SEATTLE -- The Orioles headed into the first game of their long road trip with the goal of making some noise on the West Coast and getting closer to where they want to be in the American League East.
Things looked promising after a productive first inning Tuesday night at T-Mobile Park, but the noise turned to silence the rest of the way in a 3-1 loss to the Mariners.
Another quality start in the surprising season of starter Brandon Young fell by the wayside when Cal Raleigh hit a tiebreaking and game-winning two-run single off reliever Grant Wolfram in the bottom of the seventh inning.
But the Orioles’ inability to add runs or gain any kind of offensive momentum after the first inning put them in that position in the first place.
“In the top of the first, we did a good job of getting some good swings,” Orioles manager Craig Albernaz said.
Taylor Ward doubled off the wall in left field on the first pitch of the game and took third base on an Adley Rutschman groundout. With two outs, Pete Alonso worked a walk against Seattle starter Logan Gilbert and Samuel Basallo followed with a clutch RBI single to left to give Baltimore a 1-0 lead.
“It looked like we're going to get some things going and Gilbert, to his credit, settled in,” Albernaz said.
Gilbert didn’t just settle in. He struck out Leody Taveras to escape that threat and then retired the next 15 batters, striking out the side in the fourth inning on the way. And even when his five-plus innings of perfection were broken up when he hit Alonso with a pitch to open the bottom of the seventh, he got Basallo on a pop fly to third and then punched out Taveras and Colton Cowser to end his night with a season-high-tying 10 strikeouts.
“He was commanding his pitches all night and I felt like he didn’t miss too many times over the plate,” said Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson, who went 0-for-4 with a strikeout. “We had some good swings, but that’s just how it goes sometimes.”
On the positive side of things for Baltimore, Young continued to make a name for himself in the Major Leagues.
He wasn’t as sharp as he has been at times this year, but he went six innings and gave up three runs on four hits while striking out two. He did walk four batters, but Tuesday still marked his fifth consecutive quality start, and his season ERA sits at an excellent 3.18.
Young said he was making a point of mixing his pitches and complimented catcher Rutschman for doing a good job behind the plate.
“I got behind on a lot of guys,” Young said. “I didn’t have the best first-pitch strike numbers, as usual from what I’m doing. I think [I was] just being competitive with all my pitches in zone.”
The problem for the Orioles was that Gilbert was better.
He cruised through a quick game and allowed Seattle to claw back into it. The Mariners tied the game in the third when Young issued one-out walks to Miles Mastrobuoni and J.P. Crawford. He got Raleigh on a check-swing lineout to third, but Julio Rodríguez made him pay with a line-drive single to left that tied the game at 1-1.
Then came the fateful bottom of the seventh, when Young was chased after giving up a leadoff infield single to Victor Robles and a line-drive hit to left by Colt Emerson. The Orioles brought in left-hander Wolfram, who was greeted by a Mastrobuoni sacrifice bunt that pushed the runners to second and third. Wolfram then walked Crawford to load the bases.
That set up Raleigh, last year’s American League MVP runner-up who was out since May 13 because of an oblique strain, for the dramatic moment. Batting from the right side, the switch-hitting catcher poked a soft liner to center that fell in front of Cowser, and Emerson and Mastrobuoni raced home with the game-deciding runs.
“I think the biggest thing that hurt that inning was the walk to J.P.,” Albernaz said. “Once you’re going to walk J.P. with the bases loaded, you’re kind of forced to pitch to Cal there, and we didn't have many options after that.”
Mariners reliever Eduard Bazardo pitched a scoreless eighth, and closer Andrés Muñoz shut down Baltimore in order in the ninth for his 11th save.
“Obviously you want to put up runs, as many runs as you can when B.Y.’s throwing as well as he is,” Henderson said.
“Easier said than done, especially with a guy like [Gilbert]. It’s just how it goes sometimes, but we’ll be back at it tomorrow.”