With 6-run 8th inning, Orioles rally again for another comeback victory

CLEVELAND -- Would the Orioles prefer to start swinging the bats better in the early innings of games and generate more offense from the get-go? Of course. And they hope that will begin to happen soon.

But let’s admit, it’s been pretty fun to watch this year’s Baltimore squad show what it’s capable of when it needs to battle back into a game. We saw it happen Monday, when the Orioles erased a six-run deficit in a come-from-behind win over the D-backs. We nearly saw it Thursday, when they spoiled Parker Messick’s no-hit bid and cut the Guardians’ lead in half in the ninth inning.

Then, we saw it happen again Friday night.

After the O’s offense was blanked for the first seven innings, they orchestrated an impressive six-run rally against the Guardians’ bullpen in the eighth that lifted them to a 6-4 victory. And, naturally, it was red-hot Jeremiah Jackson who delivered a go-ahead three-run home run.

“I know I’ve said it multiple times, but this team, we play nine innings,” Jackson said. “That’s why there’s nine. We’re going to play all nine of them hard.”

Once the Orioles finally got going, manager Craig Albernaz pushed all the right buttons.

Right-hander Shawn Armstrong loaded the bases with no outs via walks to Taylor Ward and Dylan Beavers that were sandwiched around hitting Pete Alonso with a pitch. At that point, Albernaz pinch-hit right-handed-hitting Johnathan Rodríguez for lefty-hitting Samuel Basallo to face left-hander Erik Sabrowski.

Rodríguez quickly got Baltimore on the board, hitting a sac fly off Sabrowski’s first pitch.

After Leody Taveras walked to reload the bases -- successfully using an ABS challenge to overturn a 3-2 pitch initially called a strike -- Albernaz sent right-handed-hitting Weston Wilson to the plate in place of lefty-hitting Colton Cowser. That move worked even better, as Wilson hit a two-run double off the left-field wall to cut Cleveland’s lead to 4-3.

“That’s the biggest thing to me is they’re quality at-bats. Made everyone who was in the game work,” Albernaz said. “That’s the definition of our team right there. We don’t quit. ... Our guys just kept battling and kept fighting.”

In a span of only a few minutes, Rodríguez and Wilson combined for Baltimore’s first three RBIs of the night. Together, the duo has only a combined 11 days spent on the O’s roster, with Rodríguez getting recalled Sunday and Wilson being called up Monday to replace outfielder Tyler O’Neill (concussion) and first baseman Ryan Mountcastle (left foot fracture), respectively.

“It’s awesome. That’s kind of what we do. I feel like that’s the team, that’s the atmosphere we’ve created,” Jackson said of Rodríguez and Wilson stepping up. “It’s a roster full of really, really, really good people, really good players. Kudos to those two for coming off the bench, getting RBIs in big situations. Proud of them.”

Sabrowski struck out Coby Mayo swinging for the second out of the eighth. Then, the Guardians inserted right-hander Connor Brogdon into the game with runners still on second and third and Jackson stepping to the plate.

Known as an aggressive hitter early in counts, Jackson wanted to see a pitch from Brogdon before letting off a swing, so he watched as a 95 mph four-seam fastball came way inside. Brogdon came back with another 95 mph heater, only this one caught the low-inside corner of the strike zone -- and this time, Jackson unloaded.

Jackson clubbed the offering into the left-field seats for his fifth home run of the season, all of which have come over the past seven games. It’s been quite a week-plus for the 26-year-old, as he’s hitting .406 (13-for-32) with 13 RBIs over his past eight contests.

“It’s so impressive,” Albernaz said.

Jackson also atoned for an earlier error. His misplay on a Steven Kwan grounder at the beginning of the bottom of the seventh started the Guardians’ rally that later featured a grand slam from Daniel Schneemann (which had accounted for all the scoring to that point).

“That’s why we play both sides of the ball,” Jackson said. “For me, it was more so about trying to pick up the team, have a good at-bat. I’ve got to give a lot of credit to the guys in front of me.”

It was another resilient showing by the Orioles, who are hitting .182 over the first three innings of games, with only 17 of their 85 runs coming in the first third of contests.

So, there’s room to improve. But there’s also reason to be optimistic.

“What we're expecting is you have to get 27 outs. Defensively, we have to get 27 outs, and then offensively, you’ve got to get 27 outs against us,” said right-hander Chris Bassitt, who tossed five scoreless innings. “I really think the team should be really proud of how we handled the last two games, just in the aspect of not really giving up and rolling over.”