BALTIMORE—The Orioles headed to the West Coast after teasing the fans on Sunday. After scoring two runs in the eighth to take a one-run lead over the Boston Red Sox, reliever Mychal Givens allowed a ninth-inning home run to Marco Hernandez, tying the score, and a leadoff home run to Rafael Devers in the 10th.
The 8-6 loss in 10 innings was the Orioles’ fifth straight and sends them on a seven-game trip to Oakland and Seattle with a 21-50 record.
They were trailing, 2-1, in the eighth. Jonathan Villar led off with a walk. He stole second and third and scored on a wild pitch by Marcus Walden to tie the score.
With two outs, pinch-hitter Stevie Wilkerson tripled to right and scored on Hanser Alberto’s single up the middle, giving the Orioles a 3-2 lead.
In the ninth, Givens tried for his seventh save, but he allowed the one-out home run to Hernandez to tie the score, 3-3.
Mookie Betts tripled, and Givens struck out Christian Vazquez and J.D. Martinez to end the inning. The Orioles didn’t score in the ninth.
Devers’ home run in the 10th was the eighth allowed by Givens, who has converted six save opportunities and blown five.
“We’ve had our fair share of tough losses this year,” said manager Brandon Hyde, who was ejected in the fourth after arguing a controversial play at first. “I’ve never seen a club go through so much in the first few months of the season.
“But I really liked the way we played today. We battled back twice. Jonny Villar made things happen, tied the game for us. A lot of good things happened in today’s game. It just didn’t end well.”
The Red Sox added four more runs in the 10th on two-run singles by Betts and Vazquez against David Hess, who had been moved to the bullpen on Saturday and was sent to Norfolk after the game.
Wilkerson hit a two-run home run, his sixth, and Trey Mancini hit his 16th against Boston reliever Josh Smith in the bottom of the 10th for the final margin.
“Very strange game, but in the end it’s a really tough loss,” Mancini said. “We competed, we played well, but at the end of the day, that’s a game we needed to win.
“Good clubs win those games, and hopefully soon, we’ll do a better job of finishing games off or building bigger leads earlier in the game. There’s a lot of things we can do to improve, but this one’s definitely tough.”
Hyde criticized the team’s performance on Saturday after a sloppy 7-2 loss.
“I think we responded well, and he’s right,” Mancini said. “Everything he said was spot on. Yesterday wasn’t a good performance, top-to-bottom. Today, we did a better job. It wasn’t perfect still, and that’s why we lost the game. We’ve just got to play a little better than that, and maybe we win this one.”
Means’ day: Starter John Means labored through five innings, allowing two runs on seven hits. In his two previous starts against the Red Sox, Means combined to allow two runs on seven hits in 12 innings.
Four of those hits were grouped together in the fourth inning when Boston scored its two runs. Xander Bogaerts and Jackie Bradley Jr. each had RBI doubles.
” It was really a grind,” Means said. “I didn’t have anything today. And to get out of there with five innings and two runs is just — the whole game was just grinding, grinding, grinding. They had a good approach, and I couldn’t get them off it.”
Means threw two wild pitches in the fifth inning, doubling his season total.
Hyde ejected on Father’s Day: The Orioles thought they’d tied the game, 2-2, in the fourth when centerfielder Keon Broxton laid down a bunt near the first base line to score Anthony Santander.
Broxton was ruled out at first, although he wasn’t tagged by first baseman Michael Chavis, who came off the bag on a hurried throw by pitcher Colten Brewer. However, after the umpires conferred, Broxton was ruled out for interference for running inside the baseline, sending Santander back to third and Chris Davis back to first.
After arguing with home plate umpire Tripp Gibson and crew chief Mark Carlson, Hyde was ejected for the second time this season. Tim Cossins took over as manager.
“I knew I was going to be ejected.,” Hyde said. “Tripp … should have called runner interference right away, and he didn’t. He waited for the play to develop and that is what our discussion was about on the field. It’s just a really unfortunate play. Obviously, it blocks things out there when the run scores. So, they got extremely lucky with the poor throw. ”
It was Hyde’s second ejection this season. The first came at Fenway Park on April 15 for arguing about a replay ruling.
Hess sent to Norfolk: Hess, who moved to the bullpen on Saturday and allowed two runs in relief of Givens in the 10th on Sunday, was sent to Norfolk after the game.
Hess has a 1-9 record and 7.36 ERA with the Orioles and has allowed 20 home runs in 66 innings.
Lucas on the injured list: A day after throwing three innings in a lopsided 12-3 loss to Toronto on Thursday, Josh Lucas was placed on the 10-day injured ist with a strained right shoulder.
He said it occurred in the ninth inning of the game, but he kept pitching.
“I felt a little bit of discomfort going into the first hitter and throughout the rest of the inning,” Lucas said. “Just got to grind through it. The bullpen needed a rest.”
Lucas said that he thought he’d be ready to pitch in 10 days. He didn’t accompany the team on its road trip to Oakland and Seattle. He’ll have some physical therapy before handling a personal matter in Florida and meet the team when it returns on June 25.
Smith almost ready: Outfielder Dwight Smith Jr., who’s on the seven-day concussion injury list, continues to improve. Hyde said that he thought Smith would go on a brief rehabilitation assignment before meeting the Orioles on the West Coast.
Pitcher Alex Cobb had hip surgery this week, and it went well, Hyde said.
Opening things up?: Hyde announced on Saturday that left-hander Josh Rogers would start Wednesday in Oakland. Now, he’s not so certain.
“We might start an opener that day,” Hyde said, referring to starting the game with a relief pitcher. “It’s still a little bit unsure. It’s kind of how things go the next couple of days. Really good chance that Rogers will pitch at length that game.”
Hyde said that he’s experimenting, and that he wouldn’t know until after Tuesday’s game who would open on Wednesday. He mentioned Miguel Castro and Jimmy Yacabonis as possibilities.
Hyde homecoming: Hyde grew up in Santa Rosa, California, about 65 miles north of Oakland. Although he was a San Francisco Giants fan and not an Athletics fan, he’s still relishing his first trip to the Bay Area as a big league manager.
“I always love going back to the Bay Area,” Hyde said. “I see a lot of people I grew up [with] … My parents and my sister and her family will be there. They live in Berkeley. Staying in San Francisco and playing in Oakland is always special. I get to see a lot of people that I just don’t get to see very often. It’s a nice homecoming for me.”
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Am I the only one who yells “NO! NO! NO!” at the TV when I see Mychal (the BIG looser) Givens enter a game the O’s are leading or have even a chance to win? Six saves and five blown saves... WOW! ... and he’s the “go to” guy? Unbelievable! But then again, the whole season is unbelievable... Just saying...
Hess is fine with the bullpen, of course he is, he’s still up with the O’s, he has no business pitching up here, starting or bullpen....this is beyond ridiculous, love the O’s...todays game was like watching a bad JV team, especially in the 9th & 10th....
Hess has no business pitching in a game at OPACY. I’ll tell you that for a fact. His flyball tendencies just don’t work here. Neither should Straily. Eshelman should be in Baltimore soon replacing one of those two.
How much longer can Davis be on this team. It’s a joke. The guy is the laughing stock of all baseball . We all know he’s so laid back so he will come up with excuse after excuse. Maybe try batting right hand Chris.
Yes your so right. Givens has no mindset to be a closer period and Hess should be in double A along with half of the staff.
This team is getting more creative every day in finding ways to lose a game. It's starting to remind me of last years squad.
120 losses anyone?
Minus the talent...
Tough to find good news this weekend. I guess the best is Yusniel Diaz: 11 hits in his last 10 games, 3 HR, 13 RBI, .275 average during that stretch. Mason McCoy (don't know why he stays under the radar) 15 hits in his last 10 games, .333 average during that stretch, .318 overall! :-)
Um, .................that's about it. :-(
Yusniel Diaz defining characteristic is that he is neither Walker Buehler, nor Alex Verdugo. There is no reason to track his performance.
Sad but true Bancells. O's were after either one of those two in the Manny trade. I guess we have to put Diaz on a pedestal as a result.
Be negative about 22 mil a year Davis who’s a joke but don’t be negative about Diaz who’s a kid with a lot of tools and potential. Your right no one mentions McCoy he hits almost every night and should be promoted to Norfolk. We all knew this season would be bad but it’s worse in some ways then expected because we cannot close out games. Once Davis is gone the offense is by most parts acceptable. It will get better once Mountcastle and a few more arrive. The pitching is atrocious except for Means and Cashner and really no quite ready yet in the minors.
Cashner is 6-2 but cashner is not a “good” starter by any stretch of the imagination. A guy with an ERA hovering around 5 isnt good.
As for Yusniel well I wouldn’t start being negative on him yet. From all the reports I’ve read on him he doesn’t have any star potential but he has the potential to chip in at all facets of the game. A right handed josh reddick type.
Bruce, you have commented often about Mason McCoy. Since you've obviously seen him play a number of times, and I have only briefly seen him in the spring, what do you like aobut him? When you see him, what excites you? Do you think he has any noticeable weaknesses?
Exactly he can be a all around player not a all star but I’ll take that. I do agree we should have got Buehler but look at the Dodgers. They got Manny for a rental and he couldn’t bring them the title.
Thank you. Manny proved to be over rated. To get anything for a rental is a plus. The Dodgers never considered resigning Manny.
Yes. The Machado deal was far and away Duquete’s Best from last offseason. The reliever Pop, who just went down with TJ had a strong chance of being a major league bullpen piece. (Still should when he returns) Kremer looks to have a strong shot to make it in our rotation in the future. Bannon has a chance to be a big leaguer in some capacity. And obviously Diaz as well. Unfortunately In our Gausman and Schoop trades we likely got nothing that will ever impact the big leagues. And we’ve already seen 2/3 guys from the Britton trade (Rogers and Carroll) and they have not showed much. Though if Carroll comes back I think he has a chance in the BP.
The Gausman trade included moving Darren O'Day's salary. O'Day, who hss not pitched since the trade, would have cost the Orioles $12 million through this season, jbigle, so the trade is not as bad as you might think.
Sure, but it’s not as if we reinvested those funds on better players so that’s really an Angelos benefit more than anything else. (Which is obviously a benefit but you know not for the success of the team) But I realize the deal also included intl money which we thought would turn into VV Mesa so that was also a consideration. Hindsight is 20/20 obviously but we didn’t get much talent back.
I don’t think McCoy is necessarily under the radar. I think it is more that he’s only played 30-some games in AA. No doubt he’ll be in Norfolk at some point this season, and has a good shot to be in Baltimore next year.
I'm looking at these brain miscues by the OF and trying to figure WHY? Is it the IFs lack,of leadership/ take charge ability? Thinking either Martin or Villar should "yelling" for the ball to kinda guide the OFers. Santander fields the single but doesn't know where to throw. Give him some help Martin. Take charge!
When Dwight Smith went down on June 6th, he was leading the Os with 41 RBIs. He still leads them after not batting in the last 9 games. We miss his .370 RISP.