The Orioles started the last inning with a 3-1 advantage and put Kimbrel in the game for the first time since he was removed with two outs in a save opportunity on Saturday. However, he suffered a similar fate and lost the lead with two outs in the ninth. The eighth batter, Eddie Rosario, hit a home run off Kimbrel and the following batters drew walks, leading to manager Brandon Hyde’s decision to take Kimbrel out with only one out remaining once again. Left-hander Keegan Akin allowed CJ Abrams to tie the game with an RBI single, resulting in extra innings.
The Baltimore Orioles were in need of assistance when Craig Kimbrel struggled in the ninth inning. And when the Washington Nationals caught up to their two-run lead in the 11th inning, the Orioles once again needed a boost. In a back-and-forth, hectic game on Wednesday night, Ryan Mountcastle and Jorge Mateo both came through with pivotal hits in the 12th inning to secure a 7-6 win over the Nationals.
In the 11th inning, Mountcastle hit a two-run homer off of his former teammate Harvey to give the Orioles a lead. However, the Nationals responded with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning. The winning run was driven in by Mateo with an RBI single, and he later scored another run thanks to a wild pitch. The Nationals’ two defensive errors also contributed to their loss.
The Orioles were happy to see two home runs after wasting their initial opportunity to score in the second inning. Jordan Westburg attempted to score from first on a powerful double hit by Colton Cowser to the left, but was tagged out at home by a throw from Abrams.
Henderson’s 11th season-long ball was only second to Marcell Ozuna of the Atlanta Braves in the MLB. After going without a home run for seven consecutive games, the Orioles’ key shortstop ended his longest drought of the year.
Bradish excels in his second beginning.
Although Rodriguez has a positive future ahead, Wells, a fellow right-handed pitcher, has not yet started throwing since being placed on the injured list for elbow inflammation on April 16. He arrived at the Orioles’ spring training facility in Sarasota, Florida this week to rest and allow the inflammation to decrease. Both Wells and Hyde have reassured that he has not experienced any setbacks.
Bradish, who had not let any runs slip by in his two previous starts against Washington, encountered some difficulties early on. He gave the Nationals a chance to put runners on second and third in the opening inning before striking out Senzel and Jesse Winker consecutively. In the second inning, Washington managed to score a run with an RBI single from Trey Lipscomb and once again had two runners in scoring position. Despite throwing 44 pitches in the second inning, Bradish managed to escape without giving up any runs and only needed 46 additional pitches to navigate through the next three innings.
Following a near win last week, Bradish overcame some struggles with his pitch count in the early game, but eventually settled in to finish five innings. His last inning was his strongest, as he struck out the Nationals’ top batters Abrams, Luis García Jr., and Nick Senzel. His sinker averaged 95.2 mph and reached a max speed of 98.1, making it the second-fastest pitch recorded by Statcast in his MLB career, with only a 98.4 mph fastball thrown in June 2022 being faster.
Kimbrel’s performance has been inconsistent in recent outings, as he has been unable to complete the ninth inning in four out of his last five games. He has given up six earned runs and has three blown saves, which is a stark contrast to his strong start of the season where he had an ERA of 0.82 in his first 11 games. The Orioles made a big investment by signing him as a key free agent during the offseason, hoping he would fill the gap left by the injured Félix Bautista. Interestingly, Bautista, who won the Mariano Rivera Reliever of the Year Award last year, had fewer blown saves in the last two weeks than Kimbrel has had in just the past two weeks alone.
Offense wakes up
Kyle Bradish, a right-handed pitcher who was not given much consideration during the game, started for the second time this season on Thursday after recovering from a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow. He pitched five innings, allowing only one run and helping to continue the Orioles’ streak of nine consecutive games where they have allowed three runs or less.
This tale will receive updates.
Orioles pitcher Grayson Rodriguez returned to throwing off a mound on Wednesday after being placed on the 15-day injured list on April 30 for shoulder inflammation. He threw a full repertoire of 15 pitches and manager Hyde stated that Rodriguez may not need a rehabilitation start if he is ready to return on May 15. When asked about his time on the IL and if it could benefit his overall health for the remainder of the season, Rodriguez commented that while he doesn’t want to miss any starts, he understands the importance of staying healthy for the long season and ultimately aims to be in good shape for the later months of the year.
Following a scoreless game for the Orioles, Anthony Santander broke the streak with a solo homerun in the fourth inning. He also prevented a run with a impressive catch in the bottom half of the inning, while Gunnar Henderson ultimately secured the win with his own solo homerun in the sixth.
Around the horn
Hyde did not confirm if outfielder Austin Hays, who is recovering from a calf strain, will be ready to play during the Orioles’ upcoming series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Hays has played in two rehab games with Double-A Bowie, hitting 4-for-7 with two home runs and a double. Outfielders Heston Kjerstad (.200 batting average, .585 OPS) and Ryan McKenna (.375 batting average, 1.569 OPS) are the top contenders to be sent back to Triple-A Norfolk when Hays returns.
Although the Orioles’ offense struggled at times, not recording a single official at-bat with runners in scoring position until the 10th inning when the automatic runner was placed at second base, their slump seemed to occur during a favorable period as Baltimore’s pitching staff has been performing well. In fact, pitcher Bradish’s impressive performance, which included nine strikeouts, four hits, two walks, and a hit batter, actually increased the Orioles’ rotation ERA from 1.47 to 1.50 since April 29. This statistic currently ranks as the best in the American League during that time frame.
The birds’ youthful pair was given another opportunity to score in the seventh inning, with Cowser bringing Westburg home on a sacrifice fly for his 20th run batted in. Despite hitting .133 in his last 16 games, Cowser managed to get two hits off Nationals’ leftie Mitchell Parker and ended the game 2-for-4.Stream: AppleTV+
Friday, 7:05 p.m.Diamondbacks at OriolesIn radio broadcasting, the frequencies used to tune in to specific stations are 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, and 1090 AM.
Albert Suárez threw a shutout 10th inning, but then gave up the lead in the 11th. Jacob Webb came in during the 12th and let in one run, but still managed to earn his second save of the season. The Orioles won, which stretched their record of not being swept in the regular season to 103 consecutive series. This is the longest streak in American League history and the longest in MLB since World War II.
