The 2023 Orioles have shown a knack for early success. They continued it Thursday by coming through late.
Baltimore rallied with five runs in the seventh inning to defeat the Detroit Tigers, 7-4, to open a four-game series and 10-game road trip. The victory improved the Orioles to 9-0 in series openers, and at 17-8, they have the most wins before the end of April of any team in franchise history.
These Orioles are the seventh iteration to win at least 17 of their first 25 games, with the club’s 1966 and 1970 World Series champions among the previous six.
“We have a lot of fight,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “Our guys are definitely battling, and it’s fun to have come-from-behind wins.”
The Orioles have trailed in more than half of their victories, with Thursday marking their ninth comeback. At Triple-A Norfolk, infielder Joey Ortiz watched along on TV. On Thursday, he got to contribute.
Promoted before the game, the organization’s No. 7 prospect drove in three runs out of the ninth spot of Hyde’s lineup, joining Don Baylor (1970) as the only Orioles to drive in at least three runs in a major league debut.
“They’re always fighting to the end,” Ortiz said, “and I want to help do that.”
Robbed of what would’ve been his first hit in the third on Akil Baddoo’s diving catch in left, Ortiz said his takeaway was, “Welcome to The Show.” But it evened out in the fifth, though not without him earning it. With Baltimore trailing 3-0 against Tigers starter Joey Wentz, the second baseman fell behind 0-2, worked the count even, then chopped a grounder over first baseman Spencer Torkelson for a two-run single.
“The game will always pay you back,” Ortiz said.
Ryan Mountcastle is waiting for his turn; his season-plus of poor luck continued with right fielder Kerry Carpenter robbing him of what might have been a go-ahead home run in the sixth. Carpenter exited the game after suffering an apparent shoulder injury on the play.
In the bottom half of the inning, after scoring three runs off Kyle Gibson in 4 1/3 innings — the shortest of his six starts as an Oriole — the Tigers (9-15) doubled the margin when Bryan Baker inherited loaded bases from Cionel Pérez and walked in a run.
But the Orioles broke through in the seventh. Ortiz came up with two in scoring position for the second time and again was productive, this time with a sacrifice fly.
Cedric Mullins tied the game on a triple, then scored the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly from Adley Rutschman. After Mountcastle walked, Anthony Santander punctuated the frame with a home run, only his second after leading the team with 33 in 2022. He had struck out in his first three at-bats.
“He was having a tough night and hearing it from [fans] above our dugout,” Hyde said. “I think that he let a lot of frustration go on that swing. That was a bomb.”
The Orioles were in a position to rally thanks to the pitching staff’s ability to limit damage. Detroit was 1-for-14 with runners in scoring position, with the one hit being Eric Haase’s two-run single off Gibson in the third; Gibson had previously held hitters to 1-for-24 in those situations.
“A lot of that success, whether it’s me or anybody else, is just being able to execute a pitch in that time,” Gibson said. “If you’re able to do that, with the defense we have, we feel pretty good about being able to limit that damage.”
Gibson said his curveball and sweeping slider were the only of his six offerings he had consistent command of. His outing opened with consecutive singles, but Gibson retired the next three Tigers. Detroit loaded the bases with no outs in the second, benefited by a grounder to third where Ramón Urías’ throw to Ortiz at second came too late for the Orioles to get any outs, even as Haase believed he was out and began to jog off the field. A run-scoring double play from former Oriole Jonathan Schoop accounted for the inning’s only run.
“I didn’t think we played a very good brand of baseball there the first three or four innings,” Hyde said.
Ceding to Mike Baumann with two on and one out in the fifth, Gibson failed to complete that frame for the first time. But Baumann stranded both runners, having allowed one run in 14 2/3 innings since his permanent conversion to the bullpen.
“It was kind of a battle,” Gibson said. “Thankfully, Mike came in and really picked me up that inning. Offense really picked it up in the second half of the game, and just after an ugly four innings overall, team turned it around, and wow, really, really good last five innings and a big win for us.”
On the opposite end of bullpen success is Pérez, a key left-hander for the 2022 Orioles who has struggled thus far. A hit batsman opened the sixth, and after striking out Schoop, Pérez issued back-to-back walks before Hyde brought in Baker. Pérez has allowed 27 base runners in 10 innings this season.
“The stuff was really good,” Hyde said. “I just think he’s searching a little bit right now, and I’m trying to find spots for him to try to find it, but we’re playing such close games every single night, and we’re really limited in the ‘pen.
“We need [Perez], so we need him to get that confidence going.”
Baker sandwiched the run-scoring walk around two outs, and after Baltimore took the lead, he, Keegan Akin and Félix Bautista followed with scoreless innings. Bautista walked the bases loaded before striking out three to record his sixth save.
The Orioles’ bullpen, which entered the day with baseball’s third-best relief ERA, has a 1.28 ERA in the past 13 games, of which Baltimore has won 11.
Around the horn
- Outfielder Austin Hays, who suffered a bruised right middle finger on a bunt attempt Tuesday, said he was available to run but remains a couple of days away from gripping a bat. He said he initially believed the injury was “a lot more serious,” but initial X-rays did not show any breaks. “I did not dodge the ball, but I feel like I dodged a bullet,” Hays said.
- Infielder Gunnar Henderson had his right hand wrapped before the game after appearing to scrape it on a dive attempt in the field during Wednesday’s game. A left-handed hitter, Henderson was not in Thursday’s lineup against the left-handed Wentz, with Hyde saying Henderson’s hand is “fine” and that the dive reopened a previous injury.
- Injured right-handed relievers Dillon Tate (right elbow flexor strain) and Mychal Givens (left knee inflammation) both joined Double-A Bowie on rehabilitation assignments Thursday. Tate made his second rehab appearance after throwing an inning with High-A Aberdeen on Tuesday, while Givens was scheduled to throw a live batting practice session.
- Continuing a big day for Jacksons with ties to Baltimore sports, 2022 top overall draft pick Jackson Holliday tripled and homered for his first two hits with High-A Aberdeen.
Orioles at Tigers
Friday, 6:40 p.m.
TV: MASN2
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
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