BALTIMORE–What happened? For the third time in the last four games, the Orioles won a game in their final at-bat, and while it wasn’t as dramatic as the other two, it was unique.
After third base umpire Manny Gonzalez ruled that Samuel Basallo’s bloop fly ball near the left-field line was foul, the call was overturned on a crew chief review. Basallo was credited with a single and his second walk-off hit, and the Orioles had a 3-2 win in 11 innings over the Pittsburgh Pirates before 15,488 at Camden Yards on Tuesday night.
Ryan Mountcastle’s single sent Gunnar Henderson, the automatic runner, to third. The Pirates elected to walk Colton Cowser intentionally to load the bases. With two strikes, Basallo lofted a pop fly off Dauri Moreta (1-1) to shallow left that Tommy Pham tried to grab with a sliding catch near the foul line. The ball tipped off his glove and touched the line. After the review, Henderson scored to give the Orioles their sixth win in seven games.
Instead of an immediate celebration, the Orioles had to wait for the call, as the Pirates walked off the field. When the call was overturned, Basallo was hit with cold water and congratulations.
“Looking at the replay, it looked like it and it was one of those deals where if they didn’t call it fair I was probably going to throw a fit,” interim manager Tony Mansolino said.
Basallo was confident that he had a game-winning hit.
“I had a feeling that the ball was fair,” he said through a team translator. “We were all still waiting just to see what the decision was. You know, sometimes that call can go any way. We were just waiting but happy the result was a good one.”
On Friday, Basallo’s two-out, two-strike home run in the bottom of the ninth gave the Orioles a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. On Saturday, after being no-hit for 8 2/3 innings, the Orioles engineered a stirring four-run rally for their second straight walk-off win, 4-3.
Orioles reliever Dietrich Enns (2-3) pitched hitless innings in the 10th and 11th, with an automatic runner at second each time.
“I’m just trying to go out there and do my job and put up a zero, whatever the situation calls for,” Enns said. “In extras, they got the guy at second, so you just try to do your best to limit the runs there and give your team a chance in the bottom half.”
The Orioles (67-77) are playing their 29th and final opponent of the season, and the Pirates (64-81) lost their fourth straight.
Both teams fired their managers in May, and the principal attraction for Pittsburgh is phenom starter Paul Skenes, who’ll face the Orioles for the first time in the regular season on Wednesday night.
The Orioles scored a run against Mike Burrows in the first on Mountcastle’s sacrifice fly, and Jeremiah Jackson hit his fifth home run against Braxton Ashcraft leading off the sixth.
Rico Garcia threw a spotless eighth. Yennier Cano allowed a home run to Pham leading off the ninth to tie it at 2.
How clutch has Basallo been? It was the third last at-bat RBI for Basallo in his 17 games in the big leagues. Besides the home run last Friday, the 21-year-old catcher/first baseman hit a dribbler in front of home plate that drove in the go-ahead run in a 4-3 win in Boston in 11 innings on August 19th.
“In that situation, I’m not trying to hit a home run, I’m trying to hit the ball at a good angle, trying to hit the ball well,” Basallo said of his game-winner Tuesday night. “Earlier in the game, I thought I had two of my best swings of the game. Didn’t go my way. In that situation, I’m just doing what I can to put the ball in play.”
How did Bradish pitch? As the Orioles contemplate 2026’s starting rotation, they can feel positive about Kyle Bradish. In his third start since recovering from elbow surgery, Bradish went seven innings and allowed just one run on four hits.
“Getting through seven is always good for everybody — team, bullpen, myself,” Bradish said. “But, yeah, just knowing I can be efficient like I was tonight and get through seven and give the team a quality start, that’s always the goal.”
After an uneven first inning, when he gave up a run on two hits and a walk, the 28-year-old right-hander had perfect innings in the second, third, fifth and sixth—walking one and allowing a single in the fourth and giving up a leadoff single to Nick Gonzales in the seventh.
“It was clean, he attacked the strike zone, kind of got the curveball going it looks like in the fifth or sixth inning,” Mansolino said. “And once the curveball got cooking a little bit, I thought he kind of jumped a little bit for me. He’s just kind of getting going, too. He’s gonna be even better here going into these next couple starts and in next year.”
Bradish threw 81 pitches, striking out six and walking two.
“I feel really good right now, stuff-wise and command,” Bradish said. “It’s difficult to say where I would be at after three starts in April, but right now, I feel good.”
What does it mean? Basallo’s ability to seize the moment and win games in different way is impressive.
What’s the stat of the day? After not having a walk-off win until August 13th, the Orioles now have four.
What’s the word? “I was just happy. These are moments I’ve been dreaming about my whole life, so really just trying to take it all in and really just celebrating that moment exactly as if I hit the home run the other day.”-Basallo on his game-winner
What’s going on in the minor leagues? Outfielder Tyler O’Neill was 1-for-4 in his rehab assignment as Triple-A Norfolk lost to Durham, 8-3.
Zach Fruit allowed three runs on five hits in 4 1/3 innings as Double-A Chesapeake lost to New Hampshire, 3-2.
What’s next? Tyler Wells (1-0, 3.60) will face Paul Skenes (10-9, 1.98) on Wednesday night at 6:35.
Call for questions: Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com