MIAMI — The Orioles coughed up a 6-0 lead over the Miami Marlins on Thursday but hung on to win, 7-6, on a go-ahead single by Ryan Mountcastle in the 10th inning.
Closer Craig Kimbrel blew the save after entering with a three-run lead in the ninth, spoiling a quality start by Corbin Burnes, yet the Orioles responded with an extra-inning rally to end their three-game losing streak.
“I’m pretty frustrated, honestly,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “We swung the bat really well coming out to start the game and scored six runs right away, and then we’ve got Corbin Burnes on the mound, who’s throwing the ball great. We don’t add on and we’ve done this too many times, and we have to learn to be able to step on people and make it easier on ourselves.”
Baltimore’s offense has been slumping since the start of July, and the Orioles needed some length out of Burnes after their starting pitchers combined for just six innings over the past two games. The four-time All-Star responded by completing his longest start of the season, and the offense backed him up with three home runs, opening up a 6-0 lead after four innings.
But the game took a turn for the Orioles (61-41) in the ninth when Kimbrel loaded the bases with one out on a single and two walks.
Trailing 6-3, the Marlins (37-66) scored their first run on a ground ball by center fielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. that Gunnar Henderson couldn’t handle. Shortstop Xavier Edwards followed with a sacrifice fly to left, and Josh Bell tied it on an RBI single to give Kimbrel his sixth blown save of the season, the second-highest total for any season of his 15-year MLB career and highest since 2011.
“It’s not trying to pick or anything,” Hyde said of Kimbrel’s struggles with his control. “Just sometimes there’s some yanks in there, and maybe sometimes he doesn’t have his best command.”
Rather than let Kimbrel’s performance result in a deflating loss, the Orioles rallied to retake the lead in the 10th. Anthony Santander led off the frame with a single to move automatic runner Jordan Westburg to third base and Mountcastle followed two batters later with a single to right field that put Baltimore ahead 7-6.
“It was a great team win there,” Mouncastle said. “To just stay it and in extra innings and squeak out a victory, [we] needed that one.”
The Orioles could’ve kept the inning going, but pinch runner Cedric Mullins was thrown out trying to score from second and Mountcastle met the same fate trying to take second. Cionel Pérez then locked down the save in the bottom half of the frame for some redemption after he allowed the go-ahead runs in a 6-3 loss Wednesday.
Colton Cowser led the Orioles’ early offensive barrage with a three-run homer in the third inning, continuing his surge at the plate to open the second half. Santander also launched his 28th long ball of the season, tying Henderson for the team lead. Connor Norby, playing his first game since being recalled from Triple-A Norfolk to replace the injured Jorge Mateo, left the yard in his second at-bat.
Burnes was the stopper the Orioles desperately needed. The 29-year-old right-hander tied the MLB lead with his 17th quality start of the season, allowing three runs in 7 1/3 innings. Pitching on five days’ rest, Burnes retired 17 of the first 20 batters he faced before Bell — who entered with a 1.043 OPS in 16 career games against the Orioles — took him deep in the sixth.
“Really the first three innings, wasn’t commanding the ball well at all,” Burnes said. “We were just able to make some pitches when we needed to. Breaking stuff was good but just wasn’t commanding the cutter at all. So, we’re just kind of getting away with some stuff and then the middle innings, kind of locked it in and was kind of on a roll there.”
After finishing the seventh inning at 86 pitches, Burnes looked to complete eight for the first time since Sept. 10, 2023, with the Milwaukee Brewers. He got a groundout by Chisholm, but his day came to an end when Edwards hit a ground ball that ricocheted off Burnes’ lower right leg and into right field for an RBI single. Reliever Jacob Webb then allowed Edwards to score on a double by left fielder Bryan De La Cruz, muddying an otherwise spectacular pitching line for Burnes.
By that point, however, the Orioles had a commanding lead. They jumped all over Marlins starter Roddery Muñoz, scoring in each of the first four innings. Santander, the third batter of the game, took him deep 415 feet into the upper deck in right field. After the bottom of the lineup rallied to score another run in the second on an RBI single by backup catcher James McCann, the Orioles put two more runners on in the third and looked to Cowser for the big hit.
It was a similar spot to what he faced Wednesday, when the rookie outfielder came to the plate with the bases loaded trailing 3-0 and brought all three runs home with a double into the right field corner. This time, Ryan O’Hearn walked with two outs and Mountcastle followed with a single to set up Cowser for his three-run blast. In six games since the All-Star break, Cowser has gone 8-for-20 (.400) with two home runs, two doubles, two stolen bases and nine RBIs.
“Our guys know. They’re working their absolute butts off, and I think you really saw that starting the game today,” Hyde said. “We really swung the bat well, and some guys got some opportunities and swung the bat well. It’s just like we’re not putting it all together at the same time right now, and that’s going to come.”
Wasting no time getting in on the action was Norby, who was playing just the fifth game of his MLB career in his second stint with the Orioles. The 2021 second-round draft pick made his presence felt with a solo home run off Muñoz in the fourth — his second of the season — and a slick defensive stop in the seventh that earned an appreciative glove point from Burnes.
“To go opposite field like that, that’s really impressive,” Hyde said of Norby’s home run. “You don’t see many right-handed hitters be able to drive the ball like that. It’s pretty exciting when a couple of your young guys, Cowser and Norby, go deep for you. But Norby, that was a great, great swing.”
Despite losing the series, the Orioles still gained a half-game on the struggling New York Yankees this week to take a two-game lead in the American League East. Next up are the San Diego Padres, who have yet to announce their probable pitchers for the series after Dylan Cease threw the second no-hitter in franchise history in Thursday’s 3-0 win to complete a sweep of the Washington Nationals. Grayson Rodriguez is expected to get the ball for the opener Friday in Baltimore.
Padres at Orioles
Friday, 7:05 p.m.
TV: MASN
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
