Orioles overcome miscues in field, on base to beat Cubs, 6-3, avoid sweep

The Orioles have avoided being swept this season by frequently managing to capitalize on their opponents’ mistakes. On Sunday, they had to overcome their own to dodge a third straight loss to the Chicago Cubs.

Baltimore bounced back from a series of self-inflicted wounds for a 6-3 victory in the series finale at Wrigley Field, defeating the Cubs to avoid what would’ve been the team’s first sweep in this season’s 23 series and first since April 2022.

“If we drop one, drop another one, you know that we’re hungry for that next win,” starting pitcher Dean Kremer said.

Manager Brandon Hyde said before the game that the Orioles’ clubhouse features “a bunch of pros who don’t panic,” and his team showcased that in a game that featured lapses in the field and on the bases. The Orioles (44-27) entered the sixth inning trailing by a run largely thanks to two defensive miscues within one at-bat. After a shaky first, Kremer retired nine straight Cubs, including two strikeouts to start the fourth, then induced two seemingly catchable balls off Cody Bellinger’s bat that both fell.

First baseman Josh Lester, getting a start because Gunnar Henderson was scratched with what Hyde said was a stomach flu, drifted slowly toward the Orioles’ first base dugout on a foul popup. The rookie appeared to battle both the sun and an unfamiliar field of play, and the ball dropped about a foot beyond his reach, though Hyde said he was unsure whether the ball was one Lester could have gotten to.

After a changeup for a ball, Bellinger laced a line drive to right field, where Ryan O’Hearn — playing the position because Hyde wanted regular starter Anthony Santander “off his feet” as the designated hitter — whiffed on the ball for a three-base error. The next batter, Christopher Morel, roped a 113 mph home run out to left-center field, giving the Cubs (33-38) a 3-2 lead. Kremer bemoaned the pitch that led to it, a 3-1 sinker in the zone with two open bases.

“Just kind of bad execution on my part,” he said. “I knew I had more to work with, especially with an open base. That’s my fault.”

It was the second long ball Kremer allowed, with Chicago center fielder Mike Tauchman going deep on the right-hander’s first pitch of the afternoon. Tauchman ended the top of the first by throwing out Austin Hays at home as he attempted to score from third on Santander’s one-out fly ball.

That was the first of three outs on the bases the Orioles made Sunday, but they produced enough offense around them to come away victorious. In the fourth, Santander homered in his second at-bat to tie the game. O’Hearn followed with a single, went to second on Aaron Hicks’ walk and scored on Ramón Urías’ walk. The same trio came through in the sixth, with O’Hearn singling, Hicks doubling and Urías evening the score on a sacrifice fly.

Adam Frazier provided Baltimore’s second lead with a base hit to bring Hicks home and eventually scored on Jorge Mateo’s knock, though Mateo was thrown out at second trying to extend it to a double; Hyde expressed displeasure with the out call, which stood after video review. Santander was retired in similar fashion in the seventh.

“Felt like we weren’t catching any breaks, at all, all series,” Hyde said. “To be able to come out with a win today, that was huge.”

Kremer’s extra pitches in the fourth forced him to leave the game after five innings, in which he struck out seven and allowed only one earned run on Tauchman’s homer. Morel’s home run was the only hit he allowed after the first inning. The Orioles’ starters have allowed three runs or fewer in 19 of the past 20 games.

“He’s just developing as a starting pitcher,” Hyde said. “Getting more confidence in the curveball and the cutter at appropriate times and the fastball, four-seam and the two-seamer. Just learning how to pitch, doing a great job.”

Left-hander Danny Coulombe worked a clean sixth before Mike Baumann bookended two hit batters with two strikeouts in the seventh, with Hyde calling the latter of Tauchman “possibly the play of the game.” Hyde then turned to Yennier Cano, who allowed a double steal but induced a groundout to strand both runners before pitching a perfect eighth.

With Adley Rutschman’s RBI double in the ninth, the Orioles scored more runs in the series finale than in the matchup’s first two games combined. Félix Bautista retired the side in the ninth for his 19th save. Baltimore’s relievers finished with four strikeouts in four hitless innings.

“We gave up three hits today and feel like we squeaked one out,” Hyde said with a chuckle.

After a day off Monday, the Orioles visit the Tampa Bay Rays, the only team in the American League with a better record than them, for two games. Despite trailing the Rays in the AL East, Baltimore holds a comfortable lead for the top wild-card spot. Hicks, a veteran signed last month in the wake of All-Star outfielder Cedric Mullins’ right groin strain, said his time with the Orioles has made their postseason potential apparent.

“You gotta have a steady lineup that’s out there producing every single day, starting pitchers able to shut guys down, and you gotta be able to be resilient, especially when you’re down,” Hicks said. “That’s definitely what I’ve been seeing, especially since I’ve been here. Even though we may be losing by two or three, they’re still ready to go.”

Around the horn

• Hyde had no update pregame on first baseman Ryan Mountcastle, who is on the 10-day injured list with vertigo but is eligible to be activated Tuesday. Mountcastle has been fielding ground ball drills and taking batting practice. “It’s about how he’s feeling,” Hyde said.
• Right-hander Mychal Givens (right shoulder inflammation) pitched a scoreless inning for Triple-A Norfolk on Saturday as part of his rehabilitation assignment. Asked whether Givens could be activated during this week’s series at Tampa Bay, Hyde said, “I don’t think so.”

Orioles at Rays

Tuesday, 6:40 p.m.

TV: MASN2

Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM

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