first two innings. Heston Kjerstad left Santander in scoring position, and Emmanuel Rivera struck out swinging to end the second.
Liván Soto and Gunnar Henderson both reached to start the third, but the Orioles failed to plate the pair. Both runners advanced on a flyout by Cedric Mullins, but Santander couldn’t drive the runner in with less than two outs. Kjerstad, playing in his first game since mid-July, wasted another opportunity with a soft bouncer back to the pitcher.
The first three innings set the tone for another disappointing day at the plate. Ryan O’Hearn erased a leadoff single by Rutschman with a double play in the fourth, and the Birds went quietly in the fifth.
The Orioles gave Coby Mayo a crack off the bench in the sixth, but the 22-year-old went down swinging. Rivera managed a one-out double in the seventh, but Austin Slater and Gunnar Henderson grounded out to leave another runner in scoring position.
The Orioles outhit the Tigers 7-to-5, but finished 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
Cade Povich kept the Orioles in the game with another respectable performance by a starting pitcher. Povich struck out the side in the first inning and stranded a pair of runners in the second.
Povich made his only true mistake in the third inning. He issued a one-out walk to Andy Ibáñez and threw a pair of identical fastballs to Riley Greene. Greene watched the first 91-MPH heater before pouncing on the second. Greene smacked the ball 412 feet for a two-run homer and a 2-0 lead.
Povich responded with a pair of clean innings. He limited Detroit to only two hits and struck out eight batters in five innings.
Jacob Webb replaced Povich for his first appearance since August 2. Webb generated a pair of weak grounders before issuing a two-out walk Matt Vierling. Vierling stole second on a bang-bang play, and Webb allowed an RBI-single to Colt Keith that extended the lead to three.
Webb retired Spencer Torkelson with another dribbler to end the inning, but the damage was done. The Orioles are happy to have Webb back in action, but he’s not quite the difference maker they hope Danny Coulombe could be.
Rutschman made things interesting with the two-run shot in the eighth. Mullins walked and hustled to second base to avoid a double play before the big fly. Rutschman and Colton Cowser recorded the only multi-hit games for Baltimore.
Keegan Akin struck out the side in the seventh, but Gregory Soto allowed another homer to Greene in the eighth. The blast added some insurance, but Baltimore went down in order to end the game.
The Orioles will return home after finishing the road trip 2-4. They’re not playing like a division champion right now, and the first Wild Card spot resembles less of a sure thing by the day. All of their goals remain achievable, but it takes a lot of squinting after an uninspiring week.
Albert Suárez will face the Giants at Camden Yards on Tuesday.