The Orioles bats finally exploded in extras, with Adley Rutschman delivering a game-winning three-run blast.
According to today’s MASN broadcast, before the game today’s starter, Tomoyuki Sugano, brought Insomnia Cookies to the locker room to lift the vibes. Another way to lift the team vibes? Win games!
The Orioles did just that, shattering an eight-game losing streak with an explosive 8-4 extra-innings win, capped off by an Adley Rutschman three-home blast off exhausted Brewers reliever Tyler Alexander. Rutschman needed that extra-base hit in the worst way, and this team needed that win.
Wednesday’s eleven-innings seesaw win was a wild one, the Orioles’ longest of the season and the team’s first extra-innings win since last July. It’s unlikely a baseball team wins when its hitters produce just one run in seven innings, and when its relievers blow, not one, but two saves. But better late than never, and better lucky than good, right?
This was a 2-1 game entering the eighth inning, believe it or not. Despite Tomoyuki Sugano supporting his team with cookies, the bats did basically nothing to support Sugano. That’s OK; the right hander delivered another great effort in today’s no decision. Taking a “kitchen sink” approach, with copious splitters, sweepers, sinkers, cutters, four-seamers, and curveballs, Sugano kept the Brewers off the board until a fluky run scored in the fifth and a solo home run in the sixth.
As for the Birds offense, let’s be honest: against an average-seeming Chad Patrick, it wasn’t great. O’s hitters rashly hit into groundouts in the first, flyouts in the second, and stuck out twice in the third. Despite that, they got on the board first, manufacturing in a run in the fourth. Gunnar and Mountcastle singled back-to-back, and Ryan O’Hearn squared up a middle-of-the-plate fastball for a run-scoring single. 1-0, Birds. Hitting looks so easy when you’re doing it right!
But it was bittersweet: Cedric Mullins and Emmanuel Rivera struck out, and Kjerstad flew out. The next inning, the fifth, they wasted an Adley double off a low Patrick fastball.
Then, in the bottom half, Sugano surrendered a run in one of the weirdest ways you’ll see. With one out and third baseman Caleb Durbin on second, Sugano fielded a weak tapper to the mound, threw to first for the putout… and the runner came home from second to score! That tied the game 1-1.
It was a perplexing play. The runner Durbin ignored his own third base coach’s “Stop” sign, rounded third as O’Hearn fielded Sugano’s flip, and beat O’Hearn’s throw home. The MASN booth was confused, too, about whether an Orioles fielder had bungled the play. At the time Sugano fielded it, Durbin hadn’t made the turn yet. O’Hearn threw home as soon as he saw Durbin coming home. Maybe Adley Rutschman could have called for it from Sugano, instead. Maybe it was just great baserunning from Durbin.
Certainly it seems that one area of room for improvement for Sugano is awareness with runners on base. Besides Durbin’s “steal” of home (which is kind of what it was, even if not technically), outfielders Jake Bauers and Jackson Chourio both ran on him, and it wasn’t even tough.
For an O’s offense starved of runs, letting this become a 1-1 game on an unnecessary run felt like a big one to give up. Especially when the Brewers got a no-doubter second run off a “cement mixer” of a Sugano cutter that Rhys Hoskins drilled over the wall to make it 2-1. It was one of the worst pitches Sugano threw all day. Good hitters will make you pay for those things.
But overall, this was another good outing from Tomoyuki Sugano, the best thing this rotation has got going.
Sugano was followed by a very effective Andrew Kittredge, making his season debut after knee debridement. Kittredge looks the part of the veteran, sporting a grizzled beard, an easy demeanor, and a delivery so relaxed, it looks downright lazy. I could see him being hard to time up, and indeed, he was delightfully effective today, in a 1-2-3 seventh.
This low-scoring contest took another turn when the Birds tied the game, 2-2, in the eighth off of Nick Mears, one of the best relievers in the league thus far. These were great at-bats by the Orioles, finally. On the eighth pitch he saw, Gunnar led off the inning with a single, his third time on base today. Mountcastle lined to the warning track and Henderson couldn’t advance. Ryan O’Hearn hit a one-out double to the left-field corner, but third base coach Buck Britton put up a big “Stop” sign, much to the annoyance of Henderson, who stopped at third. Cedric Mullins tied the game with a sac fly to center.
The Birds weren’t done. The Brewers lifted Mears, whose 1.83 ERA attests to a single earned run allowed all year, after he threw a season-high 23 pitches, and brought in Joel Payamps, who’s got an 8.50 ERA, instead. Thankfully for this offense, Payamps pitched like it! Emmanuel Rivera worked a gutsy walk and Heston Kjerstad, a black hole in the offense of late, rocketed a life-giving single to score O’Hearn from second. 3-2, Orioles. A huge hit for Kjerstad, and for this team.
I kind of wasn’t ready to see a one-run game put into the hands of Gregory Soto, but he delivered a shutout eighth, albeit nearly beaning Christian Yelich, who gave Soto the dirtiest of looks before grounding out. Three outs to go!
Félix Bautista is clearly still not back to his All-Star 2023 form. Instead of a three-out save, Bautista walked two, and with one strike away from ending the game, hung a slider, allowing Caleb Durbin, a .169 hitter entering this game, to tie it, 3-3.
Free baseball, everyone! When your team is as battered as this one is, that’s not necessarily a good thing. Cedric Mullins delivered a run-scoring double in the tenth to score the ghost runner, but in the bottom half Bryan Baker allowed Jackson Chourio to tie it up, 4-4. Another gut punch.
This time, the Birds rallied against the Brewers’ Tyler Alexander, pitching his second day in a row. Alexander allowed two straight singles, including Jackson Holliday’s rocket to the outfield, making it a 5-4 game. Would the Birds hold this narrow lead? Well, they didn’t need to, because of this one swing by Adley Rutschman, one of his biggest of the year.
Seranthony Domínguez wrapped up the game, and that was that. It was a nailbiter, but it was a win. The Birds, the eight-game losing streak behind them, head to Boston, hopefully with a head of steam and new confidence from this one.