O's focused on big picture as win streak in extras ends

BALTIMORE -- When games have reached extra innings this year, Orioles manager Brandon Hyde has not been reluctant to rely on All-Star closer Félix Bautista to pitch two frames. The 28-year-old right-hander had been crucial to Baltimore’s streak of five consecutive extra-inning wins it carried into Tuesday night.

But when the series opener between the Orioles and Blue Jays needed a 10th inning to decide a victor, there were two reasons why Hyde didn’t turn back to Bautista, who had already worked a 1-2-3 ninth.

First, the strategy works better on the road, where Bautista can keep a game tied in the ninth and then return for the bottom of the 10th, if Baltimore can score in the top of the inning.

Second, Hyde was continuing to keep the bigger picture in mind.

“I lose him for the series if he pitches again,” Hyde said, “and I need him for the next 30-something games, too.”

So instead, Mike Baumann pitched the 10th, which quickly took a turn in Toronto’s favor. Brandon Belt deposited the right-hander’s first pitch over the right-center-field wall for a two-run homer, and the Blue Jays went on to hand the Orioles a 6-3 loss at Camden Yards.

Baltimore (77-48) remains in first place in the American League East, although its lead was cut to two games as Tampa Bay (76-51) beat Colorado. The Orioles’ defeat had no impact on their season series against the Blue Jays (70-56), which has already been decided: Baltimore is 8-3 vs. Toronto with only two meetings remaining (Wednesday and Thursday).

Baumann (9-1) took his first loss of the year due to a misplaced fastball to Belt. The slugger pounced on a 96.6 mph heater down the middle and sent it a Statcast-projected 417 feet.

“Belt’s been a really, really good hitter for a long time,” Hyde said. “He was just looking for a fastball out over the plate, obviously, and got every bit of it.”

The Blue Jays further increased their lead to 6-3, as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. followed Belt with a double and later came in to score on a Baumann wild pitch. That led to the Orioles losing in extras for the first time since June 28 (an 11-7, 10-inning home loss to the Reds).

One positive Baltimore can take from the night, though, was more encouraging progress made by right-hander Grayson Rodriguez.

Toronto had built a 3-1 lead by the fourth against Rodriguez, who admittedly wasn’t at his best. He threw only six sliders and six curveballs, as the 23-year-old quickly realized that neither breaking pitch was working well and instead relied more on his fastball (51) and changeup (31).

Still, Rodriguez grinded through to notch his third straight quality start (and fourth in five outings). He retired seven of the final eight Blue Jays batters he faced and departed after allowing three runs over six innings.

“Six innings without his best stuff or his best command, so really happy about that, him figuring things out,” Hyde said.

Since getting called back up from Triple-A Norfolk and rejoining the Orioles’ rotation, Rodriguez has a 3.24 ERA in seven starts, six of which have lasted at least 5 2/3 innings -- a mark he reached only once in 10 outings over his first stint in the big leagues earlier this year.

“Any time you can get through six, it helps the bullpen out,” Rodriguez said. “Struggled there early, so really just taking it inning by inning, trying to get the most out of it.”

As Rodriguez kept Baltimore in the game, the team rallied for a pair of runs in the fifth, with Jordan Westburg delivering a game-tying two-out RBI double. But after that, the Orioles mustered only one hit while getting blanked over the final five frames.

Baltimore had the potential winning run on second base in the ninth, but Gunnar Henderson grounded out to end the inning.

“We had our opportunities,” Hyde said, “and didn’t quite get it done.”