Orioles lose 5th straight, 10-8 to Guardians, after ugly 4th inning: ‘We can’t freak out’

A batted ball that traveled only two feet changed the direction of Tuesday night’s game.

The Orioles led by one run in the fourth inning, and Cole Irvin induced a weak ground ball from Gabriel Arias. The Cleveland Guardians first baseman softly tapped Irvin’s changeup straight into the ground, a mere 24 inches past home plate.

James McCann then made a decision that potentially allowed a calamitous five-run frame to unravel, resulting in the Orioles’ 10-8 loss to the MLB-best Guardians. Despite tallying 16 hits and smacking four homers, the early deficit was too much for Baltimore’s bats to overcome.

“Had 16 hits, scored eight runs on these guys, we should win the game,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “We just didn’t pitch well enough to win.”

The Orioles have dropped five straight games for their longest skid since May 2022, shortly before the club promoted catcher Adley Rutschman. Baltimore’s last win was its cathartic crushing of the New York Yankees, 17-5, on Thursday. Since, the Orioles have been swept by the Houston Astros — only their second since the club’s previous losing streak of five-plus games — and are one defeat away from another.

McCann chose to throw Arias’ dribbler to second base, attempting to nab lead runner Bo Naylor for the inning’s second out rather than taking the easy one at first. It’s far from an uncommon attempt, but the veteran catcher’s throw veered slightly right. It reached second baseman Jorge Mateo’s glove at the same time Naylor slid, causing the ball to redirect into the outfield and advance the Guardians catcher to third. Mateo appeared to injure his hand on the play, but he remained in the game and Hyde said the speedster was “OK.”

Had McCann tossed to first (or fired a strike to second on the difficult throw), what followed likely would not have happened. Three of the next four batters recorded RBI hits, including superstar José Ramírez’s backbreaking three-run homer to stamp an exclamation point on Cleveland’s five-run fourth.

“If I could do it all over again, I would give him a little bit better throw to handle,” McCann said. “In that moment, the ball’s right in front of home plate, and that’s something you train to do. Yeah, it’s easy, hindsight 20/20 to say, ‘Let’s take the out and have the guy at second,’ but in the moment, the play’s to second base. Again, it’s easy to play Monday morning quarterback, and if I take the out at first, maybe we get out of that inning without giving up any runs. Unfortunately, that’s not what happened.

“At the end of the day, make a better throw.”

The rally kicked off with No. 9 hitter Brayan Rocchio’s soft RBI single that squeaked past shortstop Gunnar Henderson because he was playing on the grass with Naylor on third, something the Orioles star wouldn’t have been doing without McCann’s throwing error. Four of the five runs in the inning were unearned against Irvin, who continued the Orioles rotation’s struggles by allowing eight runs (four earned) and 10 hits in four innings.

“That ball’s right in front of him,” Hyde said when asked about whether he agreed with McCann’s decision. “I think if it doesn’t go into the runner there a little bit, he’s probably out at second base. … I think it was the right move.”

McCann, however, had perhaps his best offensive game of the season, going 2-for-4 with an RBI single in the second, a solo shot in the fourth and an RBI groundout in the seventh. The 34-year-old backup catcher, starting for his second straight game with Rutschman getting rest as Baltimore’s designated hitter, is hitting .202 with a .552 OPS this season. Hyde said pregame that McCann’s “intangibles” in the clubhouse and behind the dish are what make him a valuable part of the team.

“If he can give us anything offensively, that’s a bonus,” the sixth-year skipper said.

Henderson, batting fourth with Rutschman leading off against left-handed starter Logan Allen, blasted a two-run homer — his 25th of the season, second in MLB behind only Yankees slugger Aaron Judge (29) — in the first to boost his on-base streak to 32 games. He’s the fifth player in club history with multiple 25-plus homer seasons at 23 years old or younger, joining Cal Ripken Jr., Eddie Murray, Boog Powell and Manny Machado.

Jordan Westburg, who reached in all five of his trips to the plate with four hits and a walk, put Baltimore back on top with an RBI double in the third. That’s the last lead the Orioles would possess until the ugly fourth inning, as they went from being up 4-3 to trailing 8-4.

McCann and Colton Cowser hit back-to-back solo homers in the bottom half of the fourth to put the Orioles within striking distance, but their best scoring opportunity produced only one run. With bases loaded and no outs in the seventh against Cleveland’s bullpen, pinch-hitter Heston Kjerstad struck out looking, McCann grounded out for an RBI and Cowser ended the inning with a chopper to shortstop.

After the Guardians scored two runs off sinkerballer Yennier Cano in the eighth, Anthony Santander lined a solo homer to put the Orioles back within two runs. The veteran switch-hitter is now tied for fourth in baseball with 21 long balls, behind only Judge, Henderson and Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani (24). Santander, a free agent this offseason, has heated up as the weather has. His 12 home runs in June are tied for the fourth most by an Oriole in a single month, and Baltimore has five games remaining before the calendar flips to July.

With four big flies Tuesday, the Orioles boosted their season total to 129, most in MLB ahead of the Yankees (117). Cowser’s was his 10th of the season, making him the MLB-best sixth Baltimore batter to reach double digits, joining Henderson, Santander, Rutschman, Westburg and Ryan Mountcastle.

Like Friday’s loss, in which the Orioles made a valiant comeback attempt after trailing by 11 runs to lose by three, they couldn’t make one last push in the ninth in front of the announced 18,574 fans at Camden Yards. Closer Emmanuel Clase slammed the door in the ninth by getting Rutschman, the potential tying run, to line out to left field.

David Fry put the Guardians on the board in the first with an RBI double that narrowly evaded Austin Hays down the left field line. An inning later, Arias smacked a two-run double to put Cleveland up 3-2 before his dribbler spelled further havoc in the fourth.

Irvin was the Orioles’ second most consistent starting pitcher behind ace Corbin Burnes through the season’s first two months, but he’s struggled recently, allowing 20 runs (14 earned) in 20 innings across four starts while his ERA has jumped nearly a run to 3.74. But he’s far from the only rotation member who’s struggled of late, as Baltimore’s starting corps has combined for a 7.26 ERA and 1.789 WHIP over its past eight starts dating to Tuesday’s series opener against the Yankees. The Orioles allowed 10-plus runs in only two of their first 74 games, but they’ve done so twice in their past five.

Cano, pitching for his first time since last Wednesday, gave up an RBI double to Naylor and an RBI single to Arias to provide Cleveland the insurance it needed. Aside from Cano, Baltimore’s bullpen pitched well, as Bryan Baker, Nick Vespi and Dillon Tate combined to deliver four scoreless innings.

The Orioles are 49-30 and two games back of the American League East-leading Yankees. The Guardians now have MLB’s best record at 51-26. Baltimore will look hope to get back into the win column Wednesday before hosting the Texas Rangers in an AL Division Series rematch this weekend.

“We had rough patches last year, and we still won 101 games,” McCann said. “The minute you start doubting yourself, the minute you start taking a stretch of five games and making it seem like it’s more than that is when it starts to snowball. … It’s frustrating, no one likes to lose, but at the same time, we can’t freak out about a little stretch during what’s really our toughest stretch of the year.

“Just stay strong mentally, stay together as a group and show up tomorrow ready to play.”

Around the horn

• The Orioles signed veteran first baseman/outfielder Garrett Cooper to a minor league contract Tuesday. The 33-year-old has appeared in 36 MLB games with the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox this season. He owns a career .759 OPS in his eight-year career mostly with the Miami Marlins.

• Jackson Holliday was reinstated off Triple-A Norfolk’s injured list Tuesday. He will serve as the Tides’ DH for “several weeks as part of his rehab progression,” the Orioles said, as he recovers from his elbow injury. Holliday, the club’s top prospect, went 1-for-2 with two walks and was removed after reaching his scheduled four plate appearances.

• Outfield prospect Enrique Bradfield Jr., the club’s first-round draft pick last summer, has left wrist tendinitis and will miss the next several games for High-A Aberdeen, the Orioles said.

• Utilityman Terrin Vavra, who debuted with the Orioles in 2022 and made their opening day roster last year, began his minor league rehabilitation assignment with the IronBirds on Tuesday. He went 1-for-4 with a walk. Vavra’s past year has been marred by injuries, including shoulder surgery last year.

• Vavra joined the organization in the Mychal Givens trade from the Colorado Rockies in 2020. One of the other players Baltimore received, 21-year-old outfielder Mishael Deson, underwent lumbar discectomy surgery Tuesday and will miss the rest of the season, the Orioles said.

• Triple-A Norfolk reliever Corbin Martin, whom the Orioles claimed off waivers from the Milwaukee Brewers in May, was placed on the injured list with shoulder inflammation.

• Brian Ebel, the Orioles’ head athletic trainer, was chosen as one of the athletic trainers for the AL in the All-Star Game.

Baltimore Sun reporter Matt Weyrich contributed to this report.

Guardians at Orioles

Wednesday, 6:35 p.m.

TV: MASN

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