A rare 7:05 p.m. scheduled start time Saturday night was made worse by a 1-hour, 16-minute rain delay.
Orioles players didn’t leave Camden Yards until almost midnight before returning to the clubhouse Sunday morning at around 9:45 a.m. for their matinee against the Boston Red Sox. For the youthful Orioles, it was a groggy start to the day — a low-key pregame clubhouse and a sluggish start at the plate.
Luckily for Baltimore’s bats, they had one of their oldest pitchers — a 34-year-old father of three who isn’t bothered by a fast night’s sleep and an early start — on the bump to steady the ship until the offense woke up.
Albert Suárez delivered yet another scoreless start, and Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson both homered onto Oriole Park’s flag court to lead Baltimore to a 4-2 win over the Red Sox. The bullpen was shaky late, but Seranthony Domínguez secured the final four outs for his third straight save.
“Well, it means a lot,” Suárez said of his breakout season. “Every time I’m out there and being able to help the team, I give everything I got.”
Suárez, the surprise of the Orioles’ pitching staff this season after spending the previous five years playing in Japan and Korea, twirled six spotless innings for his third scoreless start in a row, extending his streak without allowing a run to 17 2/3 frames. No MLB starting pitcher has more scoreless starts than Suárez’s eight, and he’s achieved that in only 17 opportunities while Seattle’s Bryce Miller (seven) and Detroit’s Tarik Skubal (six) have each started 24 games.
“That’s an amazing stat,” manager Brandon Hyde said.
After Brayan Bello carried a no-hit bid into the sixth Saturday, the Orioles mustered only one hit off Kutter Crawford through four innings Sunday. They only recorded two more the rest of the game, but that was enough for the victory.
Rutschman’s sky-scraping solo shot in the fifth put Baltimore up 1-0 and gave the two-time All-Star catcher his first big fly since July 19. The switch-hitter slumped in July with a .132 average and .482 OPS, but he’s started to break out of it this month.
“It’s nice to see the ball leave the park,” said Rutschman, who started after missing the previous two games with lower back discomfort.
After a throwing error on a Ryan O’Hearn ground ball scored Ramón Urías, Henderson blasted the decisive blow with a no-doubter — his 33rd of the season — off left-hander Bailey Horn. After a power outage to begin the second half, the sophomore shortstop has homered in four of his past five games.
“I’m hopeful,” Hyde said when asked if the homers from his franchise cornerstones portend approaching hot streaks. “I think Adley’s going to start swinging the bat better, and Gunn swung the bat great this series.”
Left-hander Cionel Pérez relieved Suárez (6-4) and tossed a scoreless seventh but allowed the first two batters of the eighth (both lefties) to reach. Yennier Cano allowed one of them to score but got a critical strikeout, and Domínguez escaped a bases-loaded, two-out jam by inducing a foul popup. Domínguez, who is currently filling in for the struggling Craig Kimbrel, allowed a solo homer in the ninth to Rob Refsnyder off the left field foul pole, but the trade deadline acquisition retired the other three batters he faced.
“The ninth inning is where everyone wants to be,” Domínguez said. “It’s a big inning, especially for the team. … Every time I get an opportunity, I just think about getting people out.”
Baltimore is 73-52 after the series split and a half-game back of the New York Yankees, who play on ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball,” in the American League East.
Hyde and Rutschman both said it appears Suárez is getting stronger as the season progresses. He generated a career-high 16 swings-and-misses last weekend against the Tampa Bay Rays and matched that number Sunday.
With two extra days of rest, Hyde let Suárez finish the sixth inning after allowing two singles that put the go-ahead run on first. Suárez’s season-high 99th and final pitch was his hardest of the afternoon at 97.3 mph. Many of the announced 27,104 in attendance gave him a standing ovation as he walked off the mound.
“I thought the fastball once again got better as the game went on,” Hyde said.
“He trusts that his stuff is good,” Rutschman said. “And everyone else around him believes it, and he does. He’s doing great.”
Suárez lowered his ERA to a sparkling 3.18, which is second in the Orioles’ rotation behind only ace Corbin Burnes’ 3.10. During his 17 2/3-inning scoreless streak, Suárez has allowed 13 hits and walked only three while striking out 17.
Suárez’s ascendence has been vital in stabilizing the Orioles’ injury-filled rotation. He was moved back to the bullpen after the trade deadline, but he returned to the rotation after Grayson Rodriguez landed on the injured list. Now, it’s hard to imagine Suárez not being a legitimate candidate to start Game 3 or 4 of a playoff series.
“I just think he bears down really, really well,” Hyde said. “There’s not a whole lot of panic out there, either. He’s really, really under control, and the game doesn’t speed up on him.”
The Red Sox (65-58) were dreadful with runners in scoring position, going 1-for-14 in those situations and leaving 11 on base. They out-hit Baltimore 11 to three.
Hyde managed his bullpen with the intent of using Domínguez in the ninth. The sixth-year skipper could have relied on the matchups as he has so often in his tenure, bringing in left-hander Keegan Akin to face a lefty pocket atop Boston’s lineup in the ninth. Instead, Hyde trusted the more effective reliever — despite the platoon disadvantage — and allowed Domínguez to act as Baltimore’s de facto closer. Domínguez’s last four-out save was in August 2018 when he was a rookie with the Philadelphia Phillies.
Hyde has yet to name Domínguez his closer, but he’s been one of Baltimore’s best relievers since acquiring him from the Phillies at the deadline and Kimbrel hasn’t recorded a save since July 7. Domínguez has a 1.74 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 10 1/3 innings as an Oriole.
“We were going to live and die with Domínguez,” Hyde said. “Now, those guys can’t pitch every single night. We have eight guys in our ‘pen, those three guys — [Pérez, Cano and Domínguez] — have pitched the majority of the time when we have the lead. We have to have these other four or five guys be able to impact us positively also out of the bullpen. It’s really, really important.”
Around the horn
• Right-handed reliever Colin Selby was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk to replace Cade Povich, who was optioned after his excellent start Saturday. The Orioles acquired Selby, who has 27 career MLB innings since 2023, in a cash trade with the Kansas City Royals last month. He’s the newest addition to the Orioles’ roster, but he already has the club’s best beard. After playing on teams for years that had limits on facial hair, Selby wasn’t required to shave it during the pandemic. “About three years ago I just let it ride,” he said.
• Colton Cowser was hit by an 88 mph cutter on his right hand but remained in the game. Hyde said the rookie outfielder was OK.
• The Orioles’ rotation is remaining on turn for their series in New York against the Mets after each member was pushed back one day for Povich’s start. Trevor Rogers will start the series opener Monday, while Dean Kremer and Zach Eflin will take the ball Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
• James McCann reached 10 years of MLB service Sunday. The achievement isn’t just a testament to McCann’s playing ability, but it’s one of the main goals for any player who reaches the majors. A player’s pension is fully vested once he reaches 10 years of service, calculated by days on the roster with 172 days equalling one year. The feat is one reached by about 7% of players in MLB history.
• Washington Wizards rookie guard Bub Carrington threw out the first pitch. The Baltimore native and St. Frances Academy alumnus was selected 14th overall in the 2024 NBA draft.
Orioles at Mets
Monday, 7:10 p.m.
TV: MASN
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
