SEATTLE – The seismic shift in the Orioles’ season has taken them from last call to bars raised.
A rotation that ranked statistically among the worst in baseball is pushing its starters to keep performing at a much higher level. The group has registered a 2.11 ERA in the past 10 games, with two runs or fewer allowed in eight. The next man up must stand tall.
The offense is delivering more often in the clutch, whether with powerful strokes or well-placed pokes. Runs aren’t scoring in bunches, but the amount is sufficient.
Heston Kjerstad tripled for the second time in three games, driving in two runs with two outs in the seventh inning to key the Orioles’ 3-2 victory over the Mariners at T-Mobile Park. He has four hits this month, three for extra bases.
The Orioles are 24-36 overall and 9-8 under interim manager Tony Mansolino. They’ve claimed back-to-back series for the first time and built their first five-game winning streak since June 7-12, 2024. They won a fourth straight road game in a single season for the first time since June 7-10, 2024.
They might never lose again.
Ramón Urías and Coby Mayo walked to bring Kjerstad to the plate against Carlos Vargas. He got his bat on a cutter down and in and pulled it into the right field corner for the Orioles’ third hit of the night.
The trip from home plate to third base came on knees that earlier had slammed into the wall in foul territory, leaving him grimacing and limping. He stayed in the game and had a major influence on it.
Cade Povich blanked the Mariners through three innings, just as he did to the Cardinals in his last outing. He had a brief stumble in the fourth, carried a 1-1 tie into the sixth and was done with only one out recorded.
A hit batter and walk were followed by Cal Raleigh’s RBI single, but the Orioles got him off the hook.
Povich was charged with two runs and four hits in 5 1/3 innings, with one walk and five strikeouts. He came out after 86 pitches.
The combination of Yennier Cano, Seranthony Domínguez, Gregory Soto and Félix Bautista tossed 3 2/3 scoreless innings. Plate umpire Jeremy Rehak didn’t give Soto a high strike on a 2-2 sinker with two outs in the eighth that led to a walk, but the left-hander struck out Raleigh with the count full.
Bautista retired the side in order last night and escaped a jam tonight for his 11th save. Randy Arozarena reached on an infield single with one out for the only hit allowed by the bullpen, and Mitch Garver walked. Leody Taveras popped up and Rowdy Tellez
Adley Rutschman belted his sixth home run with two outs in the sixth inning to tie the score. Rutschman, playing in front of family and friends from Oregon, followed his three-hit game last night by launching a sinker 415 feet to right field at 108.3 mph.
He was the final batter for Mariners starter Emerson Hancock, the sixth-overall pick in the 2020 draft.
The sixth inning could have buried the Orioles, but Raleigh was out trying for a double and Gunnar Henderson threw out J.P. Crawford at the plate on Julio Rodríguez’s ground ball. The original safe call was overturned.
Raleigh led off the fourth with a double on a fly ball down the right field line that eluded Kjerstad as he made a sliding attempt. Statcast gave it a 95 percent catch probability. Kjerstad was 100 percent in pain from his run-in with the wall.
Rodríguez singled and Raleigh scored on Arozarena’s 386-foot fly ball to the warning track in center field. Povich limited the damage by inducing a double play grounder from Garver.
Hancock got his shutdown inning in the fifth after Colton Cowser’s leadoff walk. Kjerstad grounded into a 3-6-3 double play.
The first eight batters were retired before Dylan Carlson singled with two outs in the third and Jackson Holliday walked. Rutschman bounced out after the runners moved up on a wild pitch.
Carlson extended his hitting streak to six games. Arozarena robbed him with a diving catch in the sixth.
Ryan O’Hearn’s on-base streak ended at 19 games.