Orioles’ young guns produce to salvage split with Guardians

CLEVELAND-What happened? The Orioles powered their way to a split of their four-game series with the Cleveland Guardians behind an offense that produced 15 hits in two consecutive games.

On Sunday, Gunnar Henderson hit his first home run since July 14^th and had three hits for the second game in a row. Jackson Holliday homered and had his third straight multi-hit game. Eloy Jiménez had three hits, and Adley Rutschman had three RBIs.

It added up to a 9-5 victory over the Guardians, following Saturday’s 7-4 win.

And it came on a day when ace Corbin Burnes had a rough outing, allowing five runs, four earned, on seven hits in five innings. Five baserunners stole against him.

“It’s tough to be consistent offensively, but the quality of the at-bat was much better these past two days,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “Give our guys a lot of credit for getting a split out of here. That’s a tough place to play, a tough team to play. Kind of getting our butts kicked the first two games, the way we responded and swung the bat the last two games has been nice.”

The Orioles and New York Yankees remain tied for the American League East lead. Both teams are off on Monday.

What did Henderson think of his game? While Henderson hit .300 in the first 10 games since the All-Star break, he hadn’t homered.

“Yeah, it’s been a while. It was nice to get that one and, hopefully, more to come,” Henderson said.

Henderson, Rutschman, Holliday and Colton Cowser, who tied Trey Mancini’s rookie record of hitting in 17 straight games, are all playing well.

“A lot of us love to come out here and just play the game, and it’s just a matter of time before we’re all starting to get it clicking again,” Henderson said. “Looking forward to seeing where it goes.”

How comfortable is Jiménez? Eloy Jiménez moved from the Chicago White Sox, the team with baseball’s worst record, to one with one of the best.

“I feel really good. I feel like I’ve been playing here for a year,” Jiménez said. “And I just have, like, three days here. To be able to feel like that, it tells you something. That’s all I want.”

It’s a fresh start for Jiménez.

“I think so, yeah, unfortunately. I’ve got good memories over there, but now I’m here and this is going to be fun.”

Henderson thinks the trade deadline remake of the team was a good one.

“Just everybody’s settling in, kind of catching up on some rest and enjoying these offdays,” Henderson said. “Everybody’s kind of learning who everybody is. All the new people coming in are meshing in really well, and they’ve all been great dudes. So it’s been fun getting them in there and seeing what they’ve got.”

How hot is Holliday? Holliday hit his second home run and was 6-for-13 in the four-game series.

“Showing a lot more confidence,” Hyde said. “The way he can stay on the baseball is much improved. Besides that first at-bat where he was late to the heater, he took some really good swings the rest of the day, so he’s got a ton of ability. He’s going to have some ups and downs. He’s a really, really young player. But it’s great to see him swing the bat this way this series.”

How rocky was Burnes’ start? Burnes’ five-inning start was his shortest since April 14^th, and while it wasn’t a terrific one, he picked up his 12^th win, equaling a career high and recorded his 1,000^th strikeout.

“Well, I think he’s a human being, so every once in a while he’s going to have … he’s going to leave a changeup there for [Josh] Naylor,” Hyde said. “Just made a bad pitch in a 2-0 spot there. Besides that, it was pretty good. His stuff was, good cutter, good sinker, good curveball. Team battles and they put the ball in play, and he left a bad pitch for Naylor there.”

Burnes hasn’t always gotten support from his offense, and the hitters were happy to pick him up.

“He went out there and battled and, yeah, just one pitch kind of got away from him,” Henderson said. “To be able to go out there and just add more runs and tack on more to help the bullpen was huge.”

What about McCann and the new pitchers? Orioles field coordinator/catching instructor Tim Cossins has spent years watching major league catchers, and he admired James McCann’s grit on Monday after he was hit in the face by a pitch, breaking his nose, staying in the game and catching for the next eight innings.

“He went right to the top of the list,” Cossins said. “To have him go through that in the moment, get beat up, blood everywhere, be selfless and know he wants to stay in the game and to be able to do that … It was impressive.”

Cossins is stationed in the bullpen during the game, and he has two relievers, Seranthony Dominguez and Gregory Soto, who came over at the trade deadline. The catchers also have to learn two new starters, Zach Eflin and Trevor Rogers.

“I think it’s gone really well,” Cossins said. “Working with new guys is very difficult, especially when the first time you catch them is in a game, and especially when it’s big stuff and to try to get in a groove with a pitcher and handle the stuff and receive well and block well, try to navigate through the innings. That’s a tough task. These guys are doing that. They’re good with it. They’re doing a good job.”

What’s the word?  “It’s not easy up here. It’s not easy. You’ve just got to take the best at-bats you can.”-Hyde on Coby Mayo, who’s 0-for-9 with five strikeouts in his three major league games.

What does it mean? Having Cowser, Henderson, Holliday and Rutschman all hitting at once is huge, and the Orioles hope that can continue against Toronto.

What’s the stat of the day? 12. Pitchers’ wins don’t matter as much as they used to, but it’s strange that Burnes hasn’t won more than 12 games in a season. He won 12 with Milwaukee in 2022.

What’s going on in the minor leagues? Centerfielder Daniel Johnson hit a three-run home run to lead Triple-A Norfolk to a 4-2 win over Charlotte. It was Johnson’s 17th home run.

Cade Povich (6-1) allowed two runs on three runs in seven innings. Povich struck out eight and walked one.

Double-A Bowie dropped a doubleheader to Somerset, losing 4-1 and 6-1. Designated hitter Samuel Basallo hit his 15th home run in the first game while first baseman John Rhodes hit his seventh homer in the second game.

High-A Aberdeen and Brooklyn split a doubleheader. The IronBirds won the first game 5-2 as designated hitter Douglas Hodo homered. Aberdeen lost the second game 6-4 as third baseman Carter Young drove in three runs.

Cole Urman, normally a catcher, allowed eight runs on 11 hits in five innings as Single-A Delmarva lost to Myrtle Beach 13-5.

What’s next?  After an offday on Monday, the Orioles will open a three-game series in Toronto on Tuesday. Grayson Rodriguez (13-4, 3.86) will start for the Orioles. The Blue Jays haven’t named their starter.

Call for questions: Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com