Albert Suárez dazzles, Adley Rutschman sizzles in Orioles’ 4-2 win over Angels
ANAHEIM, Calif. — The legend of Albert Suárez has a sequel.
After making a stunning Orioles debut with 5 2/3 shutout innings seven years removed from his last MLB appearance, Suárez returned for a second start Monday and threw another 5 2/3 scoreless frames to lead the Orioles to a 4-2 win in their series opener against the Los Angeles Angels.
“I thought he made some nice adjustments in-game,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “I thought him and [catcher James] McCann worked really well together and started throwing a lot more changeups and cutters. They couldn’t just sit fastball on him. … So, once again he gives us a great start.”
Designated hitter Adley Rutschman drove in a pair of runs and the Orioles’ home run barrage continued with McCann and outfielder Colton Cowser leaving the yard with solo blasts.
Suárez, 34, provided further evidence his stunning revelation was no fluke, scattering four hits and two walks with five strikeouts while averaging just over 94 mph on his fastball. The right-hander relied even more on his rejuvenated four-seamer than he did his first time out Wednesday against the Minnesota Twins, throwing the pitch 56% of the time with a steady diet of changeups and cutters mixed in. He racked up 16 swings and misses, two more than his first start.
“The fastball is my best pitch and I have a lot of confidence [in] it,” Suárez said. “I feel like if I can locate it any time, I’m going to get good results.”
On offense, the Orioles (15-7), whose 34 home runs lead the majors, received power production from opposite ends of their team leaderboard. McCann’s blast was his first of the season while Cowser’s was his sixth, tying shortstop Gunnar Henderson for the most among Orioles hitters.
While he didn’t send one over the wall, Rutschman continued to be the engine that powers the Orioles’ offense with a 2-for-4 evening at Angel Stadium. He drove in Jorge Mateo, who stole a pair of bases to get to third base, with an RBI single in the third inning before bringing home Henderson on a double into the left-center field gap in the fifth.
Between star acquisitions living up to the hype and top prospects breaking into the majors, the Orioles’ franchise catcher hasn’t yet found himself spending much time at the center of attention. But Rutschman has quietly been one of the Orioles’ most effective hitters, leading the team with 27 hits and pushing his batting average above .300 with his performance Monday.
“He hasn’t flown under the radar for me,” Hyde said. “He’s one of the best hitters in the game from both sides of the plate. Just gets big hits, takes unbelievable at-bats, drives the ball in the gap, he can go deep on you. Just huge, huge hits. The guy you want up there in big spots because the at-bats are going to be so good. So, Adley’s numbers are going to be there at the end.”
But while his output alone was enough for Suárez to get his first win since 2016, the Orioles’ shaky-of-late bullpen needed the insurance runs to hold onto the win. Right-hander Mike Baumann stranded a base runner to end the sixth and keep Suárez’s scoreless inning streak, which sits at 11 1/3, intact, but he came back out for the seventh and failed to record an out.
Angels outfielder Jo Adell took his second pitch of the frame and deposited it into the seats in right field, ending the Orioles’ scoreless inning streak dating to Saturday at 17. He then gave up a single and a walk, prompting manager Brandon Hyde to pull him for Yennier Cano. The set-up man allowed an inherited runner to score, the 11th to do so against the Orioles’ bullpen this season, to cut the score to 4-2 with two innings to go.
Cano then went back out for the eighth and retired two batters before giving way to Jacob Webb, who got Mickey Moniak to pop out to end the inning. That set up a save situation for Craig Kimbrel, who entered the contest tied with Hall of Famer Billy Wagner for the seventh most saves in MLB history at 422. It was a bit of an adventure. He hit leadoff man Adell with a pitch and allowed a single to catcher Logan O’Hoppe to put two runners on with no outs, then walked a batter with one out to load the bases. But he got Nolan Schanuel to pop out and got Mike Trout to strike out looking to escape the trouble and seal the victory.
“I’m sitting there in the dugout with [Ryan] O’Hearn and we’re like, ‘Well, I guess this is what the people came for right here,’” Rutschman said of Kimbrel facing Trout with the game on the line. “But it’s a cool moment to see. He’s a great guy and we’re fortunate to be there and be able to watch him do his thing every night.”
With the win, the Orioles improved to 3-1 against the Angels this season. They’ll look to clinch the season series on Tuesday when outfield prospect Heston Kjerstad is expected to join the team in Anaheim.
Orioles at Angels
Tuesday, 9:38 p.m.
TV: MASN2
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM