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BALTIMORE- What happened? The home run killed the Orioles on Sunday.
Kyle Gibson, Bryan Baker, Yennier Cano, Charlie Morton and Matt Bowman combined to allow seven home runs and the Orioles dropped their second straight to the Kansas City Royals, 11-6, before 31,956 at Camden Yards.
The seven home runs set a Kansas City franchise high.
Mikael Garcia hit home runs against Gibson in the second and Baker in the sixth. Baker also allowed Jonathan India’s first home run in the fifth.
Cano (0-1) gave up his first earned runs of the year on back-to-back home runs by Bobby Witt Jr. and Vinny Pasquantino in the seventh.
The Orioles (13-20) had held Witt hitless in 11 at-bats this series before his home run. He had a 22-game hitting streak series when the series began.
Luike Maile homered against Morton in the eighth and Witt’s RBI double gave the Royals (19-16) a 9-5 lead. Michael Massey’s two-run home run came against Bowman in the ninth
The Orioles, who begin a six-game road trip to Minneapolis and Anaheim on Tuesday, hit four home runs of their own. They finished the six-game homestand 3-3.
“That was a tough day,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “I thought we swung the bat well, happy about that, but we had a tough time on the mound keeping the ball in the ballpark.”
Kansas City starter Michael Lorenzen surrendered a career-high four home runs, including Jackson Holliday’s first multi-home run games and solo shots from Cedric Mullins and Ryan O’Hearn.
Mullins’ home run broke an 0-for-14 streak.
How is Holliday hitting? One of the Orioles’ bright spots has been Jackson Holliday’s play. Besides the two home runs, he had an eighth-inning single, and his average is .273.
“I’m just trying to go up there relaxed and confident,” Holliday said. “I think being in a position when I’m ready to launch and being confident and feeling free has kind of been the biggest change for me going up there. Not trying to move the ball forward, but just trying to put good swings on it, and however I feel when I’m feeling smooth and free to deliver a good swing is kind of how I’ve been going about it.”
What was Kjerstad thinking? In the bottom of the sixth, Heston Kjerstad hit a sharp ground ball to Witt at shortstop, whose toss to second baseman Massey forced Coby Mayo.
Kjerstad stopped running, presumably because he thought Witt caught the ball in the air, and by the time he realized it wasn’t caught, he resumed running, but he was out at first for a double play.
“I think he thought that ball was either caught on the fly or he lost track of outs. I’m not sure,” Hyde said.
How did Gibson throw? In Gibson’s second start, he allowed three runs on five hits in four innings, a drastic improvement from his first start on Tuesday, when he gave up nine runs on 11 hits and five home runs, four to the first five batters.
Gibson gave up a home run to Garcia in the second and a two-run single to Drew Waters in the fourth.
“I think my stuff was a lot sharper today,” Gibson said. “Felt like I was in command of the zone a little bit better, had a couple counts where I got behind but felt a lot better about where everything was. Would like those two pitches back in the fourth inning there. They make you work on the mound. They don’t give you easy outs and they kind of wore me down there in the last couple innings with a couple long at-bats.”
Gibson has just rejoined the Orioles and isn’t sure what they need to do to turn things around.
“That’s a tough question to assess probably in five days because I feel like I’ve seen us play fairly good baseball for these five days,” he said. “So, today was a weird day with the ball leaving the yard but that’s not going to be a normal day, so a couple pitches here and there, we’re winning three of the five games that I’ve been here for.
“So, I felt like we’ve been playing pretty well here the last five days and it’s a good road trip for us to go on the road and be tested in Minnesota and tested in L.A. and have a winning road trip and come home.”
What does it mean? The Orioles swung the bats well, but the seven home runs allowed put the game out of reach.
What’s the word? “You ain’t facing that number four or five starter in Triple-A that’s probably not going to pitch in the major leagues. This is night-in, night-out. You’re going to get everybody’s best shot.”–Buck Britton, Orioles’ major league coach on the difference between the minor leagues and majors.
What’s the stat of the day? This was the fourth time the Orioles have allowed seven or more home runs in franchise history, and the first time since they allowed eight on April 20th, 2019.
What’s going on in the minor leagues? Zach Eflin threw four shutout innings for High-A Aberdeen in his first rehab assignment. Eflin gave up two hits. He threw 58 pitches, struck out four and walked two. He’s on the 15-day injured list with a right lat strain.
Andrew Kittredge, who had surgery to remove bone chips from his lett knee, gave up a run on two hits and struck out two in his first rehab assignment for the IronBirds in their 5-3 loss to Bowling Green in 10 innings.
Rightfielder Jud Fabian homered twice and drove in three runs as Triple-A Norfolk beat Charlotte, 9-3.
Trevor Rogers allowed three runs on four hits in three innings in a rehab start. Rogers, who is returning from a knee injury, struck out four.
Braxton Bragg allowed an unearned run on three hits in five innings, striking out eight and walking one as Double-A Chesapeake beat Hartford, 5-1.
Houston Roth, Daniel Lloyd and Keagan Gillies combined for four spotless innings.
Rightfielder Douglas Hodo hit a two-run home run.
Right-hander Chayce McDermott, who was on the 15-day injured list with a right lat strain, was reinstated and optioned to Triple-A Norfolk.
What’s next? After a day off on Monday, the Orioles begin a six-game road trip against the Minnesota Twins. Cade Povich (1-2, 5.15) will face Pablo López (2-2, 2.25) on Tuesday night at 7:40.
The Orioles haven’t decided on a starter for Wednesday. Dean Kremer is scheduled for Thursday.
Call for questions: Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. Please send yours to: Rich,@BaltimoreBaseball.com
