7 October 2023
Baltimore fans on Saturday witnessed their first postseason game at Camden Yards since 2014. They’ll have to wait at least one more day to celebrate.
In front of a sold-out crowd, the Orioles lost to the Texas Rangers, 3-2, in Game 1 of the American League Division Series, as Baltimore’s bats mustered only five hits and couldn’t come through in the clutch late. The loss puts the Orioles in an early hole in the series, now needing to win three of the next four games to advance to the AL Championship Series.
Aside from Ryan Mountcastle’s RBI double in the fourth and Anthony Santander’s solo homer in the sixth, the Orioles couldn’t break through on offense. Kyle Bradish was dominant through three innings but ran into trouble in the fourth as the Rangers gained a 2-0 lead.
The Orioles went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and grounded into two double plays, including a back-breaking one by Santander in the eighth. With the Orioles trailing by one run and the tying run on second and go-ahead run on first, Rangers left-hander Aroldis Chapman induced a pivotal double play of Baltimore’s designated hitter. He struck out Mountcastle in the next at-bat, stranding the tying run at third.
After Brandon Hyde pulled Bradish at 84 pitches with two outs in the fifth, the fifth-year skipper managing his first playoff game used five relievers for the remaining 4 1/3 innings, matching his bullpen arms against the Rangers’ mix of left- and right-handed batters. Aside from Jacob Webb, who gave up a solo homer to Josh Jung in the sixth, Hyde’s relief corps stepped up to give Baltimore’s bats a chance late in the game.
That chance happened in the ninth after Gunnar Henderson led off the inning with a single off closer José Leclerc, but the 22-year-old rookie was caught stealing at second base with no outs. Aaron Hicks struck out and Adam Frazier grounded out to end the game.
The loss is the franchise’s sixth straight playoff loss, including 2016′s wild card defeat to the Toronto Blue Jays and 2014′s four-game sweep against the Kansas City Royals in the ALCS. The Orioles’ last playoff win was in the 2014 ALDS versus the Detroit Tigers.
Baltimore will have the opportunity to tie the series Sunday in Game 2 at 4:07 p.m. before the series moves to Arlington, Texas, for Games 3 and, if necessary, 4 on Tuesday and Wednesday evening.
Long before the disappointment of the loss, Camden Yards was buzzing after rain delayed the game’s start by 1 hour, 13 minutes. The 46,450 fans in attendance — a packed house at Oriole Park with the upper decks filled and the standing-room-only sections in center field, on the flag court and Legend Park packed with fans who yearned days such as Saturday after years of cheering for 100-loss teams. Now, they’re rooting for the AL’s top seed after a 101-win season, facing a formidable club that won 90 games and advanced to face Baltimore after sweeping the Tampa Bay Rays in the wild-card round.
Once the skies cleared, the sun shone and the tarp was removed, Orioles fans were ready to burst during the pregame festivities, waving their orange towels, delivering a loud ‘O’ during Joan Jett’s national anthem and applauding Adam Jones’ first pitch like they did when he would hit a big homer or a web gem during Baltimore’s last era of great baseball.
The good vibes remained as Bradish carved his way through Texas’ lineup that led the AL in offense during the regular season at 5.44 runs per game. The second-year right-hander struck out five in the first two innings backed by increased velocity on his sinker and wipeout slider. With nine strikeouts, the 27-year-old became the seventh Orioles pitcher to do so in a playoff game, joining Mike Mussina, Mike Boddicker, Mike Cuellar, Dave McNally, Jim Palmer and Moe Drabowsky.
However, Rangers left-hander Andrew Heaney matched Bradish blow for blow, but instead of punchouts, Heaney induced five groundouts through three innings. The starting pitching matchup was a clear advantage for the Orioles — perhaps the only game that will be the case this series.
Bradish emerged this summer as an AL Cy Young candidate, ending the regular season with a 2.83 ERA that was the fourth best among qualified starters. He entered the postseason on a 16-inning scoreless streak and had the majors’ best ERA in the second half. Heaney, meanwhile, is perhaps the Rangers’ seventh-best starting pitcher (when including the injured Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer and Jon Gray) and he entered Saturday with a 7.63 ERA in 30 2/3 career innings versus Baltimore.
The Orioles’ bats couldn’t take advantage of that disparity, though, and Texas’ figured out Bradish in the fourth inning, recording four straight one-out hits to take a 2-0 lead. Cleanup hitter Adolis García doubled down the left field line, and rookie sensation Evan Carter drove him in with an RBI double down the right field line for the game’s first run. Carter, a top prospect the Rangers promoted in September who is quickly emerging as a star, lined Bradish’s signature slider 101.5 mph down the right field line.
Catcher Jonah Heim, an Orioles draftee in 2013, then singled home Carter on an RBI single that narrowly squeaked past Henderson at shortstop. After two more hits sandwiched a strikeout to load the bases, Bradish ended the merry-go-round by striking out leadoff hitter Marcus Semien. The five hits Bradish allowed in the fourth are more than he surrendered in all but one of his final six regular-season starts.
Santander and Mountcastle brought the energy back to Camden Yards in the bottom half of the fourth, as the former’s one-out walk set up the latter’s RBI double to left field. Mountcastle was the AL’s best hitter off left-handed pitchers in the regular season (minimum 150 plate appearances) with a 1.052 OPS.
But the rally ended there, as Henderson popped out off Heaney, and Adam Frazier, who pinch hit for rookie Jordan Westburg, popped out to end the inning against right-hander Dane Dunning, a starting pitcher Rangers manager Bruce Bochy brought in to follow Heaney for two innings.
Left-hander Danny Coulombe stranded Bradish’s runner in the fifth, but Webb, an August waiver claim from the Los Angeles Angels, served up a center-cut fastball to Jung, who clobbered the pitch 107.5 mph over the center field wall.
Once again, though, the Orioles responded in the same frame, as Santander deposited an 0-1 changeup from Dunning to cut Baltimore’s deficit in half. Bochy then used relievers Will Smith, Josh Sborz, Chapman and Leclerc for the final 3 1/3 innings, as the quartet walked four but surrendered just one hit. The Rangers’ bullpen was considered a weakness heading into the series after the relief corps ended the season poorly, but they came through Saturday.
It won’t get easier Sunday, as the Orioles face Rangers ace Jordan Montgomery. Rookie Grayson Rodriguez will start for Baltimore.
This story will be updated.
ALDS, Game 2
Rangers at Orioles
Sunday, 4:07 p.m.
TV: FS1
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
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