Orioles get back in win column behind stellar Sugano (updated)

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Entering tonight’s game against the Angels, the Orioles had gone 16 consecutive games without scoring a first-inning run. 

That changed on a 1-0 count to Gunnar Henderson. 

Kyle Hendricks, better known for his days with the Cubs, threw a changeup that caught too much of the plate, and Henderson drove it 400 feet to right field. An early lead became a 4-1 victory, and behind a stellar start from Tomoyuki Sugano, the Orioles got back in the win column.

“He’s got the art of pitching down,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “The way he changes speeds and moves the ball around, super unpredictable, keeps hitters off balance. And we played really good defense behind him tonight. When we needed it, Tomo stepped up for us.”

Thanks to Henderson, Sugano entered the bottom of the first frame with a lead, a luxury they haven’t had often in 2025. The MLB newcomer went 1-2-3, and the O’s were off and running. 

“Yeah, just had good mindsets, good at-bats going into it," Henderson said. "I felt like we strung together a lot of good at-bats today and a lot of potential for more runs.”

Things kept rolling for the offense in the second. Ryan O’Hearn and Tyler O’Neill drew walks to start the frame, and a first-pitch ambush single from Jackson Holliday plated O’Hearn and advanced O’Neill to third. Emmanuel Rivera kept the line moving to score another and it was quickly 3-0 Orioles. How about that for a change? 

It provided plenty of cushion for Sugano. Since the fourth start of his big league career, the right-hander has been cruising. Entering tonight’s contest against the Angels, Sugano had allowed just seven total earned runs in his previous four outings, spanning 25 innings. His start in Anaheim showed much of the same, as the right-hander went 7 ⅓ innings, surrendering just one earned run and three baserunners. 

"Especially when the team is struggling like this, if I can get a good outing like this, I’m personally happy about it," Sugano said through interpreter Yuto Sakurai. "If I can get the momentum going from today, yeah, I’m glad I’m able to do this kind of job."

The first Angels threat of the ballgame came with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning, as Luis Rengifo doubled on a scorcher over the head of Cedric Mullins. But Sugano quickly shut things down, inducing a Jo Adell groundout to end the inning.

That groundout featured another smooth play from Rivera at the hot corner, and exemplified another theme of the night for Baltimore: great defense. 

Rivera’s partner across the diamond, Ryan Mountcastle, flashed the leather with a few spectacular plays at first base. A scoop and a dive made the highlight reel, which almost rolls off the tongue as well as a bloop and a blast. Mountcastle entered play as one of the best defenders at the position in the game based on Statcast’s outs above average metric.

O’Hearn and O’Neill kicked off the sixth in very similar fashion to the second. This time, instead of drawing a pair of walks, they smacked a pair of singles to end Hendricks’ night. New arm Reid Detmers, a lefty, was tasked with working out of a jam, which he did. Holliday struck out after going down 0-2 with two bunt attempts, Laureano flew out and Rivera lined out. 

In the bottom of the seventh, the Angels showed some brief signs of life. 

Yoán Moncada roped a triple down the right field line and a Taylor Ward groundout sent him home. That cut the Orioles’ lead to 3-1, but it was the only damage that Sugano would surrender all night. 

The bullpen made things more exciting than necessary. Yennier Cano entered the game and allowed the first two hitters he saw reach base, then struck out Zach Neto in a dramatic 13-pitch at-bat that included seven consecutive foul balls. He exited in favor of Keegan Akin, who retired Nolan Shanuel after falling behind 3-0 in the count. That put an end to that threat. 

Henderson ripped a triple down the first-base line in the eighth to score Adley Rutschman in the top of the ninth, and Félix Bautista had an extra run of breathing room. 

That was more than enough for The Mountain, who went 1-2-3 in a clean ninth inning. 

Baltimore had gone without a complete team effort for a long stretch, perhaps since their series against the Yankees to close out April. But tonight, the O’s scored runs early and cashed in on at least some opportunities with runners in scoring position while starting pitching didn’t take them out of things. 

That’s the kind of baseball that this team is capable of playing. Tonight, they showed that they still had it in them.

And perhaps as significant as what happened on the field was what happened in the clubhouse after the game. 

Waiting outside the O's clubhouse for Hyde's postgame press conference, the media in Anaheim could hear the joyous shouts and cathartic yells of a victorious group. From quite literally an outside perspective, it sounded as if Baltimore had found some fire that had been absent as of late. Kyle Gibson, unsurprisingly, was a catalyst. 

"I think it was a meaningful win today," Sugano said. "On the way back from Minnesota to here, Gibby made a really good speech to kind of give us some momentum to go into this game today."

"I thought our guys were really into it, and you could hear that," Hyde said. "It’s been a grind for all of us, players included, staff and everybody."

It was far from a perfect night. Offensively, despite scoring just four runs, the quality of at-bats seemed better across the board. Cano worked himself into trouble in the bottom of the eighth, but Akin and Bautista closed the door. 

Granted, the Angels entered play on a skid of their own, losers of seven of their last 10 games. And yes, the Orioles will need to prove their worth against the cream of the crop in the American League. 

But for an O’s team searching for answers, they needed to start somewhere. Even if, in this case, it was against a team that they should’ve beaten, with a starting pitcher who entered play with a 5.28 ERA. 

There have been enough games on the early season schedule that resulted in a loss that Baltimore “should’ve” won, at least on paper. Tonight, on paper favorites or otherwise, they won on the field.

And after the game, as a triumphant clubhouse shouted in post-win elation, they won off of it, too.