BALTIMORE -- There was a point Tuesday when the Guardians were teetering on the edge of disaster. An early 6-0 lead was all but gone, after the Orioles scored five unanswered runs that ignited Camden Yards and flipped momentum in their direction.
Cleveland absorbed a blow. It responded to secure a key win in their push for the postseason.
“Huge, huge team win all around tonight,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said.
The Guardians beat the Orioles, 9-5, on Tuesday behind a pair of big innings: a four-run second inning and a three-run seventh. The former helped build an early lead, and the latter was their response to Baltimore’s comeback attempt that abruptly ended starter Tanner Bibee’s night.
At the center of each rally were a pair of impressive at-bats. Travis Bazzana blasted a three-run shot to cap off a nine-pitch sequence in the second, and Brayan Rocchio delivered a two-run single in the seventh.
The Guardians (74-72) now sit two games behind the American League Central-leading White Sox, following Chicago’s 9-3 loss to the Pirates. Cleveland also held on to the final AL Wild Card spot, while putting a dent into the hopes of an Orioles club that is trying to chase it down.
Here are three things that stood out from the win.
1. Bazzana’s early cushion
The Guardians’ first three hitters reached safely in the second, but they were in danger of coming out of it with only one run. Bazzana came to the plate against right-hander Brandon Young with runners at the corners and two outs. He swung and missed at a four-seamer to fall into a 2-2 count.
Bazzana fouled off the next three pitches (two four-seamers and one slider), and took a splitter low and off the outside corner. Young’s ninth pitch of the sequence was a heater over the heart of the plate. Bazzana hit it a Statcast-projected 378 feet for a three-run home run.
“I feel like every pitch you see, you add it to your Rolodex,” Bazzana said. “It helps you track the next pitch. You feel like you've got your timing with all the pitches. You've seen the tunnel they come out of.”
Bazzana has had some ups and downs as a rookie this season. But over his past 15 games, the 2024 No. 1 overall Draft pick has hit .327 with three doubles, two home runs, 14 RBIs and four walks with seven strikeouts.
“There's going to be great stretches,” Vogt said. “There's going to be some not-so-great stretches. But he's remained the same throughout. I really liked the way he's attacking his plate appearances right now.”
2. Bibee’s strange start
Entering Tuesday, Bibee had the worst run support (3.10) in MLB among pitchers who had made at least 20 starts this season. You couldn’t help but feel a bit surprised when the Guardians staked Bibee to a 6-0 lead through 1 1/2 innings.
Bibee was perfect through three innings on just 29 pitches. His outing soon sharply turned. The Orioles got one run back in the fourth, and four of their first five hitters reached off Bibee in the fifth. Pete Alonso’s two-run homer off the right-hander with one out in the fifth capped off a four-run inning and spelled an end to Bibee’s outing.
“I feel like they just adjusted, and I didn't adjust back, honestly,” Bibee said.
Vogt’s assessment was that the Orioles tried to be on Bibee’s fastball the first time through the order, and adjusted the second time through to wait for an offspeed pitch. That said, Alonso’s homer came on a cutter up in the zone.
“[Bibee] made some mistakes, and they hammered him,” Vogt said. “He was cruising through those first four. Credit to [the Orioles] for making an adjustment.”
The Orioles were quiet after Alonso went deep. Tim Herrin, Craig Yoho, Hunter Gaddis and Cade Smith combined to allow no hits, two walks and seven strikeouts in 4 2/3 scoreless innings.
3. Rocchio’s insurance
Rocchio seems to reach another level this time of year, and he came up big in the seventh on Tuesday. His two-run single off Alex Hoppe gave the Guardians a four-run lead.
“That was an unbelievable at-bat,” Vogt said. “That's textbook two-strike hitting, textbook deep at-bat.
After he fell behind 1-2, Rocchio laid off a slider in the dirt and fouled off another. He fouled off a high four-seamer, and took another inside to run the count full. His base hit came on a 100.9 mph heater, and it gave the Guardians breathing room.
“We never lost confidence,” Rocchio said of holding off the Orioles’ rally. “We were trying to keep our energy up and keep fighting to the last out. That's our identity.”