Rain was supposed to help the Orioles. Instead, it only made the damage arrive faster.
A long delay in the second inning turned Camden Yards into a stop-and-start mess, and when the weather finally won out, the Phillies had already rolled to an 8-0, rain-shortened win before an announced crowd of 31,403. The game was stopped after the top of the sixth, and the Orioles never found a way to recover from the early blowout.
Bryan De La Cruz set the tone with a two-run homer off Kyle Bradish in the third, then Philadelphia kept piling on after play resumed. The Phillies scored twice against Anthony Nunez in the fourth, and Bryce Harper added another hammer in the fifth with a homer off left-hander Josh Walker.
By then, the night had already gone sideways for Baltimore.
The first stoppage came at 2:28 p.m., after the grounds crew spread drying compound across the infield dirt and around home plate. The tarp came on, then off, then back on again as fans booed and waited. The game didn’t restart until 4:17 p.m., and by the time the tarp came out again in the sixth, the Phillies were in full control at 8-0.
Bradish had opened with three clean innings of work, retiring the first seven batters he faced before Colton Cowser raced through the rain to track down J.T. Realmuto’s 398-foot fly ball near the fence to end the second.
But the third inning changed everything. Justin Crawford doubled with one out, and then De La Cruz lifted his 400-foot shot to center as Cowser went up trying for a catch and couldn’t haul it in.
It was only the second homer Bradish has allowed in eight starts.
Bradish still managed a little escape work after that. He walked Trea Turner, then picked him off.
Kyle Schwarber drew a walk and advanced on a wild pitch, but Bryce Harper struck out on a 96.1 mph sinker at the top of the zone. That ended Bradish’s day at 53 pitches.
The Phillies kept the pressure on once the Orioles turned to Nunez. In the fourth, Alec Bohm hit a ground ball that Jackson Holliday couldn’t handle on his backhand side, and the inning quickly snowballed. Bryson Stott walked on four pitches to force in a run, Justin Crawford added another with a grounder, and Harper followed later with his 23rd homer, a 419-foot drive to right-center.
Albert Suárez took over in the sixth and gave up three runs while the rain came down again and the crowd thinned out.
The Orioles are off Monday, while the Phillies head home to open a series against the Nationals. The listed probables for Baltimore’s series against the Angels at Camden Yards are all TBA: Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
The deadline shuffle is part of the picture now, and the Orioles are living it after trading Dean Kremer to the Twins. Kremer’s turn would have come Tuesday night.
Instead, Baltimore has an off-day Monday and another earlier one on Thursday, which allows them to skip that rotation spot until a fifth starter is needed Saturday night in Texas. They could also give Trevor Rogers an extra day of rest if he isn’t traded.
Chris Bassitt made his second rehab start Sunday with Triple-A Norfolk and allowed two earned runs and three total in 4 1/3 innings. He threw 67 pitches, 47 for strikes. Cade Povich is another possibility if the Orioles want to bring someone up to fill a spot, though his most recent outing came Wednesday, when he gave up six runs and 10 hits in 6 1/3 innings against Worcester.
In Other News...
Orioles Fans May Hate What Adley Rutschman News Says About This Front Office
The Orioles rebuilding project has always been judged through the lens of patience, but any conversation about progress in Baltimore is going to feel different when it involves Adley Rutschman. The franchise centerpiece has been at the heart of everything the club has tried to build under general manager Mike Elias, which is why the latest news naturally lands as a referendum on the front office as much as on the player himself.
There is still a procedural step left before anything becomes official, and that is the part keeping this story from being complete. Even so, the mere fact that Rutschmans name is now tied to a move of this magnitude will force Orioles fans to reckon with how aggressively the organization wants to keep reshaping the roster, and whether the people making those calls can be trusted with the next phase of the rebuild. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Face One Deadline Decision That Could Define Their Rotation
The Orioles have already made one move that fits the deadlines usual balancing act, sending Dean Kremer out and bringing Jake Rogers in to shore up catching depth. Now the bigger question is whether they lean further into selling, or take a swing at adding help for a rotation that still has to carry them through a postseason chase. Baltimores front office is working with the same familiar tension that hangs over a contender near the deadline: protect the future, or push chips in for the present.
One possibility being discussed would address a clear need by adding a controllable left-handed starter, the kind of arm that could stabilize the staff beyond this season. It is the sort of deal that would require real prospect capital, and the Orioles have to decide how far they want to go to strengthen the rotation without thinning out the next wave of talent. For a club trying to thread that needle, this is the kind of decision that can shape not just the deadline, but the shape of the pitching staff for some time to come. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Just Helped A Wild Card Rival And Fans Know It
A late-summer trade sent veteran outfielder Taylor Ward from Baltimore to Seattle, a move that immediately drew attention because the Mariners are pushing to stay in the playoff race. Ward, on a one-year deal, gives Seattle another right-handed bat as it tries to shore up an offense that has been looking for a lift.
For the Orioles, the deal is a tougher sell to the fan base because they are still sitting near the wild-card picture themselves and moved a useful bat in the process. Baltimore did bring back three minor-league right-handers in Alex Hoppe, Harrison Kreiling and Brock Moore, though none of them were among Seattles top 30 prospects, which only adds to the feeling that this was a small return for a player who could have helped in the standings race. [Read more 🡒]