Bradish ineffective as Orioles’ woes against lefties continue in 5-3 loss to Red Sox

BALTIMORE–What happened? After losing 17-1 on Saturday and then hearing that the Boston Red Sox abruptly fired longtime manager Alex Cora and six of his coaches, perhaps the Orioles could have expected a bounce-back.

Instead, they were the ones playing a listless game, getting only four hits against a left-handed pitcher they hadn’t seen before, Connelly Early, and losing, 5-3, to the Red Sox before 32,511 at Oriole Park on Sunday.

The Orioles are winless in six games against left-handed starters.

Manager Craig Albernaz pointed out that the Orioles faced two excellent left-handed starters on consecutive days, Garrett Crochet and Early. Cleveland’s Parker Messick no-hit them for eight innings on April 16^th.

“Early, I felt like we had great swings, barreling up balls,” Albernaz said. “Some at people, some just straight up, just missing them. And he did a great job of making adjustments and pitching more.

“He started utilizing all three breaking balls to guys, got the changeup going, and our hitters didn’t make an adjustment. It was just, he was pounding the strike zone, he was being efficient with his pitches, and we just couldn’t really get anything going. We couldn’t draw a walk. I think we had one walk, so we couldn’t get much traffic on base.”

Left-handed hitters Samuel Basallo and Gunnar Henderson hit home runs against Early, who pitched 6 2/3 innings.

Kyle Bradish continues to flounder. He allowed three runs on four hits in five innings. He walked four, and though none scored, those extra pitches forced him out of the game after throwing 88 pitches.

“The walks, for any starting pitcher, it’s always what you don’t want,” Albernaz said. “He was behind to a lot of hitters and it’s tough to pitch that way, even with Bradish’s stuff. He did a great job minimizing damage early, just because of how elite he is.

“His breaking balls, both of them, are among the best in the league. And it always goes back to just establishing the strike zone and strike one, getting ahead of hitters and gaining count leverage. And the count leverage was eluding him today.”

Willson Contreras hit a three-run home run in the fifth on a hanging slider.

“I just need to be more competitive in the zone and the walks will come down,” Bradish said. “Some of the walks aren’t the worst thing in the world. Like today, they weren’t scoring, but just overall in the first six [starts], the walks are way too high.”

Grant Wolfram faced three batters in the sixth. All three reached, and two scored.

The Orioles made it closer in the eighth — a Henderson single to left scoring Colton Cowser against Garrett Whitlock.

“I know we have a lot of guys that are swinging it right now,” Henderson said. “I’d like to take some of the responsibility. I haven’t really been getting on base for the guys behind me. Being able to do that, I just got to keep working my butt off.”

Aroldis Chapman pitched a perfect ninth for his fifth save.

Why do the Orioles struggle against left-handers? The Orioles are hitting just .222 with a .687 OPS against left-handers. Against right-handers, they’re hitting .244 with a .733 OPS.

“The lefties that we’ve faced, they’ve been some of the best in the game,” Henderson said. “We know we can hit them. It’s just a matter of going out and doing it.”

What did Albernaz think about Cora’s firing? Just before Albernaz appeared for his postgame session, loud cheering was heard through the wall that separates the interview room from the visitor’s clubhouse.

The Red Sox were celebrating interim manager Chad Tracy’s first win, and Albernaz said he was sorry to learn about Cora’s dismissal.

“I got to know AC over the years and he always treated me awesome and with great respect and he’s a great baseball dude,” Albernaz said.

“You hate to see anyone lose their job, and I would imagine on Boston’s side, it was an extremely tough decision with everything he brought there, and winning the World Series in ’18, and how competitive they have been and still are. It’s tough to hear. But knowing AC, he’ll land on his feet and he’ll be just fine.”

What does it mean? Bradish’s starts have been sloppy, but he doesn’t seem far from having a successful season.

What’s the word? “As a team perspective, I just feel like keep stringing good at bats together. I feel like that’s the name of it. Just keep getting on base and obviously give yourself opportunities to score early, and pitchers will have your back.”–Henderson on what the Orioles need to do.

What’s the stat of the day? 22-4. After winning 10-3 on Friday, the Orioles were outscored 22-4 in the last two games of the series.

What’s going on in the minor leagues? Triple-A Norfolk starter Trey Gibson left his start after taking a comebacker to the left leg in the third inning of Triple-A Norfolk’s 14-4 loss to Memphis.

The Tides committed four errors, and nine of the 14 runs they gave up were unearned. Gibson allowed five runs, four unearned, on three hits in 2 2/3 innings. Catcher Danny Ardoin homered and drove in three runs.

Anderson De Los Santos drove in three runs and Brandon Butterworth homered in Double-A Chesapeake’s 10-5 loss to Akron.

Jordan Sanchez had four hits and homered in Single-A Delmarva’s 6-3 loss to Wilson.

Vance Honeycutt, the Orioles top draft pick in 2024, was removed from High-A Frederick’s game with Wilmington due to left thumb discomfort.

What’s next? After Monday’s offday, the Orioles will open a three-game series against the Houston Astros on Tuesday night at 6:35. Shane Baz (0-2, 5.08) will start for the Orioles. Houston has yet to name its starter.

Call for questions: Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com