The Orioles finally found some breathing room at the plate, and they did it the old-fashioned way: by making the Guardians throw strikes.
Baltimore worked seven walks in the first three innings, including two with the bases loaded, and turned that early mess into a 6-4 win before an announced crowd of 21,612 at Camden Yards. The victory snapped a six-game losing streak and gave the Orioles a much-needed jolt after a stretch where runs had been hard to come by.
Coby Mayo was right in the middle of it. He delivered the first multi-homer game of his career, with a pair of blasts that helped Baltimore build a lead it almost gave away late.
The Orioles’ offense also got a boost from pinch-hitter Nathaniel Lowe, who crushed a three-run homer off Andrew Kittredge in the ninth. Kittredge departed with two outs, and Josh Walker finished things off for his first career save.
Mayo’s night started with a statement. He opened the third inning by hammering a Joey Cantillo fastball 426 feet at 110.2 mph for his 16th homer against a left-hander. A few batters later, Blaze Alexander worked an 11-pitch bases-loaded walk with two outs, Pete Alonso also drew a walk, and Baltimore was up 4-0 after sending nine men to the plate.
The Orioles kept piling on in the sixth. Slade Cecconi had handled two scoreless innings, but when he returned, Mayo greeted him with a 411-foot two-run homer, his 21st of the season, to push the lead to 6-1. It was Baltimore’s highest run total since Aug. 30 in Sacramento.
Trevor Rogers kept the whole thing under control for most of the afternoon. He allowed one run on six hits, didn’t walk a batter and struck out six over 7 1/3 innings. He exited after his 104th pitch to a loud ovation, and the gesture back was simple: a touch to the bill of his cap and a raised hand.
Rogers was sharp from the start. He threw 71 of 94 pitches for strikes in Colorado, where he struck out a career-high 11, and he carried that same zone-pounding approach into this one.
Through the third inning, 32 of his first 41 pitches were strikes. By the fifth, he had thrown 47 of 63 for strikes and had faced the minimum.
The Guardians managed very little hard contact against him. Steven Kwan opened the game with a grounder into center for a single, but Joe Adell bounced into a 6-4-3 double play.
Rogers then retired 16 straight hitters before Brayan Rocchio’s two-out bunt single in the sixth. Kwan followed with a bloop hit down the left-field line, and Adell then doubled on a fly ball that landed on the right-field line.
Angel Martínez opened the seventh with a double, but Baltimore answered with a 5-4-3 double play.
Most of what Cleveland put in play was soft, and Rogers has now strung together seven home quality starts in a row, the longest such run since Corbin Burnes’ nine in 2024. Austin Hedges opened the eighth with a swinging bunt single, but Rico Garcia left him stranded.
Baltimore’s patience against Cantillo was just as important as Mayo’s power. The Orioles entered the day having scored only once in 27 innings, but Cantillo helped them out early by walking Alexander and Alonso to start the first. They were stranded when Petey Halpin made a diving catch to rob Jackson Holliday, Mayo struck out on a 3-2 changeup and Gunnar Henderson flied out to center.
The pressure kept building. Samuel Basallo was hit near the left elbow by an 80.7 mph changeup with one out, Rece Hinds walked, and Dylan Beavers lined a run-scoring double to right.
Alexander later struck out looking and the Orioles lost their final challenge. Alonso was hit by an 82 mph curveball to load the bases, and Holliday bounced into a force.
Cantillo’s issues were hardly a surprise. He came in tied for the major league lead in walks issued and now has 77 in 144 innings, matching Robbie Ray for the most in the majors. Even so, he brought a 3.81 ERA into the game.
Hinds added more support in his second game with Baltimore. He singled twice and walked twice, following up the double he had yesterday.
The Orioles recalled him after Luis Robert Jr. injured his left hamstring. Hinds is a career .186 hitter in 54 major league games over three seasons and has also played for the Reds and Marlins this year.
In 19 games with Triple-A Norfolk, he hit .268/.373/.437 with six doubles and two homers and was 6-for-14 this month.
There was also a lengthy interruption when home plate umpire Chris Guccione took a foul tip off the mask from Martínez leading off the second inning. First base umpire James Jean put on the gear and took over at home plate, while the crew waited to see whether Guccione could continue.
Martínez had fouled off a 93.8 mph fastball, Basallo immediately checked on Guccione, and Martínez struck out on the next pitch once play resumed. If Guccione can’t return, a substitute umpire will be brought in for the rest of the series.
In Other News...
Orioles Late-Season Injury Picture Just Got More Complicated
The Orioles spent part of their series against the Guardians sorting through a late-season injury picture that keeps shifting around the edges. Keegan Akin and Ryan Mountcastle are both with the club, giving Baltimore at least a couple of familiar faces back in the mix, while the team also laid out where several others stand in their recoveries as the calendar keeps moving toward the finish.
Mountcastle will not play again this season because of an oblique injury, a reminder of how much attrition has worn on the roster, and the rehab updates do not bring a simple wave of reinforcements just yet. Luis Robert Jr. and Christian Franklin are working in Sarasota, Flix Bautista is at Triple-A Norfolk on assignment, and Kyle Bradish is being handled carefully after Tommy John surgery, with his workload watched closely as the Orioles keep managing one of the more complicated health charts on the board. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Face Two Big Questions As Wild Card Push Gets Tighter
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Ryan Helsley, Tyler ONeill, Flix Bautista, Ryan Mountcastle, Keegan Akin, Luis Robert Jr. and Christian Franklin all figure into that evolving injury picture, and Baltimores recent stretch has made each of those updates feel more important. The club has been trying to keep pace while sorting through those absences and tracking its recent results, but with the Guardians right there in the mix, the bigger questions are starting to come into focus. How quickly those players can return, and how much they can help once they do, may decide just how long the Orioles stay in the hunt. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Fans Just Got Another Brutal Reminder About This Rebuild
A rough week for the Orioles in Boston did not end with much comfort for anyone still tracking where this rebuild stands. The Red Sox completed a four-game sweep, and in the same stretch of bad news for Baltimore, former Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman was already making noise in his new home with Boston by leaving the yard against Angels pitcher Grayson Rodriguez, another familiar name to Baltimore fans.
Rodriguez, once a first-round pick the Orioles hoped would help anchor the next wave, is now with the Angels after being dealt last winter for outfielder Taylor Ward. His Baltimore exit followed a frustrating run of injuries and uneven performance, which only adds to the sting when ex-Orioles keep popping up in meaningful moments elsewhere. Baltimore did at least stop the bleeding with a win the same day, ending a six-game skid, but the bigger picture for fans remains hard to ignore. [Read more 🡒]