Mountcastle leaves game with left shoulder discomfort (O's lose 1-0)

Ryan Mountcastle drew a painful walk tonight in the bottom of the first inning.

Losing him could severely hurt the Orioles.

Mountcastle fouled off a sinker from Cardinals' starter Drew Rom to leave the count 2-2, took two pitches out of the strike zone and headed to first base. He was grimacing and rotating his left arm as if experiencing shoulder discomfort.

Head athletic trainer Brian Ebel and manager Brandon Hyde checked on Mountcastle, who swung the arm back and forth and stayed in the game. But the pain was lingering.

He paced after every pitch in the top of the second, rubbed the shoulder, rotated his arm a few more times and at least twice removed the mitt. He followed Ebel down the dugout tunnel, but returned to the field in the top of the third.

Ramón Urías moved on deck to bat for Mountcastle in the bottom of the third, and he’s playing first base.

The initial update from the club was "left shoulder discomfort." Mountcastle said the shoulder "wasn't great" and he'll undergo an MRI Thursday, with manager Brandon Hyde describing his status as day-to-day.

"Not sure what happened, but we'll see tomorrow," Mountcastle said after getting dressed at his locker, his mood somber.

Asked if he's concerned, Mountcastle said, "Yeah. I mean, it doesn't feel good. Just praying for the best.

"Took a swing, popped and just, it's where it is. I don't know what it is."

Mountcastle swung in the cage and knew he wasn't ready to continue. Hyde saw him wince on the foul ball.

"Hopefully, he's better tomorrow," Hyde said. "We're just not sure right now."

There isn't a good time to lose Mountcastle, but it's much worse with the Rays coming to town for a four-game series.

"Obviously, you don't want to lose anybody right now and especially Ryan," Hyde said. "We'll see. Hopefully, he's OK tomorrow."

The Orioles have experienced life without Mountcastle and don’t want to repeat it.

Mountcastle missed a month of the season due to bouts of vertigo, returning to the club on July 9 after a rehab assignment. He’s batting .324/.403/.494 in 50 games in the second half, with eight doubles, seven home runs and 27 RBIs.

Overall, Mountcastle is slashing .269/.325/.453 in 111 games with 20 doubles, a triple, 18 home runs and 67 RBIs. He was hitting .340 with a 1.052 OPS against left-handers before facing Rom tonight.

Heston Kjerstad was removed for a pinch-hitter tonight in Triple-A Norfolk after starting the game in right field and going 0-for-1 with a walk.

This is likely related to Mountcastle’s exit and the possibility of a roster move. At least have Kjerstad on standby just in case.

Kjerstad is the organization’s No. 3 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, and the 24^th in baseball. The second-overall pick in the 2020 draft was batting .299/.371/.500 with 19 doubles, five triples, 10 homers and 32 RBIs in 75 games with the Tides before tonight. He hit .310 with a .960 OPS, 10 doubles, three triples, 11 homers and 23 RBIs in 46 games with Double-A Bowie.

* The Orioles’ lead in the division is down to two games after tonight’s 1-0 loss to the Cardinals before an announced crowd of 14,442 at Camden Yards.

Their record is 91-54 as they prepare for the Rays. The magic number to clinch a playoff berth holds at four, and it’s 15 to win the American League East.

Cardinals' pitching rationed the Orioles to three hits, including Gunnar Henderson's two-out triple in the ninth inning. Ryan Helsley recorded saves on back-to-back nights and the Orioles were shut out for the eighth time.

Rom, one of the three prospects traded for Jack Flaherty, didn’t allow a hit until Jorge Mateo’s infield single with two outs in the fifth. Richie Palacios ranged behind second base to make a sliding stop and throw, but Mateo beat it on a close play.

Anthony Santander doubled with one out in the sixth and Rom was removed at 93 pitches, 63 for strikes. Rom’s fifth major league start was exceptional, with only two hits allowed, three walks and seven strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings. He earned his first win.

"We didn't square many balls up," Hyde said. "Give him credit. He pitched really well. We had a tough time hitting his fastball and he kind of kept them off-balance with a sweeping slider. We didn't do much."

Reliever Casey Lawrence walked Austin Hays and got out of the jam to keep the Cardinals ahead 1-0.

Urías walked with one out in the eighth and Santander grounded into a double play.

Gibson registered his 16^th quality start, allowing only one run and three hits with three walks and four strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings. He threw 104 pitches, 60 for strikes, but couldn’t get his 15^th win.

Hyde let Gibson come back out for the seventh at 92 pitches. The first two batters were retired before Andrew Knizner doubled. Gibson received a standing ovation and tipped his cap.

Jacob Webb stranded Knizner. DL Hall stranded two in the eighth, and Shintaro Fujinami retired the side in order in the ninth.

Palacios, who played at Towson University, hit his third home run in two nights, a two-out shot to the flag count in the fourth inning for a 1-0 lead. Palacios had one career homer entering the series.

Gibson retired the first two batters, fired a 93.3 mph fastball to Palacios and watched it sail over the out-of-town scoreboard.

"I try to be pretty critical of myself," Gibson said. "Obviously, I'd like to have that pitch back. An 0-0 fastball when I'm trying to get ahead. I didn't rewatch it, but it seemed like it was on the inner third and he put a good swing on it. I'm not going to beat myself up over one pitch. Very rarely are you going to lose games, 1-0, on a team like this that is really good. They just pitched a little better tonight."

The veteran right-hander retired nine batters in a row before Knizner’s double.

* Colton Cowser hit his 15^th home run for Norfolk.

Austin Voth started and allowed one run in two innings. Garrett Stallings followed and surrendered only one run and three hits in seven innings. He walked one batter and struck out seven.

Jud Fabian hit his 15^th home run for Bowie, Silas Ardoin hit his third, Dylan Beavers launched his second and Connor Pavolony hit his first. Beavers drove in three runs.

Seth Johnson, who joined the Baysox today, allowed one earned run and two total in three innings. He struck out four batters.

Trace Bright allowed one earned run and two total with three hits in four innings.