Kyle Bradish didn’t show much emotion while he mowed down the Royals tonight and he had the same demeanor when a line drive found grass in left-center field. Bradish took a few steps off the mound, tugged on his jersey and waited for the ball. His expression didn’t change.
Neither did the Orioles’ control of the game.
They hit four home runs and Bradish carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning in a 6-1 victory before an announced crowd of 28,958 at Camden Yards.
The Orioles (45-51) have won three in a row for the eighth time this season. They failed in their first seven attempts to extend the streak to four.
Jac Caglianone began the seventh with a single that ruined Bradish’s historic bid. Bradish left with two outs after Salvador Perez’s sacrifice fly and Michael Massey’s single. The inning also included a walk and wild pitch.
Fans rose to their feet to cheer Bradish before he handed the ball to manager Craig Albernaz. Bradish wiped the sweat off his forehead, walked toward the dugout and pointed to the crowd standing behind it.
“I didn’t really even notice until we went out for the seventh … kind of a loud cheer, and I was like, ‘What’s going on?’” Bradish said. “But then it crept in my mind. I mean, it was a weak, weak (contract), but whatever.”
“It was one of those things where you’re watching and you kind of know what’s going on right from the jump,” Albernaz said. “He had really good stuff. It’s always tough to say if he had no-hit stuff just because it’s some pretty good hitters over there, but he did a great job of, obviously, pounding the zone. Fastball had great life. I mean, the breaking balls were really good tonight. He did an outstanding job for us. It was really fun to watch.”
Pete Alonso kept the no-hitter alive in the sixth with a lunging stop of Carter Jensen’s grounder up the line and flip to Bradish covering the bag. Two innings earlier, Jackson Holliday ranged to his left and made a sliding stop of Caglianone’s grounder, and Gunnar Henderson corralled Lane Thomas’ 107.4 mph one-hopper, spun and threw him out.
Alonso hit his 21st homer, a 420-foot two-run shot off left-hander Noah Cameron in the fourth to give the Orioles a 3-0 lead. Alonso watched the ball clear the center field fence and slapped his hands together as he approached first base.
Coby Mayo delivered his 12th leading off the fifth and it was a typical tape-measure shot, the ball traveling 440 feet at 110.4 mph and hitting the façade in the second deck.
He became the eighth player in the ballpark’s history to reach those seats earlier this week. He couldn’t resist trying again.
“I didn’t even know until I got in the dugout and Pete’s like, ‘Two in one week is crazy.’ And I thought he was just talking about homers,” Mayo said.
“He’s like, ‘There’s only seven guys to ever do it, and you did it twice in a week.’ And I was like, ‘That ball got up there?’ And then I saw the replay. It hit. I don’t know if that counts. But it was a good feeling. Felt good today. It’s nice to put some good swings on the ball and hit them hard.
“For me, when I hit the ball hard, good things happen. So, today was a good day for me.”
“I don’t know how to describe that power,” Albernaz said. “It’s impressive, though. The home run he hit into the deck the other night was really impressive, but this one was just as impressive. It was more on a line and it hit the facing of the second level up there. But that’s what Coby can do, and when he gets a good pitch to hit and gets his swing on it, he’s dangerous.”
Taylor Ward finally hit his first Camden Yards home run, reaching the flag count in the sixth inning to give the Orioles a 5-0 lead. The other five came on the road.
Henderson led off the eighth with his 17th homer and his first since June 19.
Samuel Basallo followed last night’s tie-breaking two-run homer with an RBI single in the second inning after Alonso’s leadoff double. Basallo was out trying to stretch it into a double.
Bradish retired the first eight batters before Isaac Collins reached on Holliday’s fielding error. Jensen walked and Bobby Witt Jr. popped up in foul territory.
Ten in a row were retired before Caglianone singled on a 2-1 sinker. Bradish was charged with one run and two hits in 6 2/3 innings, with two walks and five strikeouts, and his ERA decreased from 3.75 to 3.61.
John Means threw the last Orioles no-hitter on May 5, 2021 in Seattle.
Asked what’s keying his impressive stretch in his first full season after Tommy John surgery, Bradish said, “I think the competitiveness in the zone that’s kind of been apparent for the past month and a half, two months, which has kind of been the turnaround for me since April. Getting both breaking balls to both sides, and then fastball command.
“I think obviously today, velo was down, but command was better with the fastball. Would have liked to throw a little more strikes with the breaking balls. Probably got would have got more chase, but you know defense was working today, and so I had full confidence out there, just filling up the zone and creating contact.”
Grant Wolfram, Yennier Cano and Tyler Wells combined for 2 1/3 spotless innings.
“We did have one error tonight, but it was a really well-played game,” Albernaz said. “The energy in the ballpark was outstanding. Felt it from the anthem. Me and Donnie (Ecker) were talking about it, we were trying to figure out the last time we felt that juice in here, since Opening Day. The guy (Cpl. Wilber “Jack” Myers) singing the national anthem was 103 years old and he’s out there dancing. You felt it from the crowd, and our boys felt that.
“Our guys did a great job of navigating a tough pitcher with really good stuff and got some good pitches to hit. Defense made some really nice plays, and pitching was really good. Bradish had his two walks and then Wolfy and Cano and Wellsy came in and they didn’t walk anyone, it was a really complete game.”
As the rotation turns
The first half concludes Sunday with Shane Baz making his 19th start. Albernaz could tweak the order coming out of the break. Rest is coming anyway with four days off before road series in Houston and Boston.
Dean Kremer, Trevor Rogers and Brandon Young would face the Astros if everyone stays on turn.
“Four-day break and see how everything lines up,” Albernaz said. “We’ve started having little talks about how the rotation will line up coming out of the break. It’s a great opportunity for us and any team to kind of reset the rotation and see where guys are at physically and make their proper adjustments.”
Down on the farm
The Orioles reinstated reliever Yaramil Hiraldo from the 60-day injured list and optioned him to Triple-A Norfolk. The 40-man roster is full.
Hiraldo broke camp with the team and appeared in three games before going on the IL with right shoulder inflammation. He allowed four runs and three hits in 1 ½ innings, with four walks, two strikeouts and two homers.
Nestor German tossed seven scoreless innings with four hits and six strikeouts. Christian Encarnacion-Strand hit his 19th homer.
Pitcher Trace Bright was placed on Norfolk’s development list.
Double-A Chesapeake’s Luis De León no-hit Akron for 6 2/3 innings, and he tossed eight scoreless with two hits. Douglas Hodo III doubled, homered and drove in five runs.
High-A Frederick’s Caden Hunter struck out eight batters in five innings, allowing two runs and two hits. His ERA is 1.93.
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