Jackson’s pinch-hit double in 8th lifts Orioles past Cubs, 3-2

BALTIMORE–What happened? Through seven innings, the Orioles had just a run on two hits, none since the second inning. After Gunnar Henderson and Pete Alonso were hit with pitches thrown by Chicago Cubs reliever Tyler Ferguson, Jeremiah Jackson doubled to score both runners and lead the Orioles to a 3-2 win before 12,052 at Camden Yards on Thursday.

It broke a three-game losing streak for the Orioles (43-51). They had lost five of their last six one-run games and are 7-14 in games decided by one run.

After the completion of Wednesday night’s game, the Orioles announced that because of an unfavorable weather forecast, Thursday’s game would begin at 1:35 p.m. instead of the scheduled 6:35 start. Fortunately, hard rain held off until the final moments of the game.

Many fans were unable to attend because of the hastily rescheduled start, and perhaps half of those who came were rooting for the Cubs.

After Seiya Suzuki’s RBI double against Oriole reliever Tyler Wells (2-1) scored Pete Crow-Armstrong in the top of the eighth, the Orioles trailed, 2-1.

With Henderson and Alonso on first and second, Ryan Rolison replaced Ferguson.

Had Ferguson (0-1) remained in the game, Dylan Beavers would have pinch-hit for Tyler O’Neill, but against the left-handed Rolison, manager Craig Albernaz had Jackson hit for Beavers, and he doubled to right-center for the two RBIs.

“That’s a move we were anticipating,” Albernaz said. “It’s something that we’ve been talking about for a while, and the right opportunity presented itself. Rolison is a really tough lefty and once they made the move, J.J. was ready to hit.

“We liked the matchup just because how J.J. can handle the bat, and with his arsenal, it’s still a tough at-bat for a righty, but he throws a lot of strikes and J.J. was ready for the moment. So it’s a great job by J.J. and Beavs was on board with it, too. It was a great at-bat and Pete did an outstanding job running the bases there to score.”

Jackson was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk for five days when the Orioles carried a third catcher because of the concussion to Adley Rutschman. Jackson again showed his value.

“There’s been some good times, some bad times in the big important spots,” Jackson said. “But, I mean, anytime you can get it done, you definitely celebrate that win. All in all, it’s all about winning, and the hit helped us win. As far as I’m concerned, I did my job.”

Andrew Kittredge pitched the ninth for his second save, but he had to withstand some drama. Nico Hoerner reached when shortstop Gunnar Henderson booted his grounder. He tried to steal second but was thrown out by catcher Samuel Basallo when he overslid the bag and Henderson kept the tag on.

Ian Happ singled and was out at second when Dansby Swanson hit into a force play. Swanson stole second. Pinch-hitter Michael Conforto lined to left and the grounds crew quickly hustled to cover the field.

It was the seventh time the Orioles produced only three hits and the second time they won.

O’Neill hit his sixth home run, his third in the last two games, against David Peterson to lead off the fifth.

Oriole starter Trevor Rogers allowed only Suzuki’s 15^th home run with one out in the sixth.

The Cubs (52-41) had two excellent scoring chances against Rogers in the first and fourth.

In the first, after Alex Bregman walked with one out, Suzuki grounded to Blaze Alexander at second, who missed the tag on Bregman and threw wildly to first. Suzuki beat the belated throw, and Bregman went to third on the throwing error.

Rogers struck out Carson Kelly and Michael Busch flied to right.

In the fourth, Busch singled with one out, and tried to score on Hoerner’s double to left. Leftfielder Taylor Ward threw to Henderson, whose relay home to Basallo was perfect, allowing Basallo to make the tag.

Rogers allowed one run on five hits in six innings, walking two and striking out four.

Ward singled with one out in the first, and Peterson completed five innings, giving up one run on two hits.

How did Rogers pitch? Rogers continued his string of outstanding starts, and they’ve kept the Orioles in games. In his last four starts, Rogers has limited opponents to two runs on 13 hits in 24 1/3 innings. In May, he had a 10.31 ERA

“I think that month of May, I think I got better from it,” Rogers said. “It just showed I need to really command the ball around the plate and mix my locations to have success, and I think I did that. Just lock in for these three days and enjoy the break, spend some family time and get ready for the second half.”

How was Kittredge closing? Despite Kittredge pitching in high-leverage spots in his 10-year career, this was only his 22^nd save.

“I just try to treat it the same,” Kittredge said. “I think the biggest thing is just trying to slow your heart rate. That moment can feel big out there. So the more you can keep a steady heart rate and try to calm yourself down and try to treat it like any other inning. It’s easier said than done sometimes. That’s where I try to get comfortable with it, is just trying to stay calm and keep the heart rate low.”

What does it mean? It was only one win, and the Orioles are a long way from serious contention, but a loss would have dropped them 10 games below .500.

“Any win against a good team, I feel like you can get momentum out of. We have such a talented group in here,” Kittredge said. “It’s kind of like we’re waiting for it to kind of come together. A win like this really feels like it’s a step in the right direction.”

What’s the stat of the day? 3. O’Neill became the first Oriole to homer in three consecutive plate appearances since Ryan Mountcastle hit three in a game on June 21^st, 2021.

What’s the word?  “Anytime we can carry momentum it’s good. Obviously, All-Star break’s coming up, but I think as far as we’re concerned, we’re just ready to play. I think we’re more concerned with just taking it day by day. Yeah, I mean, obviously we want we want to win them all, so looking forward to it.”-Jackson on the importance of the win.

What’s going on in the minor leagues? High-A Frederick’s game with Jersey Shore was postponed. It will be made as a doubleheader on Saturday.

With catcher Chadwick Tromp reporting to Triple-A Norfolk, catcher Silas Ardoin has been transferred to Double-A Chesapeake.

What’s next? The Orioles will host the Kansas City Royals for three final games before the All-Star break. Brandon Young (7-2, 3.38) will start against Luinder Avila (4-3, 5.05) on Friday night at 7:05.

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