O'Hearn homers and Mullins dazzles on defense again in 9-8 loss

Ryan O’Hearn swung, stood and tossed his bat. He watched José Berríos’ fastball land on the flag court in right field, began to jog up the line and pointed at the dugout.

The significance of the moment wasn’t lost on anyone.

O’Hearn might have played his last game with the Orioles, who failed to complete their sweep today with a 9-8 loss to the Blue Jays at Camden Yards. The same goes for Cedric Mullins, who made another leaping catch at the fence to rob a home run and preserve the lead. Moments that fed the hopeless baseball romantics.

The trade deadline is approaching the 24-hour mark and both players are generating heat.

The entire team was getting hot with five wins in a row, but reliever Yennier Cano, tasked with holding a 5-4 lead, allowed five runs in the seventh inning. They answered with three in the bottom half but fell to 50-59.

Toronto manager John Schneider left Yariel Rodríguez on the mound long enough to retire one of seven batters. Gunnar Henderson had a run-scoring single, Adley Rutschman was credited with a RBI while reaching on an error, and Rodríguez issued back-to-back walks to force in a run. Braydon Fisher entered and struck out Mullins and pinch-hitter Ramón Laureano.

Rutschman had a sacrifice fly with two outs in the first inning, following Jackson Holliday’s leadoff single. He began the day 15-for-28 with two doubles and four homers against Berríos. O’Hearn, who was 12-for-37, hit his third career homer against Berríos and his 13^th this season.

Mullins sprinted for Ali Sánchez’s fly ball in the sixth, jumped and pulled it back into play to keep the Orioles ahead 5-4. The usual scene unfolded, with teammates raising their arms. They should be numb to any disbelief, with Mullins making a diving grab in left-center Saturday and taking away a home run Monday.

The Blue Jays tied the game in the top of the fifth and Jordan Westburg untied it in the bottom half with a two-run shot after Alex Jackson’s leadoff double.

Westburg had nine hits in three games of the series and is batting .341 this month. He’s on fire but off the table.

Players filed back into the clubhouse wondering whether they’d be together in Chicago, where the Orioles play a three-game series against the Cubs after Thursday’s off-day. They know what’s happening, but the preferred tactic is to block it out and concentrate on winning.

“With all the guys kind of going in and out of the building with the trades and injuries, it’s a weird thing,” interim manager Tony Mansolino said earlier today. “I think just try to get out there and laugh and talk to guys and depressurize the room. Acknowledge what’s actually happening right now, that guys are leaving, guys that we love. And acknowledge that more guys that we love are gonna probably be out the door here in the next 36 hours or so.

“So I think as you talk about those things and confront them and, it’s the elephant in the room, I think it actually goes better than the opposite of kind of avoiding it. Once we get past this deadline and the guys are in the room, I think it will tighten up again. I do think bringing Rutsch back in the room is a good thing, just kind of see him navigate it and have fun with all the guys. I think that’s important, and there are more of those guys coming. Mounty (Ryan Mountcastle) is close, and (Kyle) Bradish, we’re starting to get excited about him. It’s still a very transient group right now, still a lot of coming and going.”

Mansolino is braced for the odd scene that’s going to unfold at Wrigley Field. The familiar faces and important voices gone.

“It will be difficult and it will be weird, but it’s just more responsibility on the core group of players here,” he said. “The responsibility goes on Gunnar, Adley, (Colton) Cowser, Westburg. Who else am I missing? There’s a ton of them. Jackson, Bradish. All these guys, the core group, it’s their responsibility and it’s their team. So as guys leave, veterans leave, they have to take this thing over.

“And in some ways they already are starting to. But it’s up to them. This is theirs.”

Mansolino is confident that the roll call is filled with names who are ready for the task.

“They’ve been doing some of it,” he said, “100 percent.”

Dean Kremer allowed three runs and six hits in five innings and threw 87 pitches. Myles Straw hit a two-run homer in the second, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. reached for a cutter and pushed it through the hole into left field to tie the game in the fifth. Cowser threw out Ernie Clement at the plate on Bo Bichette’s fly ball, with the safe call overturned.

Straw had an RBI double off Grant Wolfram in the sixth, as Mansolino kept getting creative with the bullpen. He’s got no choice.

Mullins prevented Toronto from taking the lead, but only temporarily. Cano gave up three singles in the seventh, the last by Bichette that plated two runs. He hit Addison Barger, and pinch-hitter Nathan Lukes dumped a slider onto the flag court.

Cano’s friend, Seranthony Domínguez, retired the side in order in the eighth, striking out two, after yesterday’s trade.

Jeff Hoffman cruised through the ninth. Ryan O'Hearn was his last batter. The significance of the moment still wasn't lost on anyone. 

* Tyler Wells made his first injury rehab start and retired all six New Hampshire batters faced at Double-A Chesapeake. He struck out one.

Wells threw 22 pitches, 15 strikes.

* The Orioles announced that Chesapeake’s Braxton Bragg had successful right elbow UCL reconstruction today with Dr. Keith Meister in Arlington, TX.

MLB Pipeline ranks Bragg, 24, as the No. 7 prospect in the system. He posted a combined 1.68 ERA in 12 games between High-A Aberdeen and Chesapeake, failing to allow an earned run in 16 1/3 innings with the IronBirds. He averaged 11.7 strikeouts per nine innings this season.