Cowser double in ninth keeps Orioles rolling in 3-2 win (updated)

PHILADELPHIA – A line drive traveling 356 feet the other way became Jordan Westburg’s first major league home run.

He couldn’t pause to admire it, as Gunnar Henderson did yesterday with a 446-foot shot off the D-catwalk ring at Tropicana Field. Westburg raced out of the box, slowed into his home run trot and pointed his index finger toward the outfield as he approached second base.

Westburg put a sinker about three rows deep into the right field corner in the second inning. He also put the Orioles in a favorable spot, with their 31-8 record when scoring first leading the majors before tonight.

Ryan Mountcastle broke a tie with a 451-foot homer to center field in the sixth, Colton Cowser broke another in the ninth with a two-out bloop double down the left field line and a short bullpen held up at the end in a 3-2 victory before an announced sellout crowd of 44,043 at Citizens Bank Park.

There’s no slowing this team, which has won five of six games, 13 of 16 and 14 of 19. The Orioles are a season-high 24 games above .500 at 62-38, including 32-18 on the road. And they lead the idle Rays by 2 ½.

The Orioles will go 72 consecutive series without being swept. A win Tuesday or Wednesday night would allow then to claim their 20^th series.

"We've been doing that quite a bit," said manager Brandon Hyde. "For those who have been watching this club, it's been a lot of games like that.

"Our guys are used to kind of craziness in the last few innings. We don't really blow people out and we don't get blown out very often. Usually, the games are tight."

Westburg's homer came in his 20th major league game. The fans who retrieved the ball were waiting to meet him and make a swap.

"I honestly think I was more excited than he was," Cowser said.

"I was watching it all the way down the line," Westburg said. "Thought it might have a chance. Was just hoping that it stayed fair. Been waiting for it for a while. Allowed me to take a big, deep breath, which is really nice.

"There's been some emotional ups and downs for me. I feel like I've been putting a lot of pressure on myself in opportunities that I've been getting, and it's just hard to play that way. (But) it's been fun, first and foremost. It's been awesome. This is something I've already dreamed of doing. I couldn't be happier to be part of this club, I couldn't be happier to be part of a winning club, and I'm just trying to play my role right now. Trying to give up a little bit of myself for the betterment of the team, the betterment of the organization. Looking forward to what that brings in the future."

Félix Bautista, Yennier Cano and Mike Baumann were down tonight, leaving Hyde to plot how to protect a slim lead.

Danny Coulombe got the eighth and Johan Rojas led off with an infield hit on a scorching ground ball that third baseman Ramón Urías couldn’t backhand. Rojas swiped second base, Kyle Schwarber walked and Edmundo Sosa lined into a 5-4 double play with the count full.

Bryce Harper lined a single into center field off Coulombe and Nick Castellanos singled into left-center off Bryan Baker. Harper was thrown out at the plate – Cowser to Jorge Mateo to James McCann.

"I knew there was a foul ball the pitch before that and he had a really big lead out there, trying to score on something like that," Cowser said. "The ball's hit to my right. I was really just trying to get it in, something that Jorge could handle. He made a great pick, kind of short-hopped him."

Cowser batted in the ninth against Craig Kimbrel with Henderson on third base after a walk, wild pitch and Ryan O’Hearn groundout, and his fly ball eluded a diving Schwarber. Cowser also had a game-winning sacrifice fly Thursday at Tropicana Field.

"It felt really good," said Cowser, playing in his 15th major league game. "Especially yesterday, I had a couple of hard-hit balls, didn't get down. Baseball's such a weird game."

Cionel Pérez registered his second career save, the other on June 12, 2022 in Kansas City, after Alec Bohm singled with two outs and J.T. Realmuto walked.

"I was going to ride Pérez until we won or lost," Hyde said, "and he got through it."

Aaron Hicks limped off the field in the bottom of the third inning with left hamstring cramping after making a diving attempt at Rojas’ fly ball with one out. Hicks was ruled to have made the catch, though replays showed the ball roll out of his glove. The Phillies didn’t challenge.

Hicks threw the ball from one knee and sat up as left fielder Austin Hays rushed to check on him. Dean Kremer held up both arms to salute Hicks, hat in his right hand. Hyde and head athletic trainer Brian Ebel came out of the dugout, and Cowser replaced Hicks.

"We're hoping that it's a cramp in the hamstring," Hyde said. "He's going to be reevaluated tomorrow. It could be a strain, it could be a cramp. Get it checked out and make a decision on him tomorrow."

Center fielder Cedric Mullins returned to the injured list with a right adductor groin strain. Losing Hicks for a significant period might influence the Orioles’ plans at the trade deadline.

For now, he’s likely to be designated as day-to-day, keeping Ryan McKenna at Triple-A Norfolk.

Mateo came up hobbling in the fifth after Jake Cave’s foot slipped off second base on a force play and his spikes dug into the shortstop’s left shin. Mateo tested the leg by jogging into shallow center field and stayed in the game.

Cave, a brief offseason resident of the Orioles’ 40-man roster, led off the inning with a single, and Kremer fielded Garrett Stubbs’ grounder and threw to second. A wild pitch, Rojas single and stolen base put two runners in scoring position, and Schwarber’s fly ball to center tied the game.

Mountcastle crushed a first-pitch slider from left-hander Cristopher Sánchez with one out in the sixth for his 12^th home run and first since May 24. It was the longest home run at Citizens Bank Park this season.

Kremer registered his 10^th quality start with one run and three hits over seven innings that matched his season high. He walked two batters, half his total over 4 2/3 in his last outing, and threw 95 pitches before leaving.

"I think we had a good plan and I think we executed it as best as we could, the best of our ability," said Kremer, who's 4-0 with a 1.78 ERA in five career starts against the National League East. "The defense was outstanding tonight. That definitely helps.

"It was a really cool atmosphere here. Talking to Gibby (Kyle Gibson) after the game, he said when they were winning a lot toward the end of last year, it was like this most nights. It's really loud here. PitchCom was kind of hard to hear, but had a lot of fun."

Kremer knew the bullpen situation and how he needed to give the team length. He did it.

"Makes it easier to sleep," he said. "Still not easy to sleep, but yeah, just trying to give the bullpen a break."

Sánchez hadn’t allowed another run after Westburg’s homer until Mountcastle flexed. He allowed four hits, walked none and struck out eight in seven innings.

McCann led off the third inning with a single and Mateo grounded into a double play. Anthony Santander reached on Trea Turner’s error leading off the fourth and Sánchez retired the next three hitters.

Urías singled in the fifth and Mateo reached with two outs on another Turner fielding error, but Hays struck out.

Plate umpire Will Little ejected Turner in the fifth after a disputed called third strike that ended the inning, the tossing of bat and helmet and a few more angry words.

Hyde had nothing but praise for his club.

"Like we talk about a lot, it's got to be somebody different every night," he said, "and tonight was a few different guys."