The Baltimore bats couldn’t deliver in the clutch, and a strong Kyle Bradish start went to waste, as the O’s dropped their series finale in Cincinnati 3-2.
The O’s came into the bottom of the 9th trailing 3-1 after struggling to get their bats going all afternoon. The pinch-hitting Dylan Beavers worked a leadoff walk to put the winning run on base. Jackson Holliday then entered for Jeremiah Jackson, with the former No.1 overall pick correctly challenging a 3-1 pitch to also reach via walk. The red-hot Blaze Alexander then battled Reds closer Emilio Pagán, finally getting ahold of a 2-2 cutter and sending a single into left to load the bases.
With the bases loaded and one out, former All-Star Gunnar Henderson stepped to the plate. After falling behind 1-2, Gunnar just missed a fastball up and away, sending a fly out to deep left field. The sac fly allowed Beavers to score and cut the deficit to one.
That put the weight of the Orioles’ chances on the newly named All-Star Adley Rutschman. The Orioles’ catcher fell behind like Henderson and could only send a fly ball to center, ending the game with the tying run on second base.
The rally in the 9th was the Orioles’ first good scoring opportunity since the 6th inning. With the O’s trailing 2-0. After Adley Rutschman started off the frame with a fly out, Taylor Ward got the rally going with a double to the left field gap. Pete Alonso then sent a rocket of a ground ball to short, where a bobble by Elly De La Cruz allowed Ward to advance on a 6-3 groundout. That brought up Coby Mayo, the lefty masher, against Reds’ left-handed starter Nick Lodolo. The southpaw left a 1-1 changeup over the plate and Mayo smashed it into left field to bring home Ward.
Outfielders Tyler O’Neill and Leody Taveras then worked back-to-back walks to load the bases for Jeremiah Jackson. The infielder couldn’t come through, striking out to end the threat.
The lack of clutch hitting doomed starter Bradish to his second straight loss. The Orioles’ right-hander was as dominant as they come through the first four innings of the game, but saw his outing unravel a little in the 5th inning.
The Orioles’ right-hander started the game by setting down the first 12 Reds batters he faced. Bradish got an assist from Adley Rutschman in his first AB against De La Cruz, with the starter picking up a strikeout of the All-Star SS after a successful strike three challenge by Rutschman. He then got back-to-back groundouts from Sal Stewart and JJ Bleday to complete the 1st inning on just six pitches.
He’d repeat that same pattern in the 2nd, punching out Eugenio Suárez on a slider in the dirt before groundouts from Spencer Steer and Tyler Stephenson ended another 1-2-3 frame on only 11 pitches. Like your favorite song playing on repeat, Bradish would again cruise through the 3rd by starting with a strikeout before rolling back-to-back groundouts. He started the frame by getting Noelvi Marte to swing over a dive-bomb curveball, before TJ Friedl and Edwin Arroyo each grounded out to the right side to complete Bradish’s perfect first time through the order.
The ground ball remained Bradish’s best friend through the 4th inning, getting De La Cruz and Stewart to ground out up the middle to begin his second time through the lineup. Bleday then hit the Reds’ first ball out of the infield, lining out Leody Taveras in center to complete another perfect frame by the Orioles’ former ace. Bradish came into Sunday with a season of high of 10 groundball outs, and already had eight at the end of four frames.
That perfect start quickly turned into a Reds advantage thanks to a walk and a blast in the 5th. Bradish fell behind Suárez 3-0 and ultimately allowed his first base runner on a five-pitch walk. The Orioles’ right-hander then got ahead of Steer 0-2, but couldn’t find his out pitch. After failing to get Steer to chase a couple of breaking balls out of the zone, a 3-2 slider caught too much of the plate, and the Reds’ 1B sent an opposite-field two-run homer into the right-field bleachers.
After seeing his perfect game, no-hitter and shutout disappear in a matter of two batters, Bradish locked back in. He worked around a single from Tyler Stephenson to limit the Reds from doing any more damage. He then came back in the 6th and started the frame with another punch out of De La Cruz. After Sal Stewart gave the 29-year-old his 10th ground ball out of the afternoon, he won an eight-pitch battle with Bleday to complete another scoreless inning.
Thanks to only needing 77 pitches to get through the first six innings, Bradish came out for the 7th looking to keep the deficit manageable. He got fly-outs from Suárez and Steer before Stephenson picked up his second single of the afternoon (the Reds’ third hit). Bradish didn’t let the base runner faze him, however, getting Marte to bounce out for his 11th ground ball—a new season high.
Despite sitting at 89 pitches, manager Craig Albernaz sent his starter back out for the 8th inning. He started the 8th with a two-pitch flyout against Friedl, before giving up a soft single up the middle to Arroyo. The Orioles’ righty would win an eight-pitch battle against De La Cruz to strike out the SS for the fourth time.
Albernaz then came to the mound, looking like he was going to take Bradish out at 102 pitches. Instead, the starter convinced his manager to leave him in, and the Reds made the Orioles pay for that decision. With Stephenson on second after a wild pitch, Bradish tried to sneak a curveball inside to Stewart, but the Cincinnati 3B rocketed it down the third-base line to give the Reds a 3-1 lead.
That’d be Bradish’s last batter, finishing his afternoon with a line of 7.2 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB and 5 Ks. It was the third time in his last four starts that Bradish pitched into the 8th inning, and his eighth quality start of the season.
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