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ATLANTA – Nothing says Fourth of July quite like baseball. The home team even wore red white and blue.
The home fans just went home blue, though, as the Orioles did their best USA impression to take down the guys wearing red, 3-2. Luckily, the Braves didn’t have to wear red coats in the Atlanta heat.
The headliners of tonight’s contest, outside of the fireworks show, included the returning Jordan Westburg and Tyler O’Neill, who combined to reach base five times tonight.
"Yeah, I think two of the three runs, right?" interim manager Tony Mansolino said after the game. "TO (O'Neill) led off the inning with a single then came around on the home run by Ced (Cedric Mullins) and then Westy with the big home run there to get us on the board."
Westburg’s return to the lineup started off on the right note with an infield single. Gunnar Henderson followed with a double down the line to put the O’s in business, but Ryan O’Hearn and Ramón Laureano couldn’t capitalize.
Orioles starter Charlie Morton danced out of a similar jam in the bottom of the second. Two runners on, nobody out and Ozzie Albies at the dish. Morton worked a nine-pitch strikeout, and only needed five pitches to find two more outs.
It was Morton’s first time back in Atlanta after spending the previous four seasons in a Braves uniform. They’re also the organization that drafted Morton out of high school back in 2002 before eventually trading him to the Pirates after one big league season. In his second stint with Atlanta, he helped the Braves win their first World Series of the century in 2021.
Morton, an incredibly transparent and introspective player, shared a thoughtful response to being back.
"I spent basically half my career here," Morton said. "Being drafted here, I spent seven years in the system and made it to the big leagues, made my debut, got to play for Bobby Cox, got to play with some of the pillars of this organization and got to walk in and be in the clubhouse with some of those guys. And then, obviously, I get to come back and win a World Series here.
"It’s a special place for me. It just is. I grew up paying attention to the pitchers in the ‘90s and the team in the ‘90s, and then getting drafted and, obviously, I’m going through the system and playing in all the small towns that we played in. And then getting to come back here, I think Atlanta and the Braves organization will always be a special place, a special team for me."
That thing about Westburg’s return getting off to a good start? It got even better in the third inning. The third baseman took a 1-0 Spencer Strider fastball the other way for a solo shot, giving the O’s an early 1-0 advantage.
"One through nine, just seemed to me, had a competitive approach," Westburg said. "I think the key to facing an ace is kind of giving them credit and not getting too arrogant and cocky, but also knowing that we’re in the big leagues for a reason. As long as we’re focused on, each individual’s focused on their plan and trying to pass the bat back one at a time, I feel like that’s kind of when things start to happen."
In the bottom of the frame, Morton just kept on dancing. With runners on second and third with one out and a slim lead in the balance, the veteran induced a strikeout and a flyout to get out of the jam once again.
To the fifth, the O’s offense gave Morton some more breathing room. With a runner on, Mullins didn’t miss a 2-2 mistake from Strider. His slider caught too much of the plate, and Mullins sent it nearly 400 feet to the Chop House in right field. His 13th home run of the season gave Baltimore a 3-0 lead.
Everything was working for Baltimore on the other side through the middle innings. Morton was generating whiffs left and right, and a web gem from Jackson Holliday in the fifth didn’t hurt. That dude was spinning it, as MASN analyst Ben McDonald might say.
"I felt good," Morton said. "I thought Gary (Sánchez, who caught Morton in the game) did a great job. I think he had a really good feel for where those guys were at and made it a lot easier."
Things changed a bit in the sixth inning. Braves catcher Drake Baldwin saw Mullins’ home run and sent one to almost the identical spot in the right-field bleachers. Like Mullins’ long ball, it was of the two-run variety, and it put Atlanta right back in the game.
Just like that, a night in which Morton was cruising saw him exit in a one-run ballgame. Nonetheless, it was a solid line for the former Brave, who gave way to Andrew Kittredge after 5 ⅓ innings and two earned runs on six hits and a walk with seven strikeouts.
"To come in here, and there’s some pretty big names in that lineup you know, in a tough place and to throw the ball the way he did, it was great for us," Mansolino said.
It would be up to the bullpen to bring things home.
Kittredge certainly did his part. He needed only 12 pitches to get through an inning and a third, only throwing three balls in the process. By my calculation, that’s more outs recorded than balls thrown. Bryan Baker took his place in the bottom of the eighth and was dominant, too. Three batters, three outs.
Félix Bautista closed the door with a dominant bottom of the ninth, and that was the ballgame.
This was the kind of night that the Orioles needed as they faced yet another top-end right-handed starter. Between Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi and Strider, the O's put together just five runs. But tonight, they generated traffic on the bases and put together more competitive at-bats, including two home runs. It was certainly a step in the right direction despite the top competition.
The story of the Orioles and Braves has been eerily parallel: Two teams marred by injuries and underperformances that are trying everything to find their way back into the hunt. Both entered the year with not only postseason aspirations, but the talent to make a deep playoff push. A lot can change in the second half of the season, but thus far, these two clubs are suffering a similar fate.
Tonight, the O's came out on top, and they'll have a chance to take the series tomorrow.
