BALTIMORE -- Every game is bringing a must-win energy for the Orioles at this stage in the season. But their chances of victory vs. the Guardians felt quite low early Wednesday night.
There was no Gunnar Henderson, out of the lineup due to left knee soreness. There was no Blaze Alexander, who was placed on the 10-day injured list because of low back discomfort before the contest. And Cleveland led early after Chase DeLauter’s first-inning two-run homer.
But Baltimore rallied, and in impressive fashion.
The O’s used an eight-run third inning to storm back for a 9-5 victory at Camden Yards. It matched their largest frame of the season, as they also plated eight in the fifth inning of a 13-1 win at St. Louis on Aug. 25.
“We’re still in it. Obviously, our record is not where we want it, but we’re still in the fight,” manager Craig Albernaz said. “Our guys show up to be resilient pretty much every step of the way this season. Yeah, yesterday was tough [with a loss and injuries to Henderson and Alexander], but the boys came out and responded today.”
After taking two of three from the Guardians (74-73), the Orioles (71-76) are three games back of the third American League Wild Card spot, currently occupied by Cleveland. The Blue Jays (73-74) and the Rangers (72-74) are also between the two teams in the standings.
However, the Guards own the tiebreaker vs. the O’s after winning the season series, 4-3.
Baltimore has 15 games remaining, including six against AL East-rival Toronto. The O’s have an off-day Thursday before opening a three-game set vs. the Jays on Friday at Rogers Centre.
“When we play our best, we can beat anybody,” outfielder Dylan Beavers said. “It’s just about taking it game to game. Winning 15 games is tough. But if you try and win one game every day, it feels a lot more manageable.”
The Orioles’ eight-run third began with back-to-back singles by Leody Taveras and Carlos Narváez, then a game-tying two-run double from Beavers. Baltimore took a 3-2 lead when Cleveland left-hander Foster Griffin hit Christian Encarnacion-Strand with a pitch with the bases loaded and no outs.
Then, the O’s kept pouring it on. Jackson Holliday, Jeremiah Jackson (who was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk to replace Alexander), Taveras and Beavers all added RBI singles, while Rece Hinds drove in a run with a sac fly.
“I love slug and homers as much as the next guy, but to scrap together an inning like that and pass the baton, there was a lot to like, which is great at-bats up and down,” Albernaz said. “Guys just passed the baton, didn’t give in, didn’t try to do too much.”
“At times, a single, walk, hit-by-pitch, double, those can really lead to huge innings, as opposed to getting two guys on and hitting three-run homers,” Beavers added. “It’s always nice, but I think the big innings always come from what you saw today.”
The offense picked up right-hander Shane Baz, who entered Wednesday’s outing having received an MLB-low 3.14 runs of support per nine innings (minimum 140 innings pitched). In fact, the Orioles scored more runs in the third than they did in the previous four games started by Baz combined (seven).
Baz allowed five runs over 5 2/3 innings, as the Guardians plated three in the sixth to cut the O’s lead to 8-5. However, Coby Mayo padded Baltimore’s advantage with a solo homer in the bottom of the inning -- his 22nd of the season and third over the past three games. Rico Garcia recorded the final five outs for his seventh save of the season.
“I definitely feel for [Baz]. We’d love to score 10 runs for every guy who throws every game. Just so happens we don’t typically hit when he’s on the mound,” Beavers said. “So it was nice to back him up today.”
The Orioles will need some help to sneak into the postseason. It would help if they play well against the Blue Jays, but they also still have to pass the Guardians and Rangers to get into the third AL Wild Card spot.
Time is running out, but Baltimore doesn’t want to look too far ahead.
“We just need to focus on every single game and give it our all with our prep, with our game plans, our work,” Baz said. “Just give it all we got.”