Orioles fall to Braves, 3-2, on walk-off in 12th inning as they drop series after winning 7 straight

The Orioles’ game Sunday against the Atlanta Braves was the earliest they’ ll play this season. The Braves ended the Orioles’ streak of seven straight series victories as Michael Harris hit a walk-off double off reliever Cionel Pérez in the 12th inning of a nationally televised game that started at 11:37 a.m.. The Orioles took a one-run lead in the 10th on...

The Orioles’ game Sunday against the Atlanta Braves was the earliest they’ll play this season.

Baltimore’s bats never woke up.

The Braves ended the Orioles’ streak of seven straight series victories as Michael Harris hit a walk-off double off reliever Cionel Pérez in the 12th inning of a nationally televised game that started at 11:37 a.m.

Baltimore’s lineup managed just five hits in 40 at-bats and went 1-for-14 with runners in scoring position, offensive futility that spoiled nine stellar innings from its pitching staff and sent the game to extra innings.

“We just didn’t get any hits with runners in scoring position,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “I felt like our swings were a little bit big today. We’ve been doing a pretty good job, and maybe they made pitches on us. We definitely had a ton of opportunities to put more runs across, we just didn’t get it done today.”

The Orioles took a one-run lead in the 10th on Anthony Santander’s single, but closer Félix Bautista allowed the automatic runner to score on a wild pitch in the bottom half to blow his third save of the season. But the lineup stumbled in the 11th and 12th, failing to score the automatic runner in either frame.

Mike Baumann bailed out the club’s bats in the 11th by tossing a scoreless inning, but Pérez (1-1) couldn’t replicate Baumann’s heroics.

Harris’ double was the Braves’ first hit since the fifth inning, as the Orioles’ bullpen had gone 6 1/3 innings after Tyler Wells’ solid start without allowing a hit before Pérez gave up the walk-off hit.

The loss to the National League-best Braves (24-11) is the Orioles’ second straight by one run. Baltimore came back twice Saturday night in a back-and-forth game after taking the first game of the series, but Atlanta won, 5-4, thanks to Kevin Pillar’s two-run homer in the eighth.

“Just two tough games there the last couple games,” Hyde said. “I thought we really fought well, played hard. We had opportunities today and let a few get away, unfortunately.”

The Orioles’ 22-12 record is still the second best in the American League, behind only the scorching-hot Tampa Bay Rays (28-7), whom Baltimore hosts for a three-game series beginning Monday. Since the now-broken streak of series victories began, the Orioles are 18-7.

Baltimore’s best chance to score came in the third inning. But with the bases loaded and one out, Braves starter Bryce Elder struck out Ryan Mountcastle (0-for-5) and Gunnar Henderson (0-for-5). An inning later, Ramón Urías drove in the Orioles’ first run with an RBI groundout to tie the game at 1. They had the bases juiced again in the sixth with two outs, but Mullins (1-for-5) struck out on a 3-2 pitch from reliever Collin McHugh.

Santander’s RBI single in the 10th was the team’s first hit since his infield single in the fifth. The two-hit game is Santander’s sixth straight as the switch-hitter continues to heat up after a slow start.

If not for Bautista’s wild pitch that catcher Adley Rutschman couldn’t corral, the Orioles could have won the game in the 10th. To start the 11th, Adam Frazier flied out to right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr., who nabbed Austin Hays tagging up from second base. Kyle Stowers, Rutschman and Mullins went down in order in the 12th.

“We left too many runners in scoring position,” Santander said. We didn’t come through, unfortunately.”

Wells pitches well

Wells has started six games this season. He’s given the Orioles a chance to win in all six.

Wells wasn’t efficient Sunday, but he allowed only one run in five innings. He scattered three hits and one walk while striking out four on 96 pitches, describing his outing as “effectively wild.”

“Slightly disappointed at the fact that I couldn’t go deeper in the game and help the bullpen out,” Wells said. “But overall I’m happy with the result.”

The right-hander gave up a solo home run to slugger Matt Olson in the first inning, as Wells left a fastball over the plate that the first baseman blasted 413 feet to center field. Wells didn’t allow a batter to reach safely until there were two outs in the fourth. From there, the 28-year-old had to battle to record his next four outs and keep the game tied.

After Eddie Rosario’s single, Wells walked Marcell Ozuna and then gave up a 406-foot fly ball to Harris that was caught by center fielder Cedric Mullins at the wall in center field. The batted ball would be a home run in 14 of 30 MLB ballparks, according to Statcast, but not at Truist Park.

Orlando Arcia led off the fifth with a double, but Wells retired the next three batters to strand another runner.

Through the first fifth of the season, Wells has been Baltimore’s best starting pitcher with a 3.15 ERA and a 0.78 WHIP. No other Orioles starting pitcher has an ERA under 4.60 or a WHIP under 1.34.

Austin Voth and Yennier Cano followed Wells with two shutout frames apiece to continue their recent stretch of impressive relief outings. Voth, who struggled early, has allowed just one run in his past 9 2/3 innings, while Cano has surrendered just two hits and no walks in 16 sparkling innings this season.

Around the horn

• For just the second game this season, Rutschman didn’t start. But the star catcher has still appeared in all 34 games, as he pinch hit for James McCann and caught the last several innings Sunday. His only other game not starting was the first game of a doubleheader last weekend, but Rutschman also entered late in that contest. “Adley definitely needs it,” Hyde said about giving him a breather. “I wanna try to rest him as much as I possibly can. He’s just so important to us and he’s such a good player that you’d love to have him in there as much as possible. But I definitely need to pick my spots with him.”
• Reliever Mychal Givens and Dillon Tate took steps in their rehabilitation assignments this weekend with Double-A Bowie. Givens on Friday tossed his third scoreless inning since his assignment began. He’s struck out five and allowed just one base runner in his three innings in Bowie. Tate, however, hasn’t had the same success. Pitching on back-to-back days, Tate allowed three of his four batters faced to reach base Friday and two of his three Saturday to reach. He was charged with five runs total across the two nights, and he’s surrendered two or more runs in three straight outings. Hyde indicated Saturday that the two relievers still needed to get more work in before returning to the majors.

Rays at Orioles

Monday, 6:35 p.m.

TV: MASN

Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM

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