After losing four games in a row, the Orioles needed someone to step up and be a stopper. Tonight, that man was Brandon Young. Young cruised through seven shutout innings. The offense took a while to wake up, but when it did, things got really fun with a two-inning rally capped by a grand slam. The O’s took game three of the series, 7-2, and have a chance to grab a split tomorrow.
Branden Young, folks. He’s been good this year, but tonight he took it to a new level. In each of his last three games, he started the seventh inning but could not finish. Tonight, he finished with ease. It’s his second-longest performance of his young career; we all remember his eight-inning one-hitter against the Astros last August.
Young kicked things off with five straight groundouts before Dominic Canzone singled with two outs in the second. He followed with a walk to Mitch Garver but ended the inning with a strikeout. And that was the most trouble he got into the entire game.
Through the next five innings, the Mariners had just two more baserunners, a single in the third and a walk in the seventh. That’s it. They didn’t look like they had a chance. The Orioles gave Young three runs of support before he left the game, then added on four more after his exit to help ensure he’d get the win. Young’s final pitching line: 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K. He threw 88 pitches. He got 12 groundouts to just one flyout.
For most of this game, it looked like the offense was not going to take care of Young. I admit, the longer he went without giving up a run, the more I imagined him ending up as a hard-luck loser. I was wrong, but I think I had a good reason to think they’d choke.
In the early innings, they blew two scoring opportunities. In the second, Leody Taveras led off with a bunt single, only to get thrown out as part of a strike ‘em out, throw ‘em out double play with Jackson Holliday at the plate. With the bases empty, Tyler O’Neill hit his first of two doubles on the night. He was stranded, and it was a real shame to waste a rare hit of his.
The third inning was much worse. Sam Huff singled, Taylor Ward walked, and Gunnar Henderson singled back up the middle to load the bases. Bases loaded with no outs! Surely they’d get at least one run. They did not. Pete Alonso struck out for the second time in the game, Colton Cowser flew out but not deep enough for a sac fly, and Taveras struck out. Argh!
It felt like the Orioles would regret that, and that feeling only grew after 1-2-3 fourth and fifth innings. But they didn’t roll over. As is so often the case with these guys, the late innings were when they began to shine.
Alonso, whom I have been pretty down on lately, started the inning. After three straight foul balls, Alonso swung at a pitch above the strike zone and hammered it to center field. Julio Rodríguez chased after it but couldn’t catch up. It landed on the other side of the fence for Alonso’s 14th home run and a 1-0 lead.
But they weren’t finished! Cowser walked, stole second, and scored on a double from Taveras. Taveras stole third, then scored on a two-out double by Blaze Alexander.
A 3-0 lead after six innings with Young dealing felt good, but not great. In the bottom of the seventh, Holliday made the lead feel great. With the bases loaded on an Alonso single and walks from Ward and Taveras, Holliday stepped in with two outs. Three pitches later, he deposited a pitch into the section next to the out-of-town scoreboard. It’s a grand slam and a 7-0 score! Now that’s a comfortable lead.
Tonight was Bark at the Park night at Camden Yards, a night when Holliday tends to play well. He does it for the pups! In fact, his last grand slam came last year, also at Bark at the Park. Sadly, after the game Holliday told Kevin Brown and Jim Palmer that his dog, Coconut, had not made the trip to the game tonight. Holliday was sure to say that she was probably watching on TV.
With a seven-run lead and two innings to go, things felt pretty stable. Grant Wolfram tried to ruin it by allowing three baserunners and two runs in the eighth, but Craig Albernaz called on Yennier Cano to shut the door. He did just that with a strikeout of Randy Arozarena to end the inning. Cano returned for the ninth and had an easy 1-2-3 to seal the win.
Orioles win! The four-game losing streak is over, and maybe they can use this game to start a new streak. Brandon Young was incredible. Pete Alonso and Jackson Holliday homered. Even Tyler O’Neill got to have some fun. I think we needed this.
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