Orioles manager Brandon Hyde would need his bullpen earlier than he wanted. A 35-pitch second inning from Kyle Gibson wasn’t conducive to a lengthy start. A 34-pitch third finally brought the hook.
Gibson registered his shortest start with the Orioles tonight while allowing five runs, and they dropped the series opener to the Mariners 13-1 before an announced crowd of 16,234 at Camden Yards that waited through a one hour, 40 minute rain delay.
The Rays lead the Orioles by 5 ½ games after their win tonight. The Yankees and Blue Jays lost.
Anthony Santander homered off Logan Gilbert in the seventh inning to break up the shutout bid and give the Orioles their second hit. The Mariners answered with seven runs in the eighth, all charged to Keegan Akin, to make the blowout official.
The margin freed Hyde to send Josh Lester to the mound in the ninth for the infielder’s professional pitching debut. He didn’t allow a run after Tom Murphy’s leadoff double, striking out Jarred Kelenic looking at a 62.3 mph “slider.” A walk was mixed in with two popups.