The Orioles were one out away from pitching their third straight shutout and extending their scoreless innings streak to 35.
Then Detroit Tigers shortstop Javier Báez popped those balloons with a two-out single off closer Félix Bautista in the ninth, forcing the Orioles to score more than one run to win a game for the first time since Sunday.
The pitching party might have been over, but the Orioles still had some celebrating left in them. Ryan Mountcastle raced home on Adam Frazier’s soft ground ball to first to beat Spencer Torkelson’s throw, giving Baltimore a 2-1 walk-off win.
“We like to make it interesting sometimes,” Mountcastle said with a laugh.
Mountcastle, who had three hard-hit outs earlier in the game, reached base with a one-out single and advanced to third on a single by Anthony Santander. Frazier then hit a soft grounder to the right side off Tigers right-hander Jason Foley, and Torkelson’s throw pulled catcher Eric Haase away from the sliding Mountcastle.
“I was just reading the ball down, make sure he hit it on the ground,” Mountcastle said. “Right off the bat, I just took off and beat it. I got a pretty good lead and a pretty good jump, and I beat it by a good amount.”
“I don’t think they want to race me right now,” he added when asked if he wants to race speedsters Cedric Mullins or Jorge Mateo. “I’m feeling good, the legs are feeling loose.”
The walk-off victory is the Orioles’ second of the season; the first was Adley Rutschman’s solo home run against the Oakland Athletics last week. The Orioles (12-7) have won four straight games and are 7-0 in series openers.
A shutout would have been the club’s first streak of three since September 1995. As it stands, the span of 34 consecutive scoreless innings pitched is the the sixth-longest in the club’s history since moving to Baltimore in 1954, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. It’s also the longest streak by an American League team in a single season since the Orioles pitched 45 straight scoreless innings to end the 1995 season.
“They’re pitching their butts off,” Mountcastle said. “It’s a lot more enjoyable to play behind when guys are throwing really well like that. Hopefully we can keep it going and get some more wins.”
Tyler Wells started the game for the Orioles, and it was perhaps the best of his young career.
In his second season as a starting pitcher, Wells recorded an out in the seventh inning for the first time. He allowed just three hits and one walk while striking out five.
Wells, who had Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery in 2019 and was a reliever in 2021, was on an innings and pitch count limits in 2022 as a starter in Baltimore’s rotation. Now, the hard limits are over, and Friday’s win was proof as Wells became just the second Orioles starter to complete seven innings this season. The first was Kyle Gibson against the Texas Rangers earlier this month.
“Definitely nice this year to be able to let him go pitch,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “That was something that we needed to do last year, had to do and should do. But this year, obviously, the leash is longer and it’s fun to watch him go out there and go as long as he can.”
The 28-year-old right-hander got 14 whiffs — tied for the second most in his career — on his 95 pitches, including 61 for strikes. Through three starts and one long-relief outing, Wells has a 2.70 ERA and a 0.69 WHIP with 16 strikeouts in 23 1/3 innings.
Grayson Rodriguez started the scoreless streak Sunday. After allowing four runs in the first inning against the Chicago White Sox, he didn’t allow another one in his final four frames. On Tuesday, Kremer pitched 6 2/3 innings and was followed by three relievers for the first shutout, and Bradish delivered six scoreless Wednesday and had four bullpen arms behind him cap off the second shutout.
“It motivates me a lot,” Wells said of keeping the streak alive. “[Kremer] and Bradish did a great job the last two starts, and [Gibson’s] done a great job all year. Being able to go out there and ride the slope with the rest of the guys is a pretty good feeling.”
After Wells, right-hander Bryan Baker retired the side in order in the eighth for the 34th and final scoreless inning. The streak is 20 innings shy of the club and AL record of 54 set in September 1974.
“The last three starts have been amazing,” Hyde said. “It was fun to watch Tyler Wells go seven [innings] for the first time ever, I think. Tyler was outstanding. … A ton of strikes, mixed pitches extremely well, up-down, side-to-side. Kept guys off balance. He was really good.”
It appeared the Orioles would win another low-scoring game after Austin Hays’ solo home run in the seventh — his fourth of the season — gave Baltimore a 1-0 lead.
But Bautista gave up a leadoff single to Akil Baddoo, allowed Baddoo to steal second and then surrendered the game-tying single to Báez on a 2-2 pitch. It was Bautista’s second blown save of the season.
“It’s not gonna be the last run that Félix Bautista gives up this year,” Hyde said. “He’s gonna give up runs, and those things happen. Give them credit. Baddoo got a single to go through, and [Báez] hitting one of the toughest pitchers in the league. He just hung a split there, and that’s gonna happen.”
Around the horn
- Mateo said before the game that he would be eligible off the bench Friday and that he expects to be “100%” on Saturday. Mateo left Wednesday’s game with discomfort in his right hip after hitting a ground ball and running down the first base line.
- Triple-A starting pitcher Spenser Watkins, who was called up to the majors last weekend but didn’t appear in a game, suffered a cut ring finger on his pitching hand and was placed on the injured list, the Orioles announced Thursday.
Tigers at Orioles
Saturday, 7:05 p.m.
TV: MASN2, Fox Sports 1
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
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