Taveras' laser, Basallo's final stand at plate help O's get back on track

BALTIMORE -- Defense has been a sore spot for the Orioles so far this season, but manager Craig Albernaz has continually expressed his belief that his club will soon play cleaner baseball. The work is being put in every day. The effort has been there all year.

On Sunday afternoon at Camden Yards, it was an impressive defensive play -- easily one of Baltimore’s best so far in 2026 -- that saved the game and put an end to a recent skid.

O’s center fielder Leody Taveras threw out what would have been the game-tying run at home plate to end the top of the seventh inning, helping to preserve a 2-1 win that denied the A’s of a three-game sweep. The Orioles (18-23) snapped a three-game losing streak and were victorious after dropping eight of their previous 10.

Taveras’ impactful bat has been a surprise this season. But Baltimore knew what it would be getting from the 27-year-old in the field when it signed him to a $2 million deal for 2026.

The A’s had a runner on second base with two outs in the seventh, with O’s right-hander Chris Bassitt nearing the end of his day. On Bassitt’s 94th and final pitch, he gave up a single to Zack Gelof, who appeared to have potentially knotted the game at 2.

However, Taveras scooped up the ball and uncorked a 93.7 mph throw to the plate, which got to catcher Samuel Basallo in plenty of time. Carlos Cortes came barreling toward home and made heavy contact with Basallo, but the 21-year-old backstop held onto the ball and completed the lead-saving play, as home-plate umpire Carlos Torres signaled Cortes was out.

It was Taveras’ first outfield assist of the season and the 18th of his seven-year MLB career.

The highlight-reel play made a winner out of Bassitt, who allowed only one run on four hits and one walk with six strikeouts over six innings. The 37-year-old didn’t enter the game until the second, though, as Baltimore used an opener for the first time this year. Left-hander Keegan Akin worked a 1-2-3 first against a difficult top third of the A’s lineup.

The Orioles hadn’t allowed fewer than three runs in a game since a 6-2 win over the Giants on April 12. Baltimore had given up at least three in each of its previous 25 contests.