MILWAUKEE – The first two innings haven’t been kind to the Orioles in the Tony Mansolino era. Late deficits haven’t been kind to Baltimore all season.
In the first game of their new series against the Brewers, Baltimore beat both trends. But they couldn’t beat the Brewers, falling 5-4 in the first game of the series.
Yesterday, the ever-reliable Zach Eflin allowed seven earned runs in his first two frames against the Washington Nationals. On Saturday, Kyle Gibson and Charlie Morton combined to do the same.
The Orioles, on the other hand, found their earliest runs of those two games in the fifth inning.
Tonight’s deficit of 3-1 after two innings wasn’t quite 7-0, but it still wasn’t the start the Orioles were looking for.
The Orioles offense couldn’t get anything going against Brewers “starter” Rob Zastryzny in the first inning. Luckily for Baltimore, the lefty was just the opener, lasting only 12 pitches while striking out two. Quinn Priester entered the game for the Brew Crew in the second, and Baltimore took advantage, at least for a short while.
To lead off the frame, Ramón Laureano launched a Priester slider to left-center for a solo home run at 108.2 mph off the bat. His third homer of the month improved his May slash line to 341/.426/.659, good for a 1.085 OPS.
The bottom of the frame got more sour.
Dean Kremer looked sharp in his first inning of work, but ran into some trouble in the middle of the order. A Rhys Hoskins walk and Isaac Collins single put runners on first and second with no outs. Kremer nearly tightroped out of things, recording outs of Sal Frelick and Andruw Monasterio, but ran into the O’s worst enemy this season: the opposing team’s ninth hitter.
Brewers third baseman Caleb Durbin snapped his 0-for-24 streak with a two-out single into left, scoring Hoskins. Then, leadoff hitter Brice Turang mirrored Durbin, lining a base hit into right, scoring Durbin and Collins.
Once again, Baltimore found themselves in an early hole. This time, it was 3-1 Milwaukee.
Kremer settled in enough to keep things within reach for the O’s offense. But as has been the case too often this season, the Orioles bats couldn’t get much going in the middle innings.
More damage came for the Brewers in the fifth inning. Back-to-back doubles in the bottom of the frame from Turang and William Contreras pushed the Crew’s lead to 4-1. Through those at-bats, the duo at the top of Milwaukee’s lineup was a combined 5-for-6 with three doubles and three driven in. Kremer evaded more trouble, though, and kept the O’s deficit at three.
In the top of the sixth, Frelick lined a triple down the right field line, and with Durbin’s good night threatening to get better in the on deck circle after a strikeout of Andruw Monasterio, Kremer’s night was complete. 5 ⅓ innings, nine hits, two walks, six strikeouts and four earned runs.
Seranthony Domínguez entered for Kremer and walked two to load the bases, but danced out of trouble to keep the O’s deficit at three. Bending but not breaking was the theme of Baltimore’s pitching.
The Brewers' pitching wasn’t bending or breaking. That is, until the seventh inning.
With one away in the frame, Ryan O’Hearn and Ramón Urías walked and doubled to put runners on second and third. That concluded Priester’s night, and in came Nick Mears, who had a 0.51 ERA in 19 appearances on the year. Cedric Mullins didn’t care.
On an 0-1 count, Mullins drove a middle-middle fastball into the right field bleachers. A three-run shot made it a whole new ballgame, tied at 4-4 in the top of the seventh.
For the first time this season, the Orioles had life after trailing through six innings.
That juice carried into the eighth inning, but Baltimore couldn’t cash in with Gunnar Henderson in scoring position. Still, the quality of the at-bats was encouraging.
In the bottom of the frame, Yennier Cano took the mound in dire need of a bounceback. The former All-Star had posted a 13.50 ERA in just 5.1 innings of work in May across seven appearances.
His appearance tonight didn’t go much better.
Cano was one out away from getting out of things. But in a full count to Turang, Cano allowed a free pass. Turang ranks towards the bottom of the list of hitters you’d like to walk in a tie game, as he ranks very high on the list of MLB’s stolen base leaders. Entering the eighth inning, he had nabbed a dozen bags. Ending the night, it was a baker’s dozen. Not Bryan.
And with a runner in scoring position, Milwaukee came through. Contreras matched a career high with his fourth hit of the night, and this one decided the game. A single that got by a diving Henderson put the Brewers up one entering the ninth inning.
The Orioles needed to do the same.
Mullins walked on four pitches leading off the ninth, and after a Dylan Carlson failed bunt attempt, stole second. Pinch-hitter Adley Rutschman was tasked with bringing him home, but lined out to left. Two away. It came down to one of the O's best hitters as of late, Jackson Holliday.
Holliday's at-bat ended in the same way, a line out to left, and there was the ballgame.
The O’s offense fought. After a tough go against Priester, they came through with three runs in the seventh inning, a feat they had seldom accomplished when trailing. Baltimore’s pitching bent just a bit too much.
The Orioles are still in search of their first win under Mansolino. They’ve got another crack at it tomorrow.