BALTIMORE–What happened? On June 18th, the Orioles had an 8-0 lead in the second inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at steamy George M. Steinbrenner Field. The Rays scored 12 unanswered runs to win, 12-8.
Nine days later, the Orioles trailed 6-0 in the second and outscored Tampa Bay, 22-2, for a 22-8 win before 20,047 fans on Friday night at Camden Yards.
The 22 runs were one short of the team record, and the 21 hits a season high. Their 14 extra-base hits set a franchise record.
The offensive onslaught came after the Orioles failed to record a hit before the seventh inning for the third time in five games.
“Over the course of 162 there’s going to be a lot of ups and downs,” interim manager Tony Mansolino said. “There’s going to be a lot of highs and lows, and we’ve had our lows. Tonight was a high. It was fun to watch the kids have a good time tonight … It’s just one game, I think we all know that.”
The Orioles suffered a loss when, for the second time in six days, Jordan Westburg left the game with left hand discomfort. Last Saturday, Westburg jammed his left index finger stealing second base at Yankee Stadium and missed three games. Westburg reinjured the finger with a headfirst slide into second on a first-inning double and left in the third. Ramón Urías replaced him at third base.
“He cannot change his DNA,” Mansolino said. “The kid plays as hard as anyone in the game. It’s not something that you expect to be aggravated, unless maybe he does the exact same thing, which he did. So day-to-day right now, negative on the fracture in the X ray. So, you know, hopefully it sounds like it’s not nearly as bad as last time … Hopefully, it’s a couple days and we get him back in there. Tough kid.”
Tampa Bay hit three home runs against Oriole starter Tomoyuki Sugano and took a 6-0 lead in the second. Jonathan Aranda and Josh Lowe homered, and Brandon Lowe hit a two-run home run.
Chandler Simpson, arguably the fastest player in the majors, walked, easily stole second and scored on Danny Jansen’s run-scoring single.
Rays starter Ryan Pepiot didn’t make through the bottom of the second. The Orioles answered back with four runs on a two-run double by Coby Mayo and a two-run single by Urías.
The Orioles cut the lead to 6-5 in the third when Ramón Laureano scored after stealing third on a wild throw by Jansen.
Three consecutive singles in the top of the fourth put Tampa Bay ahead, 7-5. Brandon Lowe’s single scored Jansen.
The Orioles took an 8-7 lead in the fifth against Eric Orze (1-1) on consecutive doubles by Laureano and Colton Cowser, followed by Gary Sánchez’s two-run home run, his fourth. Sánchez had four hits and and four RBIs.
Sugano (6-4) allowed seven runs on nine hits in five innings and got the win.
“I think throughout my career it was my first time getting hit around like that and actually getting a win,” Sugano said through his translator. “It was my first time. I was quite happy.”
The Orioles took an 11-7 lead in the sixth on an RBI double by Cowser, his third double of the game, and a two-run single by Sánchez against Edwin Uceta.
Laureano, who scored four runs, had a two-run single in a four-run eighth. Another run scored on an error, and the 15th on a bases-loaded walk to Cedric Mullins.
Jackson Holliday’s 10th home run in the eighth made it 16-8. Gunnar Henderson, who had four hits, homered against shortstop turned mop-up man José Caballero, who allowed six runs in a seven-run eighth. Mullins had a two-run double and Mayo hit a two-run home run, his first in the majors. It came on his mother’s birthday.
“To start the inning, I think [Kyle] Bradish and [Dean] Kremer and some of them were like, ‘Get Coby up, get Coby up.’ When you’re anticipating it happening, I think is kind of when it doesn’t happen,” Mayo said.
“The only thing that goes into the back of your head is, ‘Oh God, I’m going to strike out to a position player and be 1-for-6 today.’ But obviously, there’s a flip side of the best result, and that was the homer. It’s just crazy.”
What were some offensive superlatives? It was the third time the Orioles scored at least 22 runs, and the nine doubles tied a franchise record. The 21 hits were the most since June 6th, 2021.
It was the first time they’d won when trailing by at least six runs since May 27th, 2022 and the first time at home since July 31st, 2015.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Orioles are the first team to win by 14 runs when trailing by six.
What was it like for the offense to shine? Cowser’s four runs and three doubles set a career high.
“I’m proud of our guys, kind of getting slapped in the mouth there and then being able to respond with the four-run inning and being able to continue to scrap,” he said.
“We know what that team’s capable of, so it was one of those things where we got the lead, we wanted to continue to put our foot down and have the throttle going.”
What kind of a night was it for Mayo? Mayo’s home run came in his 106th major league at-bat.
“You never know how it’s going to happen, how it’s going to come, when it’s going to come and for this to come in this kind of fashion goes to show you life is just so crazy and unexpected,” he said. “You can never predict what’s going to happen. An awesome moment obviously, no matter who it’s off of. It’s a really cool thing.”
Mayo was a home run hitter in the minor leagues, and everyone was expecting him to display more power.
“Over the last few weeks, I stopped worrying about it,” he said. “I think I’ve been swinging the bat a little bit better, and I was hoping those results were just going to lead into some more of the power.
“I was happy with the game, the first at-bat getting the job done. From that at-bat on, I was like, ‘If it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen, to answer your question, it is a little relief, you don’t have to worry about it or when it’s going to come. ‘Is it going to come this year?’ You just start having those thoughts, but just happy that it finally happened.”
Mayo’s four RBIs doubled his career total.
What does it mean? Scoring 22 runs after going hitless until at least the seventh inning in three of the previous five games is impossible to explain.
What’s the stat of the day The Orioles’ club record for runs came on September 28th, 2000 when they beat Toronto, 23-1.
What’s the word? “Baseball is a crazy game, man. It’s poetic in a lot of ways. Tonight was one of those nights.”-Mansolino on the strangeness of the game.
What’s going on in the minor leagues? Shortstop Jeremiah Jackson homered twice and drove in three runs as Triple-A Norfolk lost to Gwinnett, 6-4.
Levi Wells allowed just one hit in five scoreless innings in Double-A Chesapeake’s 5-4 win in 10 innings over Altoona.
Tyler O’Neill was 1-for-3. He’s on a rehab assignment for a left shoulder injury.
Centerfielder Austin Overn had two hits and drove in a run as High-A Aberdeen beat Hub City, 6-5.
Thomas Sosa hit a three-run home run and drove in four runs as Single-A Delmarva beat Carolina, 8-2.
What’s next? Zach Eflin (6-4, 5.46) will face Zack Littell (6-7, 3.78) on Saturday at 4;05 p.m.
Call for questions: Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. Please send yours to: [email protected]
