Blaze's fire empties benches, but can't spark slumping Orioles

BALTIMORE -- Blaze Alexander may have been looking to create a spark. The 27-year-old was certainly attempting to do just that once the benches and bullpens had emptied at Camden Yards following the conclusion of the eighth inning during the Orioles’ 1-0 loss to the Red Sox on Friday night.

American League East rivalry matchups can always bring heat and tension, and another fracas ensued in this contest, with Alexander at the center of it all.

Here’s how it went down.

Boston right-hander Garrett Whitlock got Baltimore’s Luis Robert Jr. to ground into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play in the eighth, with shortstop Trevor Story and second baseman Nick Sogard combining to turn two. Alexander took a bit of a wide slide into second on the play, but it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.

However, Alexander said he stood up and noticed Red Sox players looking in his direction.

“I thought it was a clean slide into the bag and just getting stared at,” Alexander said. “I wanted to know why I’m getting stared at.”

Sogard said his veering back at Alexander didn’t have anything to do with the slide.

“He slid in pretty hard. I didn't have a problem with the slide, but we turned the double play. I was just looking back to see how far he went,” Sogard said. “I don't know if he liked me looking back. That was pretty much it."

It wasn’t the first time during the first half of this four-game series between the Red Sox and Orioles that a slide into second base became a talking point.

During the eighth inning of Boston’s 6-5 win in Thursday’s opener, Jahmai Jones slid into second base on a fielder’s choice groundout by Adley Rutschman that resulted in Alexander (who was playing second at the time) committing a throwing error. Rutschman advanced to second on the play and later scored on Sogard’s go-ahead two-run homer.

Was there any carryover from Thursday into Friday?

“I mean, maybe a little. But I mean, I don’t know why they’re upset. I didn’t touch him,” Alexander said. “There was more contact on the play last night. And that’s it.”

After Alexander’s slide, he got up and became a bit heated toward Sogard and others. Story was also at the center of it, talking back at Alexander, as players rushed the field from all angles and filled the infield grass around them.

These are the kinds of moments that can happen when two teams are battling for postseason berths in September.

“Not a big deal, not a huge thing,” Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy said. “It's one of those things where, when he's out there, it looks like a bigger deal than it is. But I just think there was some chirping in our direction, and they took exception.”

“I just know Blaze, he’s fiery, competitive, he’s trying to win at all times,” O’s manager Craig Albernaz said. “I’m not sure what was said, but just two teams competing.”

Though both teams were issued warnings, nobody was ejected. Alexander was seen waving his arms upward, trying to get the Orioles' fans behind the first-base dugout fired up heading into the final inning of the game, before he took his place in right field to open the ninth.

“Obviously, [Boston closer Aroldis] Chapman’s coming in [for the bottom of the ninth] and [wanted to] get the crowd going a little bit,” Alexander said. “Yeah, you never know. Score two there and we win and it looks real good.”

That did not happen. The Orioles, instead, got shut out for the fifth time this season and fell to 69-73. They dropped to 0-4 in September, and they’re now three games behind the Guardians (72-70) for the third AL Wild Card spot.

It’s quickly getting late in the season, and Baltimore knows it needs to end this skid soon to have a chance to be playing into October.

“Every game matters right now. Every win’s big, every loss is big as well,” Alexander said. “We’ve just got to come play our baseball and come to win every day. That’s really it.”