Cowser’s spectacular catch saves Orioles’ 2-1 win over Rockies: ‘Best play I’ve ever seen’

DENVER—Colton Cowser ran back toward the center-field wall as quickly as he could. He timed his jump perfectly and had his glove above the wall when he snared Jake McCarthy’s drive to prevent it from being a game-winning home run for the Colorado Rockies.

Instead, it was an incredible catch and a thrilling win for the Orioles, enabling them to get to .500 for the first time since April 30^th.

Troy Johnston doubled with one out in the ninth, and after Andrew Kittredge struck out Zac Veen, McCarthy hit a deep drive to center. As Cowser made the catch at the top of his jump, the Orioles’ dugout emptied, yelling and screaming in front of a tiny crowd that stayed through a one-hour, 38-minute rain delay.

The Orioles’ 2-1 win at Coors Field cut their deficit in the American League wild-card race to a half-game behind the idle Cleveland Guardians.

“It’s the best play I’ve ever seen in person,” manager Craig Albernaz said. “Just the catch itself, but also, obviously, game on the line. That’s a walk-off homer.”

Cowser, who hit two walk-off home runs in three days in May, had a signature catch.

“I guess this one was a walk-off for them or it was a walk-off for us,” Cowser said. “So, yeah, I guess you can say that. Walk-off on the road.”

Cowser thought hard about where he should position himself.

“I was playing a little more shallow than I probably should have been in that situation,” he said. “Just trying to cut down that runner at home. They have such a big outfield where your normal depth is way deeper than what it should be, so it was more than normal depth.

“And kind of before the play, just kind of the whole inning, it was like if there’s a ball hit kind of deep, just get your head down and go. And by the grace of God, we came down with it.”

Kittredge recorded his ninth save, perhaps the most stunning one of his career. His look of disbelief was one shared by many.

“Just hoped it stayed in the yard,” he said. “I could kind of tell off the bat Cowser had a really good bead on it, but I didn’t think he was going to make a play like that. That was pretty incredible.”

What happened before The Catch? After five innings, the score was tied, 1-1, and rain fell hard enough and lightning was scary enough to halt the game. After the game resumed, the crowd, which was announced at 17,277, had been reduced to perhaps 2,000, with many of those sitting in the rows behind the Orioles’ third base dugout.

The Orioles (69-69) took the lead thanks to a replay challenge in the seventh inning. Mark Manfredi (1-1) had been replaced after walks to Coby Mayo and Samuel Basallo.

Nick Frasso walked Blaze Alexander to load the bases. Cowser grounded to second baseman Connor Norby, a former Oriole. Norby threw the ball to shortstop Ezequiel Tovar, whose throw to first was initially ruled an inning-ending double play by first base umpire John Libka.

The call was quickly reversed after an Orioles challenge, and Mayo scored the go-ahead run.

“Just trying to shorten up, put the ball in play,” Cowser said. “Good things happen when you put the ball in play. I was able to get out of the box good and, honestly, I couldn’t tell just because it was a pick [at first]. Sometimes with the picks, you can’t tell just based on what you hear. I felt like it was a good chance, and I’m glad that we were able to overturn it.”

It was a tough night for the umpires. Both Orioles replay challenges were approved and their four challenges of calls by home plate umpire Sean Barber resulted in reversed calls.

Grant Wolfram (6-2) allowed a hit and struck out two in two innings after relieving Cade Povich, who started and allowed a run on three hits in five innings. Povich, who didn’t return after the delay, gave up a run-scoring single to Jordan Beck in the fourth.

Back-to-back doubles by Dylan Beavers and Samuel Basallo against Tanner Gordon in the fifth tied it at 1-1. Basallo’s ball nearly cleared the wall but was a few feet short. Gordon allowed a run on three hits in five innings.

Alex Hoppe left with one out in the eighth after allowing a single to Norby and a walk to TJ Rumfield. Rico Garcia struck out Willi Castro and retired Mickey Moniak on a fly to left.

The Rockies (52-86) have lost five straight and 14 of 16.

How important is it to be at .500? The Orioles are 6-1 on this road trip, climbing to .500.

“We know where we’re at,” Albernaz said.  “We keep talking about it. We still take one game at a time, but also it’s good to get back to .500 and gain a little bit in the wild card.”

The Orioles have two more games in Colorado before returning home to play four games against Boston and three against Cleveland.

“Vibes are definitely high,” Cowser said. “Feels like we’ve been playing some pretty good baseball but, honestly, I think a lot of guys in this room would tell you I think the best baseball is ahead of us. Feel like we can continue to clean up some of the at-bats. Our pitching has been great, so I think a lot of guys in here would tell you that we’re still not playing our best baseball. So, we’ve been able to scrap by and win some games, but I’m looking forward to the stretch here.”

What does it mean? Cowser’s catch in that moment ranks as one of the best in Orioles history. The team’s excellent defense overall has helped the Orioles win six of their last seven one-run games.

What’s the stat of the day? 10. The Orioles haven’t committed an error in their last 10 games, their longest stretch since May 15^th-25^th, 2023.

What’s the word? “Oh man, relief. Happy for the team. Happy for me. That’s probably the coolest play I’ve ever seen in person. In that scenario, to win the game like that, I’m speechless. I don’t know what to say. That’s incredible.”-Kittredge on Cowser’s catch

What’s next? Kyle Bradish (7-12, 4.03) will start against Gabriel Hughes (0-6, 6.51) on Tuesday night at 8:40.

Call for questions: Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com