‘It just kind of got away’ – The Denver Post

The Orioles twice came back from three-run deficits to send Wednesday night’s game to extra innings, but they ran out of gas in the 10th.

After Adam Frazier’s two-run home run in the eighth tied the score, reliever Keegan Akin imploded two innings later, allowing four runs as Baltimore fell, 11-7, to the Cincinnati Reds at Camden Yards.

Three of the first four batters Akin faced in the 10th recorded extra-base hits, as the left-hander continued his recent struggles. Will Benson tripled home the unearned automatic runner, TJ Friedl blasted a two-run homer, and Luke Maile roped a double and later scored on a wild pitch.

“We just came up a little short,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “They just played a little better than we did tonight.”

Orioles starter Kyle Gibson was tagged for three runs in each of the first two innings for his second straight rough start. The offense backed him up, though, batting around in the bottom half of the first to take a brief 4-3 lead.

The Reds led by three runs again in the eighth, but a two-out rally sparked by Aaron Hicks’ single and Jordan Westburg’s RBI double put Frazier into position for his clutch home run.

“I feel like this team, there’s no give up,” Westburg said. “Going into the eighth, [we] could’ve easily thrown the towel and given up the six outs and gone home. But we fought, scratched, clawed and were able to tie it up there. It just kind of got away from us there at the end.”

Baltimore (48-31) put two runners on in the 10th, but it couldn’t complete a third comeback, losing to the Reds (43-38) for a second straight night. The series loss is just the Orioles’ eighth out of 26 this season, but they’re 4-5-1 over their past 10 sets.

Gibson falters again

Through his first 15 starts as an Oriole, Gibson was having the bounce-back season the club hoped he would when they gave him $10 million this offseason to lead its rotation.

Whether the first half of his 2023 campaign would classify as that now is up for debate, as the veteran right-hander’s past two starts have been his worst of the year. After allowing five runs in three innings Friday, Gibson was bombarded Wednesday, surrendering six runs — all in the first two frames — in 4 2/3 innings.

Gibson was 8-4 with a 3.94 ERA before this homestand and was Baltimore’s second most consistent starter behind Tyler Wells. The 35-year-old had pitched at least five innings in 14 of 15 starts and allowed more than four runs just once. Over his past two starts, he’s failed to do either, allowing 11 runs — the same number he gave up over his previous five outings — in 7 2/3 innings.

Gibson now owns a 4.66 ERA that is less than half a run off his 5.05 ERA in 2022 and a figure that ranks as the worst among the four main starters in the Orioles’ rotation.

“Other than three or four starts, I feel like I’ve thrown the ball well, but unfortunately here recently, I haven’t gotten it done,” Gibson said.

Reds star Elly De La Cruz, who is ranked by Baseball America as the No. 1 prospect in the sport, opened the game’s scoring with an RBI single in the first to break out of his 0-for-14 slump. De La Cruz’s debut earlier this month served as the catalyst that catapulted the Reds, one of the National League’s worst teams the previous nine years, atop the NL Central standings. Cincinnati was 27-33 before De La Cruz’s call-up and has been 16-5 since.

Gibson also allowed an RBI hit to Jake Fraley and an RBI groundout to Joey Votto in the opening frame.

Ryan O’Hearn put the Orioles on the board with an RBI single to score Cedric Mullins, who led off the game with a single. With the bases loaded, Gunnar Henderson then roped a 106.3 mph triple to left-center field to drive in three runs and give Baltimore a 4-3 advantage .

Gibson quickly gave that lead back up in the second, allowing RBI hits to Friedl and Fraley and a run-scoring groundout to Jonathan India. After Fraley’s single put the Reds up 6-3, Gibson settled down, retiring nine of the next 10 batters he faced before a two-out single in the fifth ended his night. Eight of the nine hits he allowed were singles and four had exit velocities under 85 mph, including a 76.1 mph ground ball and bloop singles at 66.8 and 72.5 mph.

“It’s just one of those frustrating games, really,” Gibson said. “When you’re throwing the ball and they get three hard hits on the game against me in those innings, it’s a tough one to swallow.”

The Reds scored their seventh run in the eighth on an RBI groundout from Matt McLain off reliever Yennier Cano.

After the five-hit first, Baltimore’s bats went cold, managing just one hit off starter Luke Weaver and Cincinnati’s bullpen over the next six innings before Hicks, Westburg and Frazier teamed up for a two-out rally off reliever Buck Farmer.

The extra-base hit was the first in Westburg’s career. In his first three games as a major leaguer, the infield prospect is 5-for-12 at the plate while playing both second base and third. Frazier, meanwhile, went 1-for-2 with two walks and the homer in his first start since Westburg’s promotion. His nine homers in 2023 are more than the eight he hit in 1,241 plate appearances between 2021 and 2022.

The Reds got runners on the corners with no outs in the ninth off Félix Bautista, but the 6-foot-8 closer struck out the next two batters and then induced a groundout to escape the threat. He threw 14 pitches over 100 mph, including a 103.3 mph fastball, his second straight outing hitting 103 mph.

Akin couldn’t finish the 10th, as Baltimore-area native Bruce Zimmermann relieved him to record the final out. In his past four outings, Akin has allowed 12 hits and 13 runs (10 earned) while recording just 12 outs.

Around the horn

• Wednesday was Pride Night at Camden Yards. Oriole Park was decorated with Pride flags on the playing field, on the outfield walls, in the stands, on top of the dugouts and on the flag court to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community. “We’re happy to promote equality and inclusivity for all fans,” manager Brandon Hyde said in a prepared statement before the game.
• Phase 2 fan voting for the All-Star Game ends Thursday at noon, with the starters at each position announced at 7 p.m. on ESPN. Adley Rutschman is the lone Oriole in the running to start at his position, but the catcher was behind the Texas Rangers’ Jonah Heim by 4% in MLB’s update Wednesday afternoon.
• Baltimore’s probable starters for its home series against the Minnesota Twins this weekend are Dean Kremer, Kyle Bradish and Cole Irvin on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
• Ryan Mountcastle (vertigo) went 2-for-5 with five batted balls over 98 mph for Triple-A Norfolk on Wednesday night after going 0-for-14 in the first four games of his minor league rehabilitation assignment. Mountcastle, who was placed on the injured list June 13, singled twice, including a 112.4 mph laser to left field to drive home two runs.
• Also for the Norfolk Tides, right-hander Grayson Rodriguez delivered another solid start after he was optioned to Triple-A a month ago. The organization’s top pitching prospect tossed six innings of one-run ball, scattering four hits and one walk while striking out eight.

Twins at Orioles

Friday, 7:05 p.m.

TV: MASN2

Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM

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