BALTIMORE—What happened? The Orioles lost for the fifth straight time and for the 13th time in 21 games, 6-1 to the New York Yankees on Saturday.
The Orioles have scored just four runs on this five-game homestand.
After Gleyber Torres’ RBI single in the first, Austin Wells hit a three-run homer. Juan Soto and Aaron Judge homered in the fifth against Grayson Rodriguez.
“In any situation, it’s tough to be down four runs right away,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “We’ve scored a lot of runs. We just haven’t [of] late. You still feel really good about our offense. At some point, we’re going to come out of it. Their pitchers threw the ball really well and we had a tough time getting anything going offensively again.”
Hyde said leftfielder Austin Hays left the game with abductor soreness, and hopes he can play on Sunday.
What’s wrong with the offense? The Orioles got one run on five hits in six innings for the second straight game against a New York starter — Gerrit Cole on Friday and Luis Gil on Saturday.
“We’ve got one game before the break,” Hyde said. “We’re looking for a spark. We’re just having a tough time getting any sort of traffic on the bases. We faced two really good starters. Cole is one of the best pitchers in our generation and Gil’s having a heck of a year. Both these guys threw really well.
“We’re expanding a little bit. We’re overly aggressive early in the count on balls that we can’t drive. It looks like we’re a little bit in between. Tough time putting rallies together.”
Hyde thinks the Orioles are trying too hard.
“At this point, it’s pressing,” he said. “You see them trying to get the job done and not be as relaxed as normal. They’re trying to be the guy to be the big hit for us, every single one of them down in the lineup. Just not happening right now.”
First baseman Ryan Mountcastle was 1-for-4 and drove in the Orioles’ only run on a groundout that enabled Ryan O’Hearn, who led off the inning with a triple, to score from third.
“We’ve got to go out there and execute our game plan,” Mountcastle said. “Try to get some more runs and give our pitchers some help.”
The Orioles have had just three offdays since May 31st and are struggling as they approach the first-half finish line.
“It’s a long season. We’ve got to keep putting our head down and going to work each and every day,” Mountcastle said. “Go out there and play with some energy and try to compete.”
Rodriguez has had good offensive support, but nothing is going right for the Orioles at the moment.
“This is one of the best lineups in baseball,” he said. “I think there’s no question about that. Any time you pitch for this team with an offense like that, it makes your job easier. I don’t think that’s going to continue. I think our guys are going to pull out of this.”
What happened with Rodriguez? In his final start before the All-Star break, Rodriguez allowed six runs, five on three home runs in five innings. He gave up eight hits, struck out seven and walked one.
“This start doesn’t shake how I’m feeling about him,” Hyde said. “He’s making huge strides. He made a couple of bad pitches today. Maybe not as aggressive with his fastball as I would have liked. He’s got really, really good stuff, and he’s still early on in his career.
“He’s going to get better with these types of experiences and pitching in these types of games. We’re going to need him.”
Rodriguez is 11-4 with a 3.88 earned-run average.
“I’d say it was a lot better than last year,” he said. “I wished I would have finished a little bit better. I kind of let the fans down today. This was a big game for us. I wish I could have thrown the ball a lot better.
“In terms of the first half, this team has played really good baseball. I don’t think we’re going to dwell on what we’ve done as of late. I think we’re going to look at the first half more in general, first place in the AL East. That’s hard to do. We’re going to keep grinding day in and day out, and show up to the field tomorrow.”
Rodriguez has had three poor starts in 17.
“I’m trying to limit days like today,” Rodriguez said. “I think there are a lot of good things I can take from today, still being able to go five innings. Last year, if this would have happened to me, I think I’m out of the ballgame a little bit earlier.”
What happened with Kjerstad? Before the game, the Orioles placed outfielder Heston Kjerstad on the 7-day concussion list and recalled outfielder Kyle Stowers from Triple-A Norfolk.
Kjerstad, who was hit on the helmet by a pitch from New York’s Clay Holmes on Friday night, was originally in the lineup, then scratched and finally put on the injured list just before game time.
“He went out and took batting practice and wasn’t feeling real well,” Hyde said. “He did all the tests and everything this morning. He felt comfortable about going out there. Once the day started going along and he got out in the sun and started moving around, he started to not feel as good, we decided to pull him and put him on the concussion IL.”
How is Henderson getting ready for Home Run Derby? Gunnar Henderson’s chosen pitcher for the Home Run Derby is Triple-A Norfolk manager Buck Britton. On Thursday, Britton practiced with Henderson, and the session went well.
“We were trying to figure out where the [sweet spot] would be, and also trying to not get too tired for the game. It was a nice little warmup session.”
Henderson has never been in a Home Run Derby and has taken some advice from Adley Rutschman, who participated in last year’s Derby.
“Not to try too hard, but it’s a little bit different,” Henderson said. “Last year you could go up there and swing as many times as you can and try to put up as many as you can, but this year, you only get 40 pitches and you pretty much have to swing at everything.”
What’s the word? “We’ll get through this. We’re a really good team. We’ve got a really good lineup from 1 to 9. It’s one of the best in the league. We’ll get it going soon, and it’s going to be fun to watch.”-Mountcastle on the Orioles’ struggling offense.
What does it mean? The Orioles lead the Yankees by .002 percentage points, and a win on Sunday before the All-Star break would give them an emotional lift.
What’s the stat of the day? 1-for-31. The Orioles are 1-for-31 with runners in scoring position on this homestand.
What’s going on in the minor leagues? Double-A Bowie catcher Samuel Basallo played four innings in the Futures Game, walked and hit into a double play. The NL beat the AL, 6-1. in seven innings.
What’s next? The Orioles play their final game before the All-Star break on Sunday. Dean Kremer (4-5, 4.42) will face Carlos Ródon (9-7, 4.63) at 11:35 a.m. The game will be seen exclusively on Roku.
Call for questions: Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com