The Orioles are in a position where winning takes care of all they need. Added bonuses happen when the Tampa Bay Rays lose, but taking care of their business comes first.
After a tough series against those Rays, the Orioles immediately hopped on a flight to go take on the AL-West-leading Houston Astros.
It was almost like looking into a mirror, as GM Mike Elias has built the Orioles in a similar fashion. He helped build the Astros, though this Orioles team has more depth and possibly a bit more talent running throughout the system.
In Baltimore, Houston took two of three in a hard fought series, and this time, Baltimore would return the favor by taking the series two games to one in another hard fought battle.
Let’s see how the series unfolded between these two.
GAME 1: O’s 8, HOU 7
The opening game of this three-game series was one that could keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end.
The Astros jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first, but the Orioles would fight back in the third behind AL Rookie of the Year front runner Gunnar Henderson and All-Star catcher Adley Rutschman. Henderson would hit a triple with one out before Rutschman would hit a sac-fly to tie the game up.
Jorge Mateo and Henderson would collect singles in the fifth. After Rutschman advanced them with a ground out, Ryan O’Hearn singled to bring them in and give the Birds a 3-1 lead.
A four-run sixth would give the Astros a 5-3 lead, and that’s when the game was a back and forth affair afterward.
Henderson and Rutschman teamed up again in the seventh with a single and double, respectively, to pull the Oriole to 5-4. Another hit by O’Hearn and a double by Cedric Mullins tied the game again at five.
The Birds would fall behind 7-5 down to their last two outs. Singles by O’Hearn and Austin Hays gave a glimmer of hope with Mullins stepping to the plate. Mullins changed the entire game, as he sent a 2-1 pitch to right-center field for a three-run home run and an 8-7 lead.
John Means, making his second start since returning from Tommy John surgery, would go five innings, allowing just one run on four hits. Unfortunately, he did not factor into the decision.
The bullpen finally settled down in the end, as Mike Baumann (W, 10-1) would get the win despite giving up a run. Cionel Pérez (H, 10) would keep things locked down before Yennier Canó (S, 7) closed the door on the 8-7 win.
Ryan O’Hearn (5-for-5) led four players with multi-hit games, Gunnar Henderson (three hits), Cedric Mullins (two hits) and Heston Kjerstad (two hits). The offense pounded out 16 total hits and was led by Mullins’ four RBIs.
GAME 2: O’s 9, HOU 5
Another high-scoring game, the difference in this one is that the Orioles never trailed. They jumped out quickly in the first, as Anthony Santander doubled and then came home on Ryan O’Hearn’s home run (14). O’Hearn would later single, giving him seven straight hits to open the series.
Kyle Gibson would allow two runs to score in the bottom half, as the Astros would tie the game thanks to a Kyle Tucker two-run shot. Gibson would give up only three runs in the game but would only go 4.2 innings.
An already taxed bullpen (the Orioles were playing their 12th of 17 straight games) would have to cover the rest of the way to help ensure victory.
In the third inning, Hays would hit a three-run home run (15) and add a solo shot (16) in the seventh, as he would collect four RBIs in the game.
D.L. Hall (W, 3-0) picked up the win after pitching 0.2 innings, allowing an unearned run. The big boost in the pen came from Jack Flaherty, who was moved to the bullpen prior to the game.
Flaherty would go two innings without allowing a run. Though he hit a batter and allowed three hits, he kept the Astros off the board while collecting two strikeouts.
Once again, Yennier Canó and Cionel Pérez would team up to close the game. Only this time, it was Canó who set up the end with Pérez (S, 2) picking up the save to end the game.
The offense was led by Santander, O’Hearn and Hays, all collecting multiple hits. Hays led the way with four RBIs, while Henderson, O’Hearn (2), Kjerstad and James McCann all picked up RBIs on the day.
The offense pounded out 10 total hits and collected three walks as the Birds came away with a 9-5 victory. They would close their magic number to eight and assure a series victory in Houston for the second straight year.
GAME 3: O’s 1, HOU 2
It was a good old-fashioned pitching duel for the first part of the game, as Kyle Bradish and Cristian Javier would keep the game extremely low-scoring.
Santander gave the Orioles a 1-0 lead when he drove in Rutschman in the first inning. That would be all Bradish would need, as he continued his dominance of the Astros.
Bradish would complete six innings of two-hit ball without allowing a run. He walked two and struck out nine for the day but would not factor in the final decision.
Over three starts against the Astros, Bradish is 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA across 22.2 innings while striking out 25 batters. He has allowed four walks and a total of six hits in the three games he has faced Houston.
Jacob Webb (H, 12) would follow Bradish with a clean inning before Shintaro Fujinami (H, 5) would only pick up one out with two walks in his appearance.
Baumann (BS, 4) would enter and give up a double to allow the tying run to cross. He would then pick up two more outs to end the inning, setting up a race to the finish.
Unfortunately, Danny Coulombe (L, 5-2) would allow a double and single that would decide the game and give the Astros a walk-off victory.
The Orioles would still take the series in Houston for the second year in a row but were unable to compete the sweep in their 13th straight game. The offense mustered six hits, two by Santander, while striking out 13 times in the 2-1 loss.
BATTERY ❌-FACTOR
Mired in a slump that saw him collect three hits over his last 30 at-bats, Anthony Santander was dubbed the BATTERY ❌-FACTOR for the series.
It’s safe to say the slump is over, as Santander would go 4-for-10 with two runs scored, an RBI and a stolen base for the series. He took long at-bats and was able to provide the only RBI in the final game.
Santander’s presence was felt through the series, and he was a small factor in the outcome of the series. Other bats like Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, Ryan O’Hearn and Austin Hays shined brighter, but Santander’s presence was a factor in how pitchers approached the lineup.
The Birds are 95-57 and currently sit two games ahead of Tampa Bay with a magic number of eight to clinch the division. They do own the tiebreaker, and the Rays have not finished their game against the Los Angeles Angels as of this publishing.
The Orioles will have no time to rest, as they will hop a flight and head to Cleveland for a four-game series. The first game is slated for 7:15 p.m. EST Thursday night.
Will the Orioles close in on a division title, or will the Guardians slow the march down? It all starts tomorrow night in Cleveland.
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