BALTIMORE- What happened? Entering Wednesday’s game, the Orioles’ bullpen had held opposing batters to a .199 average and had struck out the fourth most batters in baseball.
But Tyler Wells had a bad 10th inning, giving up a two-run home run to Adrian Del Castillo on a 2-0 count as the Orioles lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks, 8-5, before 17,028 at Camden Yards.
Besides the two-run homer, Wells allowed an RBI single to Nolan Arenado, elevating his ERA to 5.06.
Manager Craig Albernaz didn’t think it was necessarily a bad pitch that was Wells’ undoing.
“I wouldn’t say one pitch,” he said. “I would say that whole at-bat. I mean, he fell behind 2-0. That just put him in a bad count, bad situation, and that was the biggest thing. He tried to get back in the count with the heater, and Del Castillo didn’t miss it.”
Wells started four times last September after right elbow surgery in June 2024. The Orioles thought he was a better fit for the bullpen.
Three of Wells’ previous seven appearances had been two-inning outings, and he’s been scored upon in five of eight games.
“There is no excuse for the way that I’m pitching right now,” Wells said. “It’s extremely frustrating. And is there a transition period to this? Yeah, it’s not easy going from turning it on once every five days, giving yourself an opportunity to kind of rebound after a bad start — or being able to kind of evaluate a little bit further into kind of what may have went wrong in the start or what went really well in the start — you don’t really get that much as a reliever.”
The Orioles’ bullpen is without key relievers Keegan Akin, Dietrich Enns and Andrew Kittredge. Akin and Kittredge haven’t pitched this year. Akin, who strained a left groin muscle, is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment on Wednesday night for Triple-A Norfolk.
Kittredge, who had right shoulder inflammation, also has been at Norfolk, though he’s recently been on paternity leave.
Enns has inflammation in his left foot.
Because of those injuries, Rico Garcia, Anthony Nunez and Grant Wolfram have been put in high-leverage spots and done well, though Wolfram allowed a run that gave Arizona a 5-4 lead in the seventh.
Wells has also gotten chances in big spots, and this was his worst showing of the season.
“It’s 100 percent my fault,” Wells said. “There’s no running away from it. And I asked for it. I know that some people had mentioned it in spring training, but I asked for the fire. I asked for the leverage situation. I asked for moments like that, and there’s no running away from it.”
What was that lineup like? In their 18th game, the Orioles faced their first left-handed starter of the season, Eduardo Rodriguez. Albernaz didn’t start three left-handed hitters — Samuel Basallo, Dylan Beavers and Colton Cowser.
Instead, he started Sam Huff at catcher, Johnathan Rodríguez in right and Weston Wilson in left. It was the first start for each of them, and the first game for Huff and Wilson. Huff was activated before the game.
Huff’s second-inning double scored Coby Mayo, who also had doubled.
“It was different than what we expected breaking the season,” Albernaz said. “It was good to see, obviously, Sam Huff thrown in there with Adley [Rutschman out], had a great swing on the double.
“J-Rod, I mean, the first ball that he hit, just missed it and it was still at 100 mph. He had a great at-bat in the next one.”
Second baseman Jeremiah Jackson continued his hot hitting with an RBI single in the third and a two-run home run in the fifth. It was Jackson’s third home run in the series. He also continued to excel in the field.
The Orioles tied the score, 5-5, in the seventh on a leadoff single by Gunnar Henderson, who stole second, and an RBI single by Leody Taveras. That came after Pete Alonso was called out on strikes because of a clock violation.
“Wilson had a great at-bat his last at-bat. So, yeah, it was definitely the first look at it. Feel pretty good about it. It was good to see J.J. being J.J. and getting hits. It was good to see Mayo getting back to looking more like the Coby we know from the start of the season. So, it was encouraging, for sure. There were a lot of good takeaways.”
How did Bradish pitch? Kyle Bradish allowed four runs on eight hits in six innings, walking one and striking out four.
“I think today was by far my best outing,” Bradish said. “I was in the zone, I was very competitive. They hit some good pitches that were executed, and like I said, tough luck on a couple of them.”
Two runs scored when Wilson, playing left field, misplayed Del Castillo’s ball for a triple that could easily have been called an error.
“Battling the sun, but the ball came out, felt the wall on me in that corner where it cuts out,” Wilson said. “First time experiencing a ball in that corner. Bottom line, I’ve got to make the play.”
Bradish gave up a run in the fourth on two-out doubles by Alec Thomas and Jorge Barrosa. Arizona’s fourth run came on an infield out by Alek Thomas that scored José Fernández in the sixth.
What does it mean? The Orioles were 3-3 on this homestand, and they lost Rutschman to a left ankle injury and Ryan Mountcastle to a broken bone in his left foot.
“It started off good,” Albernaz said. “Obviously, the injuries were tough, seeing Adley and Mounty go down. This one stings big time, especially with that Bradish outing and how we’ve been playing. I think that our offense was starting to come alive.”
What’s the word? “Even though our starting pitchers are talented and our relievers are talented, it’s really tough to give the other team more than 27 outs. That’s the biggest thing we have to tackle, just cleaning up our defense.”-Albernaz on the loss.
What’s the stat of the day? 6. The Orioles are at .500 for the sixth time this season.
What’s going on in the minor leagues? Double-A Chesapeake allowed 12 sixth inning runs to New Hampshire in a 20-1 loss in the first game of a doubleheader. Jean Carlos Henriquez gave up seven runs and Daniel Lloyd five.
Juan Ortega hit a three-run home run and drove in four runs as Single-A Delmarva beat Fredericksburg, 7-5.
What’s next? The Orioles will open a four-game series with the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. Shane Baz (0-1, 4.50) will start against Parker Messick (2-0, 0.51) on Thursday night at 6:10.
Call for questions: Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. Please send yours to: Rich,@BaltimoreBaseball.com