They did it.
It took eight tries, but they did it.
The Orioles will head into the All-Star break with their first four-game winning streak after beating the Royals 8-2 before an announced crowd of 31,355 at Camden Yards.
Leody Taveras hit a 448-foot two-run homer off Seth Lugo in the second inning, the longest of his career, to give the Orioles a 2-1 lead. It was gone three batters into the third, but Kansas City has been swept eight times for a reason.
Trying to break a tie in the sixth, the Orioles sent nine batters to the plate and scored five times. Taveras was a catalyst again with an RBI single off Matt Strohm.
Jeremiah Jackson followed with a ground rule double that plated Tyler O’Neill, Taveras came home on a balk, and Jackson scored on Gunnar Henderson’s infield single in front of the mound.
John Schreiber walked Taylor Ward and Pete Alonso singled with two outs for a 7-2 lead. Alonso was tagged in a rundown or a 10th hitter would have come up.
Jackson is batting .314 with a .864 OPS with runners in scoring position.
Manager Craig Albernaz pressed the right buttons, and the Orioles also caught a few breaks. O’Neill and Jackson came off the bench. Jac Caglianone lost O’Neill’s fly ball in the sun for a gift single. And Statcast measured Henderson’s ball at zero feet and 61.5 mph.
This is what hot teams do.
They also hit home runs. Samuel Basallo collected his 16th leading off the seventh.
A 46-51 record brings the Orioles within five games of .500 for the first time since June 26.
Last night’s game flew by in 2 hours, 10 minutes, which pretty much guaranteed a sluggish pace today. The starters combined for 193 pitches in 8 2/3 innings.
Shane Baz tried to accelerate it by striking out the side in the fourth, but he threw 93 pitches and Anthony Nunez warmed in the bullpen. Baz retired the first two batters in the fifth and left after Lane Thomas’ single on his 104th pitch, finishing with one earned run and two total to go with six hits, no walks and eight strikeouts.
Taveras jumped on a first-pitch fastball from Lugo, who faced the Orioles on April 20 and allowed one hit in seven scoreless innings. Lugo owned a 2.01 ERA in five career appearances against them.
The inning began with Blaze Alexander’s single, and he lined another single into left field at 105.1 mph with two outs in the third. He’s hitting .312 with an .807 OPS, including a walk with one out in the sixth to begin the decisive rally and a hit-by-pitch in the seventh that threatened to ignite a brawl.
Baz threw 30 pitches in the second inning, the last 12 to Carter Jensen before recording the strikeout on a knuckle-curve. Baz allowed an unearned run and had his pitch count up to 49.
Alexander sailed his throw on Josh Rojas’ two-out grounder, and Isaac Collins followed with a chopper over first base that went for a triple into the right field corner. The ball and player often disappear in the area behind where the last section of seats jut out.
The tying run for the Royals scored with one out in the third on Thomas’ chopper into left field after Bobby Witt Jr.’s leadoff double. Vinnie Pasquantino’s hit-and-run single put runners on the corners, but Baz got a strikeout and fly ball. The 27-pitch inning left him at 76.
Baz wouldn’t factor into the decision, but five relievers combined for 4 1/3 scoreless innings with only two hits allowed. O’Neill had a diving catch in the ninth and Taveras made a leaping grab at the fence.
The team is beginning to soar – grounded only by the break.
Benches and bullpens empty
After Basallo homered off Lucas Erceg, Alexander stepped to the plate and was drilled on the left hand by a 95.5 mph fastball on the seventh pitch of the at-bat. The count was 1-2 after Alexander fouled off three consecutive offerings.
Alexander tossed his batting helmet, took a few steps up the first base line and yelled to Erceg, who gestured as if confused by the reaction. Plate umpire Ryan Additon got in front of Alexander and Albernaz rushed onto the field to protect his player from an ejection and try to defuse the situation.
Both teams poured onto the field, of course, but order was restored right away. Albernaz sent in Coby Mayo to pinch-run for Alexander.
Futures Game update
Ike Irish, the Orioles’ first pick in the 2025 draft, served as designated hitter today for the American League in the All-Star Futures Game and went 0-for-1 with a walk and strikeout.
Left-hander Joseph Dzierwa retired the only batter he faced on two pitches – four-seam fastballs at 94.4 mph and 92.5 mph.
The AL won 6-1.
MLB Pipeline ranks Irish as the No.2 prospect in the system and Dzierwa at No. 3.
Also from the farm …
Second baseman RJ Austin was removed from High-A Frederick’s game in the third inning after being hit by a pitch.
Austin walked and stole two bases in the first inning, giving him 26 this season.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.masnsports.com ’
