BALTIMORE—After three straight losses and 10 in 14 games, Orioles manager Brandon Hyde decided to shake up the lineup. The Orioles responded with an 8-6 win before 38,411 at Camden Yards on Sunday, but it wasn’t easy.
Hyde put Colton Cowser in the leadoff spot and moved Anthony Santander to the second spot while moving Gunnar Henderson, who hadn’t had an RBI in the previous eight games, to third in batting order.
He also rested Adley Rutschman, who’s hitting .132 in July, though he did pinch-hit in the eighth inning and drew a key walk.
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The moves appeared to pay off in the third, when the Orioles scored six runs. But they didn’t score again until the eighth, after San Diego had reduced the 6-0 lead to 6-5. First baseman Ryan Mountcastle, who had a two-run hit in the third, delivered another clutch hit in the eighth, driving in two more runs to enable the Orioles to hold off the Padres’ rally in a dramatic ninth.
The Oriole also were helped by their defense. Henderson made a terrific play on David Peralta’s grounder in the second, and he made an outstanding running catch on Jake Cronenworth’s pop fly to end the seventh.
The best play, though, was made by Cedric Mullins. Manny Machado, leading off the eighth, hit a shot to center that Mullins chased down, leaping on his last stride and then running into the center-field wall.
The Orioles’ (62-43) six-run third inning came against against San Diego starter Randy Vasquez (3-6). The first six batters of the inning reached, and all scored. Henderson had a bases-loaded walk, Ryan O’Hearn a run-scoring single, Mountcastle a two-run single and Mullins a two-run double.
Oriole starter Albert Suárez allowed three runs on five hits in 4 2/3 innings, walking three and striking out three. The first four batters of the fifth reached, and three scored. The inning featured Henderson’s fourth error in four games, a throwing error on Peralta’s infield single that allowed Jackson Merrill to reach third.
Henderson committed another throwing error in the ninth, on another Peralta infield single.
After Suárez walked Jurickson Profar with two outs, Jacob Webb struck out Cronenworth to end the inning.
Xander Bogaerts hit a two-run homer against Webb in the sixth to cut the Orioles’ lead to 6-5.
Cionel Pérez (2-0) pitched a scoreless seventh, and Seranthony Dominguez pitched a perfect eighth, thanks to Mullins’ catch.
Mountcastle added a two-run single in the eighth to give the Orioles an 8-5 lead.
Hyde chose to use Yennier Cano instead of Craig Kimbrel, who had two straight rocky outings, in the ninth. San Diego (57-51) scored on three soft singles, an error by Henderson, and a forceout at second before Cano earned his fourth save of the season.
Hyde was ejected for arguing about an overturned interference play at second base that would have ended the game. Instead, pinch-runner Tyler Wade was called out on a force, and Peralta scored.