The third inning of Wednesday’s doubleheader between the Orioles and Twins was kind for Baltimore.
A Ryan Mountcastle RBI double and a Gunnar Henderson two-run blast gave the Orioles three runs in Game 1. In Game 2, three straight singles scored a run before an explosion. Cedric Mullins blasted his fourth career grand slam. Heston Kjerstad followed with a solo shot for back-to-back home runs. The six runs in the frame marked Baltimore’s most in any inning this season.
But in both games, the Orioles struggled after the bottom of the third.
Dean Kremer allowed four runs in the top of the fourth in the first game and Baltimore never led again in a 6-3 loss. Yennier Cano allowed a go-ahead three run homer in the eighth inning of the second game and the Orioles lost 8-6.
“A really disappointing day,” manager Brandon Hyde said after Game 2.
Baltimore was swept in a doubleheader for the second time this season. It lost its ninth series of 14 this year. The Orioles (15-26) never scored after the third inning in either game.
What hurt Baltimore offensively in Game 1 was the lineup’s inability to hit with runners in scoring position, a problem that’s plagued it all season. The Orioles were 1-for-6 in those chances, unable to convert on any of the last five. Each came with two outs.
The Orioles had gotten a .190/270/.322 slash line from the Nos. 1 and 2 spots in the lineup ahead of Wednesday. They were the only team in all of baseball with an OPS below .625 from those spots. They failed to get much from the top two batters in Game 1. Mountcastle notched the double, but he and Jackson Holliday combined to go 1-of-8 otherwise.
Those issues came to a momentary halt in the third inning of Game 2. They remained afterward.
Even though Mountcastle’s performances in the doubleheader extended his hit streak to nine games, he went hitless in his final three at bats of the second bout. The same went for Holliday.
The lone consistent bright spot for Baltimore’s lineup on Wednesday was Henderson, who recorded a hit with runners in scoring position in both games and had a 4-for-9 day at the plate. He also added a walk. He had two outs with an exit velocity of better than 103 mph.
The performances improved Henderson’s slash line to .350/.400/.633 in his last 15 games and extended his on base streak to 19 games. But his strong play couldn’t overcome an offense that did nothing besides two of the day’s 18 innings.
“We’ve had a tough time adding on,” Hyde said after Game 2. “The big hits were tough to come by for us.”
The constant problem for the Orioles’ pitching on Wednesday was keeping the ball in the park.
In the first game, Kremer allowed a pair of home runs to Brooks Lee and Christian Vásquez on a curveball that stayed in the zone, the first homer of the season for the latter. The four runs Kremer allowed in the fourth inning represented all the scoring against him in 5.2 innings.
“Felt like my stuff was pretty solid today, minus that one swing,” Kremer said. “Put together a pretty good outing, just kind of beat myself there.”
In Game 2, Trevor Larnach belted a second-inning home run against Chayce McDermott, who made his season debut and the second start of his career as the 27th man of the doubleheader. The No. 3 prospect in Baltimore’s farm system according to FanGraphs, he allowed four runs, four hits and three walks in three innings. He struck out five.
Willi Castro hit a fifth-inning solo shot against Charlie Morton, and Cano gave up the deciding home run to Kody Clemens after already allowing a single and a walk. Both Castro and Clemens entered with one homer on the season.
Clemens, who was the No. 7 hitter in the second game, and Vasquez, who hit in the nine spot in game one, continued what’s been poor Baltimore pitching against the bottom of the order. The staff entered the series allowing a .280/.351/.457 slash line against the Nos. 7, 8 and 9 hitters. The .808 OPS was the worst in MLB.
For both of Clemens and Vasquez’s home runs, the blasts gave the Twins a lead they never relinquished. The Orioles are 11 games under .500 for the first time since June 10, 2022.
“It sucks,” Mullins said after Game 2.
Photo Credit: Colin Murphy/PressBox