TORONTO -- The Orioles have built their whole brand this season on causing chaos and exceeding expectations. On Saturday, they whiffed on the fundamentals.
It was a collectively challenged effort from Baltimore in the 6-3 loss to the Blue Jays, but the most costly blunder occurred in the fifth inning. O’s starter Kyle Bradish had tiptoed through danger all afternoon, and when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. chopped a slow grounder to third baseman Ramón Urías, it looked like a routine out.
Urías has been a stalwart defender all season, worth +6 Outs Above Average before Saturday, but he lost his focus for a moment, tossing a soft one-hop throw over to first for an error.
“That was a rare, rare, rare error,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “The ball just beat him a little bit, kind of just didn't get his feet going on that. And give Vlad credit for hustling down the line.”
That’s when things really got painful. The Rogers Centre faithful of 44,448 grew rowdy as the Orioles walked two straight hitters to load the bases, bringing up Raimel Tapia, who owned a 1.340 career OPS with the bases loaded entering Saturday.
Reliever Jake Reed worked the count to two strikes, but Tapia won out, lacing a bases-clearing double to center field. The decisive blow, which would not have been possible without the Urías error, looked even uglier on the scoresheet, as only three of the O’s six runs allowed were earned.
“That one stings a little bit, but at the end of the day, it's just another ballgame,” said Bradish. “We’ve still got 18 or whatever [games] left. So come back tomorrow.”
Of course, that wasn’t the Orioles’ first mental error of the day -- they also ran themselves into an out on a first-and-third steal attempt in the fourth. On that play, Adley Rutschman bluffed to steal second, opening a lane for Cedric Mullins to cut from third to home. Instead, Mullins stopped halfway when the throw went to second. A rundown ensued and he was tagged out, leaving the tying run 90 feet away.
“[Mullins] just kind of froze a little bit,” Hyde said. “We're trying to steal a run, [Matt] Chapman’s playing way off [the bag] and we got a really fast guy at third base.”
The O’s skipper penciled four rookies into his starting lineup Saturday, yet, oddly enough, it was two veterans who slipped up. The rookies, on the other hand, had a solid day.
Right now, Gunnar Henderson is Baltimore’s top prospect, per MLB Pipeline. On Saturday, the 21-year-old started at shortstop and met the challenge of playing in front of an aggressive Toronto crowd, especially with his bat, finishing 2-for-4.
In the third inning, Henderson stepped up to the dish with all three bases occupied. Always aggressive, he jumped on the first pitch he saw, roasting a two-run single into right field.
Other rookies did their part, too. Rutschman had two hits. Terrin Vavra also had two hits and an RBI, and Kyle Stowers worked a rare walk out of the nine-hole. By slotting all these fresh faces into the lineup, Hyde offered his youngsters a chance to test their mettle in a pressure-cooker, playoff-esque environment -- and he was proud of how they fared.
“Gunnar continues to do what he's been doing, and Terrin with some good at-bats today, too,” the manager said.
The rooks might see even more playing time in the coming days, too. Ryan Mountcastle had to leave the game in the second inning after getting drilled by a José Berríos fastball. The 25-year-old stayed in to run the bases but departed when the O’s took the field in the third. Jesús Aguilar replaced him at first base.
Mountcastle’s injury was deemed a left elbow contusion, and early X-rays came back negative.
“It got him in the elbow, right above the tricep,” Hyde said. “We’ll see how he is tomorrow, but it’s really sore right now.”
After losing the first two games of the series, the Orioles’ postseason hopes are dim -- Baltimore is now seven games back of Toronto. That said, there’s been value in these September showdowns with playoff-caliber teams. The next wave of O's talent -- especially Henderson and Rutschman -- is learning on the fly, which sets the club up very nicely down the road.
“It's only going to help them going forward, no doubt about it,” Hyde said. “We don't play in many lopsided games. We played mostly tight, really tight games. For them to be getting this experience up here, and doing so well, too, as young players, it's only going to be beneficial for us and for them in the future.”