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.
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 Blue Jays on Friday at Rogers Centre.
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 Dylan 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.
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.