Gunnar, Blaze day to day with injuries as banged-up O's drop crucial game to Guards

BALTIMORE -- First, Blaze Alexander felt a spasm in his back, which tightened up on him and caused his removal from Tuesday night’s game at Camden Yards in the ninth inning. Before Alexander’s departure, Gunnar Henderson exited after fouling a ball off his left knee in the eighth and having it lock up on him while running the bases.

Meanwhile, Samuel Basallo winced multiple times following swings throughout the evening, the soreness in his right shoulder continuing to linger.

The Orioles are banged up. Their postseason odds continue to go down.

Tuesday’s 9-5 loss to Cleveland made Baltimore’s potential path to the playoffs even more challenging. The O’s needed to sweep this three-game set in order to win the season series vs. the Guardians, which would serve as an American League Wild Card tiebreaker, if needed.

Instead, the Guards (74-72) ensured they’ll own that, even if they lose Wednesday night’s rubber game. The Orioles (70-76) now sit four games back of the third AL Wild Card spot (currently occupied by the Guardians) with only 16 to play.

Baltimore has lost seven of eight games, and its players are feeling the effects of a long season.

Let’s start with Henderson.

The O’s star shortstop fouled a 1-1 pitch from right-hander Hunter Gaddis off his left knee in the eighth and then got checked on by a trainer. Henderson stayed in the game and worked an eight-pitch walk, but he didn’t stay in for long.

Coby Mayo followed Henderson’s walk with a groundout to first base, and Henderson’s knee locked up on him while he was running from first to second. So, he exited the game alongside a trainer and manager Craig Albernaz.

“If anyone’s gotten hit there, it locks up pretty good,” Albernaz said. “And Gunnar, being how tough he is, tried to gut it out. But running to second base, it just didn’t look right.”

Henderson called it a “day-to-day” ailment and doesn’t believe it will become a long-term issue.

“Didn't feel great running out there, but we'll see how it feels in the morning,” said Henderson, who had a black compression sleeve on the knee postgame. “Right now, it's fine. It's just when I was trying to stop out there, it really didn't feel good. ... It should be fine tomorrow. We'll see.”

Alexander’s back spasm occurred when he fielded a sac bunt by Patrick Bailey in the seventh. The 27-year-old utility man stayed in the game, though he didn’t take another at-bat before getting replaced by Christian Encarnacion-Strand at third in the ninth.

“His back started to spasm and locked up on him,” Albernaz said.

Like Henderson’s knee soreness, Alexander’s back ailment doesn’t seem too severe and also appears to be a day-to-day situation. His exit and the corresponding moves, though, resulted in catcher Carlos Narváez playing second base for the first time in his pro career in the ninth.

Basallo played all nine innings at catcher and went 0-for-4 with an RBI and a pair of strikeouts. The 22-year-old rookie showed visible discomfort after multiple swings, though, and he also got checked over after taking a backswing to the catcher’s helmet and shoulder in the eighth.

From July 20-Aug. 19, Basallo was on the injured list due to right shoulder inflammation.

“He’s still dealing with some right shoulder soreness. I think it’s just soreness,” Albernaz said. “We’re checking on him throughout the game. He said he was fine. But yeah, I saw the same thing as you guys. I was talking to him pretty much after every inning to kind of see where he was at. He wouldn’t come out and said he was fine. He had a few backswings and foul tips. Life of a catcher.”

The Orioles will hope to heal up, regroup and play well enough over the next 19 days to sneak into the postseason. But time is running out.

It’s reasonable to think that 83 wins could be enough to earn the third AL Wild Card this year, which has brought a tight, competitive race. For the O’s to reach that mark, they would have to finish the season on a 13-3 run.

So, while it’s not impossible, it’s becoming less probable for Baltimore to make it in. However, the O’s aren’t giving up now.

“It's right there in front of us. We win ballgames, we're going to put ourselves right in it, right there,” Henderson said. “Obviously, it comes down to winning ballgames, and that's all we can do at this point. It's pretty plain and simple -- win ballgames.”