HOUSTON — Fifteen starts into his Orioles career, Corbin Burnes set a high standard for what his new team should expect out of him whenever he takes the ball. The ace right-hander’s 16th start might have fallen short of that standard, but the Orioles’ offense disappeared to leave him with only one run of support in a 5-1 loss to the Houston Astros on Saturday.
Burnes, who entered with an active streak of 10 consecutive quality starts, took the loss after allowing a season-high four runs over seven innings. He went deep into the game but was ultimately undone by the long ball, giving up a two-run homer to Yordan Alvarez in the third and a solo shot to Chas McCormick in the fifth. It was the first time Burnes, acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers this offseason, has allowed multiple homers in a game as an Oriole.
“I threw the ball really well today, which is kind of funny to say when you lose 5-1 and you give up four runs, but just from coming off the game and just briefly looking at it, command-wise was kind of the best we’ve been,” Burnes said. “Stuff-wise the best we’ve been. Two mistakes that we just left over the plate that they hit out. Otherwise, it’s a 1-1 ballgame there in the seventh.”
The Orioles (49-27) did strike first, however. Jordan Westburg, a native of New Braunfels, Texas, took Astros starter Ronel Blanco deep to left field in the second inning for his 12th home run of the season and his first in his home state as a major leaguer. Westburg’s blast extended the Orioles’ run of 21 straight games with at least one home run, setting a franchise record.
Houston punched back in the bottom half of the inning on a sacrifice fly by Mauricio Dubón to drive in Yainer Diaz, who led off the frame with a triple. The Astros tacked on the rest thanks to Alvarez, who became the first hitter to homer off a changeup from Burnes this season, and McCormick, who won a seven-pitch battle in which Burnes threw nothing but cutters.
Baltimore’s offense, which stranded five base runners and finished 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position, never responded. Blanco, who pitched seven hitless innings against the Detroit Tigers in his previous outing Sunday, rebounded from Westburg’s homer by tossing five scoreless frames to finish with one run allowed in seven innings. The Astros’ bullpen was taxed after using five relievers in the opener Friday night, but Ryan Pressly and former Orioles prospect Josh Hader (Old Mill) avoided trouble to keep Baltimore off the board.
“It’s just deceptive,” Westburg said of Blanco’s pitch repertoire. “Everything plays up. He’s got a good slider, good fastball, good changeup. He seems to mix between the three pretty well and just keep hitters off balance.”
The offensive performance was a stark contrast to the production from the Orioles’ lineup the previous two days. They combined to score 28 runs between their 17-5 win in the series final against the New York Yankees on Thursday and their 14-11 loss Friday to the Astros, but MLB’s highest-scoring team was unable to replicate that success and now faces a potential sweep Sunday.
“I think our guys have been grinding big time,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “We ran into a good starter and a good team and they pitched Pressly and Hader at the end. So, they just beat us today.”
Hyde pulled Burnes after the seventh inning at 90 pitches, handing the game over to reliever Bryan Baker. He faced McCormick to lead off the frame and gave up a homer on his first pitch, an 87.3 mph slider in the bottom half of the strike zone. McCormick’s second long ball of the game — and third of the season — was just out of reach for right fielder Colton Cowser, who was shaken up after appearing to hit his head/neck against the top of the wall. Cowser took a moment to get up, but remained in the game.
The Orioles will send Albert Suárez to the mound Sunday as they look to prevent just their second series sweep of the season. Suárez is looking to bounce back from his last outing Tuesday, when he pitched only 3 2/3 innings against the Yankees. He’ll face Framber Valdez, a two-time All-Star who’s had an uneven season thus far with a 3.91 ERA and 1.208 WHIP in 12 starts.
Orioles at Astros
Sunday, 2:10 p.m.
TV: MASN
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
