DeLauter homers in return, but third inning unravels on Griffin, Guardians

BALTIMORE -- The night began triumphantly as Chase DeLauter announced his return to the Guardians' starting lineup with authority. But in the end, Wednesday brought whiplash with one of Cleveland’s worst single innings in recent memory.

And the Guardians left Baltimore with an ill-timed series loss in their continued push for the postseason.

DeLauter’s first-inning two-run homer -- in his return from a right wrist sprain that sidelined him the previous four games -- was merely a footnote in the Guardians’ 9-5 loss to the Orioles at Camden Yards. The O’s scored eight runs in the third inning to send starter Foster Griffin’s night up in flames.

“[The inning] happened pretty quick and it got away from us,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said.

It marked the most runs the Guardians surrendered in a single inning since May 13, 2022, when they allowed nine in the fifth inning of a 12-8 loss to the Twins. All eight were charged to Griffin. He allowed seven hits in the third and lasted just 2 1/3 innings in his shortest start of the season.

“You think, ‘Just how did that keep happening?’” Griffin said.

This series was a missed opportunity for the Guardians (74-73), even as they retained a one-game lead over the Blue Jays (73-74) for the final American League Wild Card spot. Cleveland had a chance to give itself some breathing room after Toronto lost its three-game series to the A’s in Sacramento.

Instead, the Guardians were unable to put away an Orioles team (71-76) that now sits just three games back of the final Wild Card spot. Cleveland remained two games back of first place in the AL Central, with the White Sox losing 4-2 to the Pirates.

Griffin, an All-Star with the Nationals this season whom the Guardians acquired before the Aug. 3 Trade Deadline, faced one over the minimum through two innings. His night unraveled in a hurry in the third. Nine of the Orioles’ first 10 batters reached against him on six singles, one double, one hit by pitch and one walk.

Leody Taveras’ RBI single, in his second at-bat of the inning, ended Griffin’s night.

“They got a lot of dink hits and had really good placement on their part, and they just poured it on,” Vogt said. “It felt like every pitch was right there to get us out of it, and they just kept falling.”

Only two balls in play off Griffin in the third were hit hard (95+ mph exit velocity). Pete Alonso singled (108.3 mph) and Rece Hinds hit a sacrifice fly (102.2 mph). The inning began with a single by Taveras (76.9 mph); an infield single by Carlos Narváez (86.8 mph) that third baseman José Ramírez gloved but could not get a throw off on; and a game-tying two-run double by Dylan Beavers (53.4 mph).

The soft contact hurt, though Griffin also didn’t help himself at times. With Beavers at the plate, he committed a throwing error on a pickoff attempt that advanced Taveras and Narváez up 90 feet. After Alonso’s single, Griffin walked Coby Mayo to load the bases and hit Christian Encarnacion-Strand to force in the go-ahead run. The Orioles’ lead grew from there.

“I felt like I was making my pitches,” Griffin said. “The 0-2 hit by pitch hurts as well. I threw it kind of right where I wanted, but just got into the back foot. It's just one of those outings I'll just look back on and try to flush, just try to chalk it up to baseball.”

Wednesday marked the Guardians’ 10th game over the past nine days. Their bullpen covered an MLB-leading 38 2/3 innings over their first nine games this month. Even with an off-day Thursday, that group has gotten a lot of work lately, including Monday and Tuesday. Starters Joey Cantillo and Tanner Bibee pitched a combined 6 2/3 innings.

The Guardians can’t afford to keep pulling their starters before the fifth inning. The quality of contact against Griffin inspired confidence he could work out of his trouble. It just didn’t happen.

“He's one pitch away from getting out of the inning the whole time,” Vogt said. “It wasn't deep counts. It wasn't getting hit hard.”

The Guardians have 15 regular-season games remaining. However you want to view Wednesday, it was a poor outcome in their playoff push. They need to stack series wins, not losses.

They have five series remaining to secure their spot in the big dance.

“At this point in the year, you really can't even take it a series at a time,” Griffin said. “Let's take it a game at a time, and we'll go from there.”