PHILADELPHIA – Games over the next two months that can’t get the Orioles back into a playoff chase have the power to elevate a young pitcher in the eyes of his bosses. For as long as he’s allowed to stay on the mound.
Left-hander Cade Povich returned from the injured list today to make his first appearance in almost two months, and he came within an infield hit of his third quality start of the season and first since April 24.
Interim manager Tony Mansolino removed Povich after 5 2/3 innings, choosing to let Corbin Martin face Nick Castellanos with the score tied. The matchup mattered more than determining whether Povich could work out of his own jam.
Martin saw six batters and retired none. Harrison Bader hit a three-run homer, Kyle Schwarber greeted Yaramil Hiraldo with a grand slam and the eight-run inning propelled the Phillies to a 13-3 victory before an announced crowd of 41,099 at Citizens Bank Park.
Elvin Rodríguez worked the eighth, becoming the 56th player used by the Orioles, and Edmundo Sosa and Weston Wilson hit back-to-back home runs. When a game unravels for this team, it leaves a huge mess.
The Orioles are 51-62 overall and 1-3 on the road trip that began the post-deadline phase of their lives.
Castellanos singled off Martin and Bader drove a fastball into the left field seats. The next three batters singled, with Wilson scoring pinch-runner Bryson Stott. Trea Turner walked, Hiraldo replaced Martin and Schwarber homered for the second time tonight.
The place got louder.
Povich surrendered two home runs to offset the two hit by the Orioles within the first three innings, but he retired nine of his last 11 batters. J.T. Realmuto reached on an infield single with two outs in the sixth, a play so close that the Orioles challenged the call, and Povich was finished after 90 pitches.
Mansolino knows that the club has a chance to evaluate players, but he’s also trying to win. Maybe he rolls the dice with Povich if the lefty isn’t fresh off the IL. Maybe it doesn't matter.
Martin allowed one run in his first 8 1/3 innings with the Orioles. The six runs tonight raised his ERA from 1.08 to 7.56.
Tyler O’Neill has recovered from the illness that kept him on the bench for two days. His bat met a 97 mph fastball from Jesús Luzardo in the second inning, after Adley Rutschman’s leadoff double, and sent it 417 feet to left field at 106.3 mph to give the Orioles a 2-1 lead.
Bryce Harper homered with two outs in the first, a sweeper also traveling 417 feet, but O’Neill hit his fifth in his last seven starts to give him 300 career RBIs.
The lead grew to 3-1 in the third with Jordan Westburg’s 13th homer of the season, but Schwarber stepped to the plate with two outs in the bottom half and a runner on first base, and he launched a fastball 427 feet into the second deck in right field at 110.9 mph to tie the score.
Luzardo retired 11 in a row after Gunnar Henderson’s single in the third inning. He didn’t return for the seventh. He was off the clock.
The Orioles had won 13 of their last 16 games against left-handed starters dating back to June 14, but they lost steam after the early homers and their bullpen imploded.