In the bottom of the sixth inning of Sunday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays, the Orioles looked as if they were headed for a happy flight home.
Shane Baz was pitching magnificently, and the Orioles had a 4-0 lead. If they held that lead, they would have had a 4-2 road trip to Boston and Toronto.
Instead, Baz allowed a leadoff home run to Yohendrick Piñango. With one out and Jesús Sánchez on second, Gunnar Henderson’s error at shortstop allowed Ernie Clement to reach.
It was Henderson’s fourth error of the season and just his second since May 18th.
Brandon Valenzuela grounded to short, and Henderson attempted to tag the oncoming Clement at second, but missed the tag and threw to first instead.
It appeared that Clement was far out of the baseline, but second base umpire Nic Lentz ruled that Clement wasn’t, and the next three batters — Kazuma Okamoto, Andres Giménez and Nathan Lukes — all drove in runs, and quickly the Orioles were behind, 5-4.
The Orioles had no offense after their four-run fifth, getting just three singles in the last four innings in their 6-4 loss.
It was another disheartening loss in a season where they have been many, and there are probably many more to come. There also will likely be some more heart-stopping wins.
The rest of the season will test the patience of Oriole fans.
After Friday night’s 13-3 win brought them to 31-33, their first time at two games below .500 since May 1st, Kyle Bradish had a bad start in another 6-4 loss. The Orioles return home with a 31-35 record.
The Orioles begin a four-game series with the AL West leading Seattle Mariners a game-and-a-half out of the final wild-card spot. Texas holds that spot with Toronto a half-game out and the Athletics a game out.
Sunday’s game hurt not only because of the bad call, but it was their last chance to beat an AL East team for six weeks and 34 games—July 20th.
The Orioles are 11-16 against the East. They’re 3-3 against the Blue Jays, Rays and Red Sox and 2-5 against the Yankees.
Impressive performances
Since May 15th, outfielder Colton Cowser has raised his average from .169 to .244. He’s had only three two-hit games, all against the Blue Jays, as his average has steadily increased.
Cowser has had five home runs, including walkoffs on consecutive days, and homered on Saturday and Sunday. His OPS in now .733.
Blaze Alexander, who was batting just .174 on May 2nd, is hitting .277. Alexander has six multi-hit games, four three-hit games and two two-hit games. He had two hits on Sunday.
Brandon Young delivered his third consecutive quality start on Friday, allowing three runs on seven hits in 6 1/3 innings. Young, who had a 6.24 ERA in 12 starts in 2025, has a 3.47 ERA in nine starts.
Questions about Basallo
After Samuel Basallo left Friday’s game with right abdominal discomfort, an MRI showed no signs of injury. The Orioles added Sam Huff to the roster as catching insurance in case Basallo couldn’t catch, but he was able to pinch-hit on Saturday.
Basallo was the starting catcher on Sunday, but Huff was needed because Basallo left the game in the eighth inning.
To make room for Huff on the roster, the Orioles designated utility player Weston Wilson for assignment.
The jettisoning of Wilson was a move the Orioles didn’t want to make. He was hitting .231 with a homer and three RBIs and a .681 OPS and played third base. He had a .348 on-base percentage and been the emergency pitcher in blowouts three times.
Baz’s stronger stats
Because of Henderson’s error, Baz was charged with just one earned run, and his ERA fell to 4.09, equaling his season low.
Baz came within an out of his fifth straight quality start.
Garcia becoming mortal?
Early in the season, reliever Rico Garcia’s statistics were unreal, but he’s allowed hits in six of his last nine outings.
Switch-hitting Brandon Valenzuela, batting left-handed, homered against Garcia in the eighth. It was the second home run Garcia has allowed, both against left-handed hitters. Left-handers are hitting .143 against him while right-handers are just 1-for-39 (.026).
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