BALTIMORE- What happened? On his 26th birthday, Cade Povich pitched one of his best games in the major leagues. In his first start of the season, Povich allowed a run on five hits in 6 2/3 innings, leading the Orioles past San Francisco Giants, 6-2, before 24,091 at Camden Yards on Sunday.
Povich also was helped by a clutch double by the struggling Pete Alonso that turned a one-run lead into a 4-1 cushion.
Povich, who helped save the bullpen a week before in Pittsburgh by throwing 5 2/3 innings in relief, struck out five without walking a batter, earning two pats on the chest from manager Craig Albernaz as he left the game.
“I tapped him on the chest and let him know that was awesome. It was fun to watch, and the boys around him in the infield were saying the same thing,” Albernaz said. “And as he walked away, I just told him, just take that in, that’s cool. You know, it’s very rare in this game where you kind of get to feel that, so he was well deserved and the fans were awesome.”
The Orioles are 8-7 and tied for first in the American League East with the Yankees and Rays. They won two of three from the Giants (6-10) and have five wins in six games.
Samuel Basallo, who started at catcher in a day game following a night game because of Adley Rutschman’s foot injury, hit a two-run home run in the first against Adrian Houser. It was his second of the season, and he worked well with Povich.
“I think right now, he’s just being really confident and aggressive with his pitches,” Basallo said through a team translator. “I think the pitching staff as a whole, that’s what we’re seeing out of them. They’re being aggressive and going out and attacking hitters. I think that’s what I’m seeing with Povich right now.”
Alonso, who had been 2-for-35, lined a two-run double in the fifth that gave the Orioles a 4-1 lead. Alonso, who walked ahead of Basallo’s home run, held his hands aloft when he pulled into second.
“These day-game rubber matches, winning these are really important,” Alonso said. “When you look at over the course of a season, yeah, you could come and let one slip here and there, but every single one matters towards the end of the year, and we came ready to play today.
“We didn’t let this one slip. We played great ball. Obviously, it helps when we get a lights-out performance from your starter. Cade was fantastic. Bullpen was electric, too. Kudos to our pitching staff. They did a wonderful job executing pitches the whole game, and just quality at-bats up and down the offense. A great team win.”
The Orioles took a 5-1 lead in the sixth on Leody Taveras’ double and Coby Mayo’s RBI single. Colton Cowser’s infield single in the seventh scored Taylor Ward, who had two hits.
Before the game, the Orioles placed outfielder Tyler O’Neill on the 7-day concussion injury list, retroactive to Thursday and recalled outfielder Johnathan Rodríguez from Triple-A Norfolk. Rodriguez walked as pinch-hitter for Dylan Beavers in the seventh.
Povich retired the first 12 Giants hitters until Casey Schmitt’s infield single in the fifth. He scored on Daniel Susac’s single.
He left after Heliot Ramos’ two-run double in the seventh. Andrew Nunez struck out Susac to end the seventh.
San Francisco’s first run came in the fifth on Daniel Susac’s RBI single. Schmitt, who had seven hits in the three-game series, homered with one out in the ninth against Tyler Wells.
Ryan Mountcastle, who left Saturday night’s game with left foot pain after a double, has a broken bone in his left foot.
Can the Orioles overcome the injuries? Albernaz didn’t give a timeline on Mountcastle’s injury but did say that the Orioles were encouraged by the MRI on Rutschman.
“It was encouraging news with Adley, so just nip this in the bud and then he’ll be good to go,” Albernaz said. “So real encouraging news.”
Mountcastle will be placed on the injured list. The Orioles have 12 players on the IL.
“I think the players in that clubhouse have shown their resiliency,” Albernaz. “Like last year was last year and that’s something that I talked about when I got the job this offseason and through spring training, just the players’ feedback and what they felt from last season. And, obviously, we added some new pieces, but the last thing is, it’s not last year.
“And yesterday [Saturday] the boys stepped up. Right before the game, Adley gets pulled, and Mounty ends up messing up his foot, and everyone sees that and the boys stepped up. And then today, same thing. And to me, that’s the sign of a resilient group.”
O’Neill’s placement on the IL came as a surprise, and the Orioles hope he’ll be back later this week. The 30-year-old outfielder was on the injured list three times last year.
“For a week he’s been battling illness and sickness,” Albernaz said. “He was extremely dehydrated on Thursday, and he ended up fainting. And come to find out through that, we’re guessing that he probably banged his head a little bit.
“So that was the touch-and-go aspect of it, because we weren’t sure if it was the dehydration or the illness. And as he was getting worked up to play, he just felt dizzy, so we’ve got to make sure he’s good to go.”
How impressive was Povich? Albernaz praised Povich’s start.
“That was awesome to watch,” he said. “That was so much fun. He was efficient in the strike zone, fastball had real life today. He did a great job of landing all of his offspeed pitches for strikes, so now the Giants had to honor that because he’s getting the strike zone. The changeup, the curveball had real bite to it, depth. He was using the cutter well. Yeah, it was a great pitching performance.”
Povich feels like he’s a different pitcher this season.
“I feel like a lot of it is getting back to myself and kind of what got me here,” he said. “When I got sent down, we have a great group of guys who talked with me and put a plan of how I can improve and the steps to take, and I think this was just kind of a product of that.”
What does it mean? Povich’s start was impressive, and it will be interesting to see if he’ll get another start or go to the bullpen.
What’s the word? “The season’s too long, there’s ups and downs, guys get injured. It’s all part of it. But the good teams can overcome that, and right now we’re showing signs that we can. And I’d bet on this team a lot.”-Albernaz on the spate of Orioles’ injuries.
What’s the stat of the day? 0. This was the first game all season Orioles pitching did not issue a walk.
What’s going on in the minor leagues? Triple-A Norfolk didn’t get their only hit until Willy Vasquez singled with one out in the eighth inning. The Tides lost to Jacksonville, 2-0.
Jackson Holliday was hitless in four at-bats. He’s batting .167 in his rehab assignment.
Brandon Young allowed one hit in five scoreless innings.
Sebastian Gongora allowed a run on three hits in 5 /3 innings as Double-A Chesapeake beat Erie, 4-1.
Boston Bateman allowed five runs on four hits in 1 2/3 innings as High-A Frederick lost to Winston-Salem, 9-4.
Jauron Watts-Brown started and pitched 3 2/3 hitless innings.
Third baseman Luis Almeyda drove in three runs in Single-A Delmarva’s 8-6 loss to Augusta.
What’s next? The Orioles will open a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday night at 6:35. A starter hasn’t been named, but it could be Dean Kremer making his season debut. Ryne Nelson (1-1, 4.20) will start for the Diamondbacks.
Call for questions: Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. Please send yours to: Rich,@BaltimoreBaseball.com