[Baltimore Sun] Orioles’ bullpen falters in 7-3 loss as Mariners avoid sweep
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SEATTLE — All the Mariners’ offense needed to get back on track was to face the middle of Baltimore’s bullpen.
Seattle’s lineup is one of the majors’ worst this season despite the club’s standing atop the American League West. The Mariners entered with an MLB-worst .216 batting average while averaging more than 10 strikeouts per game.
Their woes reached a crescendo this week against the Orioles, tallying two hits Tuesday and scoring only one run across the series’ first two games — both Baltimore wins — as boos reigned down from Seattle fans at T-Mobile Park.
But the Mariners’ bats put on a fireworks show in Thursday’s seventh inning, scoring five runs off Orioles relievers Bryan Baker and Keegan Akin to hand Baltimore a 7-3 loss and avoid a series sweep.
Baker loaded the bases and was replaced by Akin with two outs for a favorable left-on-left matchup against leadoff hitter J.P. Crawford. After getting behind 3-0, Akin fed Crawford a center-cut fastball that the shortstop crushed to right-center field for a bases-clearing double. Mitch Garver then provided insurance with a two-run blast.
The Orioles’ bullpen has held up this season, entering Thursday with a 3.51 ERA that ranked seventh in the majors. But the club’s middle relief has been shaky in recent weeks, a worrying trend that could be ameliorated at the trade deadline.
Orioles ace Corbin Burnes pitched well enough to win. Six days after his wife Brooke gave birth to twin girls Charlotte and Harper, Burnes delivered his 14th quality start of 18 this season. He has a 2.32 ERA this year, his first in Baltimore after the club acquired him this offseason.
Gunnar Henderson was a triple away from the cycle to lead Baltimore’s offense. He clobbered a two-run home run to left field in the third to give the Orioles a 2-0 lead, one that disappeared in the fifth when the Mariners scored two runs off Burnes.
Julio Rodríguez led off the inning with a solo homer after Burnes retired the previous 12 batters in order. Seattle loaded the bases with no outs, but Burnes artfully escaped the jam, only allowing one additional run on a ground ball double play.
Baltimore is 55-32 and still two games up on the New York Yankees atop the AL East. The Yankees were swept this week at home by the Cincinnati Reds and have lost 13 of their past 17 games.
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Around the horn
• Ryan Mountcastle didn’t start Thursday for the fourth time in five games as he manages an unspecified illness. Manager Brandon Hyde said he was “easing” the first baseman back into game action.
• The Orioles’ rotation is remaining in turn for the club’s series in Oakland against the Athletics. Albert Suárez, Cade Povich and Grayson Rodriguez will start the three games in order beginning Friday. Cole Irvin is now in the bullpen with Dean Kremer back healthy.
• Triple-A Norfolk manager Buck Britton will throw to Henderson at the Home Run Derby on July 15, Mid-Atlantic Sports Network broadcaster Geoff Arnold said on the Orioles Radio Network during Thursday’s game.
• Norfolk utilityplayer Billy Cook, the Orioles’ No. 29 prospect per MLB Pipeline, was placed on the injured list Thursday with a right hamstring strain. Cook, who has played six defensive positions this season, has an .802 OPS with the Tides.
This story will be updated.
Orioles at Athletics
Friday, 9:40 p.m.
TV: MASN2
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
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