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The Orioles have had some baserunning gaffes lately.
The Baltimore Orioles lost their third straight game on Monday night, falling 6-3 to the Seattle Mariners at Camden Yards.
Josh Naylor's grand slam in a five-run fifth inning did most of the damage, but a late baserunning gamble that took a run off the board stung just as much for a team that finished 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base.
With runners on the corners and one out, pinch-hitter Samuel Basallo drove a ball 381 feet to center field that had the Camden Yards crowd thinking the game was tied.
Julio Rodriguez tracked it down near the warning track instead, and Jackson Holliday tagged up from third and crossed the plate.
Blaze Alexander also tagged from first and tried to take second on the throw, but Rodriguez delivered a strike and Alexander was tagged out.
Seattle challenged, and replay showed the tag happened before Holliday's foot touched the plate.
The run came off the board, and the inning was over.
After the game, Holliday explained that third base coach Buck Britton had prepared him for that situation before Basallo's ball ever left the bat.
"Buck [Britton] really did a good job," Holliday said. "He was like, 'Make sure we run hard through the base there.' He kind of informed me, I guess. I knew that could be a possibility. We made an aggressive play, and they made a good throw."
Holliday did what Britton asked and ran hard through the plate, and the margin still came up short by a fraction of a second.
Manager Craig Albernaz said he loved the aggressiveness from Alexander, though he pointed out that with first base open, the infielder had room to read the throw and simply stop rather than keep running into an out.
The play would be easier to shrug off if it felt like a one-time thing, but the Orioles have stacked up several baserunning mistakes in recent weeks, including a misread bunt against Tampa Bay that kept Holliday from reaching third in extra innings.
Monday's version hurt the most because it erased a run in a three-run loss where Baltimore spent the whole night fighting for offense.
None of the team's six hits went for extra bases, so every runner who reached carried real weight, and the late rally died on a play that nearly worked.
The loss dropped Baltimore to 31-36, fourth in the American League East and still searching for consistency in Albernaz's first season.
Seattle improved to 35-32, leads the American League West, and has won 10 of its last 13 games.
Baltimore has gotten encouraging stretches lately from Jeremiah Jackson and Pete Alonso, but nights like Monday keep undercutting that progress.
The same two teams meet again Tuesday at Camden Yards, where the Orioles will try to even the four-game series and prove the sloppy details are fixable.
Continue reading...
The Baltimore Orioles lost their third straight game on Monday night, falling 6-3 to the Seattle Mariners at Camden Yards.
Josh Naylor's grand slam in a five-run fifth inning did most of the damage, but a late baserunning gamble that took a run off the board stung just as much for a team that finished 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base.
With runners on the corners and one out, pinch-hitter Samuel Basallo drove a ball 381 feet to center field that had the Camden Yards crowd thinking the game was tied.
Julio Rodriguez tracked it down near the warning track instead, and Jackson Holliday tagged up from third and crossed the plate.
Blaze Alexander also tagged from first and tried to take second on the throw, but Rodriguez delivered a strike and Alexander was tagged out.
Seattle challenged, and replay showed the tag happened before Holliday's foot touched the plate.
The run came off the board, and the inning was over.
What Holliday Said
After the game, Holliday explained that third base coach Buck Britton had prepared him for that situation before Basallo's ball ever left the bat.
"Buck [Britton] really did a good job," Holliday said. "He was like, 'Make sure we run hard through the base there.' He kind of informed me, I guess. I knew that could be a possibility. We made an aggressive play, and they made a good throw."
Holliday did what Britton asked and ran hard through the plate, and the margin still came up short by a fraction of a second.
Manager Craig Albernaz said he loved the aggressiveness from Alexander, though he pointed out that with first base open, the infielder had room to read the throw and simply stop rather than keep running into an out.
A Pattern
The play would be easier to shrug off if it felt like a one-time thing, but the Orioles have stacked up several baserunning mistakes in recent weeks, including a misread bunt against Tampa Bay that kept Holliday from reaching third in extra innings.
Monday's version hurt the most because it erased a run in a three-run loss where Baltimore spent the whole night fighting for offense.
None of the team's six hits went for extra bases, so every runner who reached carried real weight, and the late rally died on a play that nearly worked.
Where Both Teams Stand
The loss dropped Baltimore to 31-36, fourth in the American League East and still searching for consistency in Albernaz's first season.
Seattle improved to 35-32, leads the American League West, and has won 10 of its last 13 games.
Baltimore has gotten encouraging stretches lately from Jeremiah Jackson and Pete Alonso, but nights like Monday keep undercutting that progress.
The same two teams meet again Tuesday at Camden Yards, where the Orioles will try to even the four-game series and prove the sloppy details are fixable.
Continue reading...
