Baltimore followers on Saturday witnessed their first postseason recreation at Camden Yards since 2014. They’ll have to attend at the least another day to have a good time.
In entrance of a sold-out crowd, the Orioles misplaced to the Texas Rangers, 3-2, in Game 1 of the American League Division Series, as Baltimore’s bats mustered solely 5 hits and couldn’t come by means of within the clutch late. The loss places the Orioles in an early gap within the sequence, now needing to win three of the subsequent 4 video games to advance to the AL Championship Series.
“This is a tough team to beat if you score two runs,” supervisor Brandon Hyde stated. “They’re unbelievably patient. They don’t chase out of the zone. We did a great job on the mound, the three runs. We didn’t have the offense today, we didn’t create traffic.”
Aside from Ryan Mountcastle’s RBI double within the fourth and Anthony Santander’s solo homer within the sixth, the Orioles couldn’t break by means of on offense. Starting pitcher Kyle Bradish was dominant by means of three innings however bumped into bother within the fourth because the Rangers gained a 2-0 lead.
The Orioles went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring place and grounded into two double performs, together with a back-breaking one by Santander within the eighth. With the Orioles trailing by one run and runners on first and second, Rangers left-hander Aroldis Chapman induced a pivotal double play of Baltimore’s designated hitter. The seven-time All-Star struck out Mountcastle within the subsequent at-bat, stranding the tying run at third.
“We didn’t have a ton of scoring opportunities besides that,” Hyde stated.
After Hyde pulled Bradish with two outs within the fifth, the skipper managing his first playoff recreation used 5 relievers for the remaining 4 1/3 innings, matching his bullpen arms towards the Rangers’ mixture of left- and right-handed batters. Aside from Jacob Webb, who gave up a solo homer to Josh Jung within the sixth, Hyde’s reduction corps stepped as much as give Baltimore’s bats an opportunity late within the recreation.
That likelihood occurred once more within the ninth after Gunnar Henderson led off the inning with a single off right-hander José Leclerc, however the rookie was caught stealing at second base with no outs — a play that Hyde referred to as a “miscommunication.”
Aaron Hicks struck out and Adam Frazier grounded out to finish the sport.
“We just couldn’t get those string of hits together,” stated left fielder Austin Hays, who grounded right into a double play within the fifth and went 0-for-3 with a stroll. “We simply wanted that another large hit to get issues rolling.
The loss is the franchise’s sixth straight within the postseason, together with 2016′s wild-card defeat to the Toronto Blue Jays and 2014′s four-game sweep towards the Kansas City Royals within the ALCS. The Orioles’ final playoff win was within the 2014 ALDS over the Detroit Tigers.
Baltimore may have the chance to tie the sequence Sunday at 4:07 p.m. earlier than it strikes to Arlington, Texas, for Games 3 and, if crucial, 4 on Tuesday and Wednesday night. It received’t get simpler in Game 2, as Rangers ace Jordan Montgomery will face the Orioles and rookie Grayson Rodriguez.
“It’s a five-game series,” stated Ryan O’Hearn, who pinch hit within the seventh with a runner on first and struck out wanting. “Wish we could have got this one, but didn’t go our way today. So tomorrow, do it again. We believe in our guys and what we’ve done all year, and I think guys will show up tomorrow ready to go.”
Long earlier than the frustration of the loss, Camden Yards was buzzing after rain delayed the sport’s begin by 1 hour, 13 minutes. The 46,450 followers in attendance — a packed home at Oriole Park with the higher decks and standing-room-only sections in heart area, on the flag court docket and Legend Park crammed — have yearned for days similar to Saturday after years of cheering for 100-loss groups. Now, they’re rooting for the AL’s high seed after a 101-win season, dealing with a formidable membership that received 90 video games and superior to face Baltimore after sweeping the Tampa Bay Rays within the wild-card spherical.
“I thought the environment was unbelievable,” Hyde stated. “It was actually loud early within the recreation, to begin the sport. Thank you followers for displaying up. That was a particular atmosphere for our guys to play in.
“We just got beat.”
Once the skies cleared, the solar shone and the tarp was eliminated, Orioles followers had been able to burst in the course of the pregame festivities, waving their orange towels, delivering a loud ‘O’ throughout Joan Jett’s nationwide anthem and applauding Adam Jones’ first pitch like they did when he would hit an enormous homer or make an internet gem throughout Baltimore’s most up-to-date period of nice baseball.
“It was unbelievable,” Hays stated in regards to the ambiance. “It was a dream come true to run out there with orange flags being waved everywhere. It was an awesome experience. It was electric, the loudest ballpark I’ve ever been in, louder than the All-Star Game. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, for sure, so I’m looking forward to doing it again tomorrow.”
The good vibes remained as Bradish carved his approach by means of Texas’ lineup that led the AL in offense in the course of the common season at 5.44 runs per recreation. The second-year right-hander struck out 5 within the first two innings backed by elevated velocity on his sinker and wipeout slider. The 27-year-old turned the seventh Orioles pitcher to file 9 strikeouts in a playoff recreation, becoming a member of Mike Mussina, Mike Boddicker, Mike Cuellar, Dave McNally, Jim Palmer and Moe Drabowsky.
However, Rangers left-hander Andrew Heaney matched Bradish blow for blow, however as a substitute of punchouts, Heaney induced 5 groundouts by means of three innings. The beginning pitching matchup was a transparent benefit for the Orioles — maybe the one recreation that would be the case this sequence.
Bradish emerged this summer time as an AL Cy Young candidate, ending the common season with a 2.83 ERA that was the fourth greatest amongst certified starters. He entered the postseason on a 16-inning scoreless streak and had the majors’ greatest ERA within the second half. Heaney, in the meantime, is probably the Rangers’ seventh-best beginning pitcher (when together with the injured Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer and Jon Gray) and he entered Saturday with a 7.63 ERA in 30 2/3 profession innings versus Baltimore.
“I think Heaney threw the ball well to start the game,” Hyde stated. “We saw that in May they pitched well, also. We just didn’t get any big hits today. Besides Santander’s homer, we didn’t have a ton of offense.”
The Orioles’ bats couldn’t reap the benefits of that disparity, although, and Texas’ discovered Bradish within the fourth inning, recording 4 straight one-out hits to take a 2-0 lead. Cleanup hitter Adolis García doubled down the left area line, and rookie sensation Evan Carter drove him in with an RBI double down the proper area line for the sport’s first run. Carter, a high prospect the Rangers promoted in September who’s shortly rising as a star, lined Bradish’s signature slider 101.5 mph down the proper area line.
Catcher Jonah Heim, an Orioles draftee in 2013, then singled residence Carter on an RBI single that narrowly squeaked previous Henderson at shortstop. After two extra hits sandwiched a strikeout to load the bases, Bradish ended the merry-go-round by hanging out leadoff hitter Marcus Semien. The 5 hits Bradish allowed within the fourth are greater than he surrendered in all however one in every of his last six regular-season begins.
“It’s a good hitting team, that’s what they do,” Bradish stated.
Bradish ended his first profession postseason begin simply wanting 5 innings, giving up seven hits and two runs whereas strolling only one.
“We were down 2-1, and he just gave up two runs the inning before,” Hyde stated on why he pulled Bradish at 84 pitches. “And I don’t think he’s as sharp as he is usually. But he punched out nine and had really good stuff.”
Santander and Mountcastle introduced the vitality again to Camden Yards within the backside half of the fourth, as the previous’s one-out stroll arrange the latter’s RBI double to left area. Mountcastle was the AL’s greatest hitter off left-handed pitchers within the common season (minimal 150 plate appearances) with a 1.052 OPS.
But the rally ended there, as Henderson popped out off Heaney, and Frazier, who pinch hit for rookie Jordan Westburg with two runners on, did the identical to finish the inning towards right-hander Dane Dunning, a beginning pitcher Rangers supervisor Bruce Bochy introduced in to comply with Heaney for 2 innings.
“We had some opportunities early to score some runs and didn’t come through,” Henderson stated. “That’s how it goes sometimes.”
Left-hander Danny Coulombe stranded Bradish’s runner within the fifth, however Webb, an August waiver declare from the Los Angeles Angels, served up a center-cut fastball to Jung, who clobbered the pitch 107.5 mph over the middle area wall.
Once once more, although, the Orioles responded in the identical body, as Santander deposited an 0-1 changeup from Dunning to chop Baltimore’s deficit in half. Bochy then used relievers Will Smith, Josh Sborz, Chapman and Leclerc for the ultimate 3 1/3 innings, because the quartet walked 4 however surrendered only one hit. The Rangers’ bullpen was thought of a weak spot heading into the sequence after the reduction corps’ 4.77 ERA in the course of the common season was the worst amongst playoff groups.
That bullpen is a predominant motive the Rangers had been 14-22 in one-run video games, a surprisingly poor mark for a staff that went into the ultimate day of the common season with an opportunity to win the AL West. The Orioles, in the meantime, went 30-16 in one-run video games behind a lineup that was the sports activities’ most clutch with an .837 OPS with runners in scoring place.
Orioles gamers after the sport stated they imagine of their skill to place Saturday’s loss behind going into Sunday’s near-must-win Game 2. This is the membership, in any case, that hasn’t been swept in 91 straight sequence relationship to May 2022.
“I was just thinking to myself, it’s not the first time we ever lost the first game of a series and came out on top,” stated Cedric Mullins, who went 0-for-3. “We’ll continue to stay positive, learn from this one and be prepared for tomorrow.”
Baltimore Sun reporters Nathan Ruiz, Childs Walker and Hayes Gardner contributed to this text.
ALDS, Game 2
Rangers at Orioles
Sunday, 4:07 p.m.
TV: FS1
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
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Source: www.bostonherald.com