WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Pitching has led the way for the Orioles in their recent stretch of success.
They didn’t allow more than three earned runs in any of their games against the White Sox and Mariners, a streak that was snapped last night. They hadn’t had a blowup outing from a starting pitcher since Zach Eflin’s eight earned runs against the Nationals on May 18.
That streak ended tonight as well. Charlie Morton allowed four runs in the first inning, and the Orioles found themselves staring at a first-inning deficit.
Call it momentum or a mentality shift, but tonight, things were different.
Early in the season, a start like that might have buried Baltimore. On a pleasant night in West Sacramento, though, the Birds battled back and came out on top 7-4.
It’s the first time Baltimore scored more than five runs since May 21 against the Brewers.
The night couldn’t have started much better for the O’s offense.
Jackson Holliday led things off with a five-pitch walk. Adley Rutschman followed with an eight-pitch walk, and Gunnar Henderson dropped a single into shallow left field.
In the blink of an eye, the bases were loaded for Ryan O’Hearn. His sacrifice fly scored Holliday, and Baltimore sprinted out of the gates with a 1-0 lead.
But after Ramón Laureano hit into a double play, the Orioles left the inning with just one run crossing the plate.
Morton’s night couldn’t have started much worse.
Lawrence Butler hit a long fly ball to the left field warning track, and a misplay from Dylan Carlson allowed him to pull into second. Jacob Wilson promptly followed it up with an RBI single to tie the game at one.
Brent Rooker kept the line moving with a single of his own and Tyler Soderstrom walked to load the bases with nobody away. Both teams had the bags juiced before the end of the first frame, but the Athletics made more of their opportunity.
The following at-bats went: strikeout, single, walk, strikeout, single, strikeout. Butler was the final out of the inning after being the first damage of the frame, and four runs had crossed the board.
In the blink of an eye, the Orioles were staring at a 4-1 game. It’s a situation that was all too familiar in the beginning of the year, but something Baltimore had avoided as of late.
Morton didn’t allow a run in the second inning, but got himself into more trouble in the third. The veteran only recorded one out in the inning, and was pulled in favor of Matt Bowman.
His final line read: 2 ⅓ innings and four earned runs on six hits, with five strikeouts and four walks. Not the best night at the office.
Baltimore’s offense wouldn’t go down without a fight.
To start the fourth inning, O’Hearn lined a sharp single to left. Laureano followed it up by launching a home run to left field, bringing the Orioles back within one.
In the fifth, the Birds found some two-out magic. Rutschman roped a double down the right field line, and Henderson brought him home on a sharp single that found some outfield grass.
A night that got off to a disastrous start suddenly had a clean slate.
It had one, in large part, because of Bowman.
Entering the game for Morton, Bowman tossed 2 ⅓ innings of relief with no runs and no hits. In addition to the clean sheet, it saved the bullpen for the rest of a close game. That’s value far beyond the box score.
The Orioles did well with their fresh start.
With one out in the sixth, a ball off the bat of Colton Cowser made a noise that every baseball fan knows well: a no-doubter. The Milkman demolished a first-pitch cutter over the right field lawn, a solo home run that traveled 455 feet thanks to a 112.4 mph exit velocity. According to mlb.com's Sarah Langs, it’s the longest Orioles home run since Ryan Mountcastle launched one 472 feet in 2023.
Later in the frame, with runners on second and third, Holliday’s speed helped force an E5 to bring another runner home. Just like that, Baltimore was back on top 6-4.
In the seventh, they added on. Henderson was sent around third on an incredibly aggressive send from new third base coach Buck Britton, and with great speed and a great slide, he tacked on another insurance run, giving the O’s a 7-4 advantage.
The offense's big night may be the leading story, but the bullpen deserves a ton of credit. Morton allowed four earned runs in the first, and the Athletics didn't score the rest of the way, thanks to Bowman, Keegan Akin, Seranthony Domínguez, Gregory Soto and Andrew Kittredge. That group combined to allow just five baserunners and struck out six.
Félix Bautista came on in the ninth to join the fun. After a leadoff walk, the bottom of the A's lineup was no trouble the rest of the way. Ballgame.
Despite trailing 4-1 in the first, a middle-inning wave of offense helped the Orioles storm back, and the bullpen gave them the chance to do so. The Orioles will look to carry that momentum into a rubber match tomorrow afternoon, a chance to win their third straight series.