Albernaz explains not pinch-hitting for Basallo in 5-4 loss; Orioles-Pirates lineups

PITTSBURGH—During a pivotal moment in Friday’s 5-4 loss to the Pirates, Orioles manager Craig Albernaz was faced with a key decision.

It occurred in the top of the seventh. The Orioles had scored a run to close to within 5-3 and the Pirates had called on left-hander Mason Montgomery, who retired catcher Adley Rutschman for the second out on a grounder to short, enabling Taylor Ward and Pete Alonso to advance to second and third.

With right-handed hitters Tyler O’Neill and Ryan Mountcastle on the bench, Albernaz chose to stay with left-handed hitting Samuel Basallo, the designated hitter and the team’s second catcher.

Basallo struck out, chasing outside the zone against Montgomery. Albernaz said he stayed with Basallo because he didn’t want to play three innings without an extra catcher in case there was an injury to Rutschman.

There was more behind the decision, though.

“That was one factor, but Basallo has shown that he can handle left-handed pitching,” Albernaz said. “With Montgomery, he’s not a high lefty split, and we were more comfortable with Basallo taking that at-bat. He got his swing off. He just missed some pitches. Ultimately, Montgomery won and got nasty on him.

“We feel comfortable with Basallo handling left-handed pitching, especially with him being 21 and the ceiling that he has.”

When both Rutschman and Basallo are in the starting lineup, it can present those strategic calls for Albernaz. In the long term, however, the more at-bats Basallo gets against left-handers the more comfortable he’s likely to become.

Notes: The Pirates’ Carmen Mlodzinski is the eighth straight right-handed starter the Orioles have faced. Albernaz said that Mountcastle and O’Neill will get some starts in the near future.

Left-hander Cade Povich is here on the medical taxi squad. … Albernaz said he trusts his relievers. “All of our guys have shown at some point, some outing, the ability to pound the strike zone and get hitters out,” he said. “Bullpens evolve, but you want to set them up for success. It’s our job as a coaching staff to make sure [to] get them in the right spots, line them up to take down hitters. All of our guys I feel comfortable with.”

Here are the starting lineups for Saturday afternoon’s Orioles-Pirates game.

Orioles:

Taylor Ward-DH

Gunnar Henderson-SS

Pete Alonso-1B

Adley Rutschman-C

Dylan Beavers-LF

Coby Mayo-3B

Leody Taveras-CF

Colton Cowser-RF

Blaze Alexander-2B

Shane Baz-RHP

Pirates: 

Oneil Cruz-CF

Brandon Lowe-2B

Bryan Reynolds-LF

Ryan O’Hearn-RF

Marcell Ozuna-DH

Konnor Griffin-SS

Spencer Horwitz-1B

Nick Gonzales-3B

Joey Bart-C

Carmen Mlodzinski-RHP

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