Craig Kimbrel blows save as Orioles fall to Athletics, 3-2, in 10 innings: ‘This game is really on me’
The Orioles were three outs away Friday night from improving to 6-0 in games started by Corbin Burnes, but closer Craig Kimbrel couldn’t record them.
Kimbrel entered with a one-run lead in the ninth against the Oakland Athletics, hoping to slam the door and continue the stellar start to his Orioles tenure. But he allowed all five batters he faced to reach base — on two doubles and three walks — and recorded his second blown save as an Oriole.
Heroics from Keegan Akin, who stranded the bases loaded in relief of Kimbrel, kept the score tied, but Baltimore’s bats couldn’t push one run across in the ninth or 10th in a 3-2 loss at Camden Yards.
“This game is really on me,” Kimbrel said. “Everybody did everything they needed to for us to get a win except for me locking it down.”
It appeared reliever Jacob Webb would continue Akin’s success by retiring the first two batters of the 10th, including a groundout that led to the automatic runner being tagged out between third and home. But a two-out double by Rooker scored Shea Langeliers to give the Athletics (11-16) a one-run lead.
The Orioles (16-9) couldn’t score their automatic runner in the 10th, as Athletics closer Mason Miller retired the side in order, including strikeouts of Colton Cowser to lead off the inning and Gunnar Henderson to end the game, to secure the victory. Manager Brandon Hyde said before the game the best way to not fall victim to Miller’s electric arm — fastballs reaching 103 mph and a wipeout slider — was to “have the lead” instead.
They did, but Kimbrel’s attempt for his 425th career save, which would have moved him into a tie for fifth on MLB’s all-time list, went awry.
“It was just an off night,” Hyde said postgame. “Just didn’t have his best command and those are going to happen.”
Kimbrel allowed a leadoff double to Rooker and walked JJ Bleday to put the go-ahead run on first. Abraham Toro then hit a 105.9 mph line drive to the warning track in right field for a double that tied the game.
Statcast gave Toro’s batted ball an expected batting average of .740, but the tracking data also projected right fielder Ryan McKenna’s probability of making the catch at 85%. However, McKenna, who joined the Orioles on Friday in replace of demoted prospect Jackson Holliday, got a bad jump on the liner directly over his head, with Statcast measuring his jump at negative-12.4 feet. McKenna entered the game in the ninth as a defensive replacement for Anthony Santander.
The Athletics appeared to briefly take a one-run lead in the ninth after Kimbrel threw a wild pitch, but the call at the plate was overturned via replay review. Catcher Adley Rutschman chased down the errant pitch and flipped it to Kimbrel, who tagged out Bleday to keep the score tied. However, Kimbrel then walked the next two batters to load the bases, issuing more free passes Friday (three) than in his first 11 innings this season (two). The 35-year-old entered the game with just one run allowed across his first 11 innings.
“Three walks in an inning that’s going to — it means your command is off,” Kimbrel said. “Obviously, after such a well-pitched game from the whole team, it’s not a very pretty inning. I expect better out of myself. Just tonight wasn’t my night.”
Another beauty from Burnes
The Orioles acquired Burnes in the offseason with the hopes that an ace atop their rotation would elevate the club to new heights. Whether that happens remains to be seen, but Burnes’ first month with the club suggests it very well could.
Burnes pitched six innings of one-run ball to put Baltimore in a position to win, which would’ve moved him to 4-0 on the season and the Orioles to 6-0 in games he’s started. Perhaps the most miraculous part about the early returns of the Burnes trade is that the 29-year-old right-hander has yet to pitch as well as he’s capable. His 2.55 ERA is stellar, but he’s pitched into the seventh inning and struck out more than six just once apiece.
More of those gems — such as his 11-strikeout opening day and his seven-inning win in Boston — are coming. But just as important as Burnes dominating games is him giving the Orioles a chance to win every time he toes the rubber. Burnes did that again Friday, striking out six while scattering three hits and three walks.
“Just kind of another night we had to grind through and battle through not having our best stuff,” he said. “We were able to miss enough bats and get enough weak contact to get through six there and give us a chance to win.”
Burnes is 3-0 with a 2.55 ERA through his first month as an Oriole with 35 strikeouts in 35 1/3 innings. The club is now 5-1 in games he’s started.
“Yes and no,” Burnes said when asked if he’s happy with the beginning of his Orioles tenure. “Happy with how I’ve kind of grinded through and got through a good month now to try to figure things out. I feel like I’ve had maybe one game where stuff has been maybe where I want it to be. That’s obviously a little frustrating: six starts in, only having your best stuff one time. The good part is we’ve grinded through it and given ourselves a chance to win every time we go out there.
“Just have to keep after it and know that the work we’re putting in, it’s going to turn and good things are going to happen and we’re going to throw the baseball the way we want.”
The lone run he allowed was a solo homer by Langeliers in the first inning. Burnes has surrendered exactly one run in the first inning in five of his six starts this season. From the second inning on, he has a 1.53 ERA.
The Orioles tied the game in the third on an RBI single from Ryan O’Hearn off Athletics starter Ross Stripling and took a one-run lead on Cedric Mullins’ sixth home run of the season. But Baltimore’s bats were shut down by Oakland’s bullpen, not recording a hit in 4 1/3 innings off former Oriole T.J. McFarland, Mitch Spence and Miller.
“We only scored a couple runs and then Spence comes in and we did nothing off him,” Hyde said. “And then Mason Miller is throwing 103 with a slider, so we just had a tough night at the plate.”
Around the horn
• Outfielder Ryan McKenna said he is “excited” to be back with the Orioles. “The Orioles have been really good to me,” McKenna said. He joined Baltimore before Friday’s game after the club optioned Jackson Holliday to Triple-A amid the 20-year-old’s early struggles. McKenna, a mainstay with Baltimore over the past few seasons, was the choice over prospects Connor Norby and Coby Mayo because of the absence of Austin Hays, also a right-handed hitting outfielder. McKenna was designated for assignment at the end of spring training but remained in the organization after passing through waivers.
• Right-hander Kyle Bradish (sprained ulnar collateral ligament) made the third start of his minor league rehabilitation assignment Friday, pitching five innings of one-run ball for Triple-A Norfolk. Bradish sat 92 to 94 mph on his fastball — similar to his 2023 velocity — while striking out six and walking only one across 77 pitches. Hyde said earlier this week that the club wanted Bradish to build up to five innings and around 80 pitches before scheduling his return to Baltimore. He could still make a few more rehab starts if the Orioles want him to, but it appears his 2024 major league debut is nearing.
• Left-hander John Means, who began his offseason throwing regimen a month late to recover from his late-season flare-up last year, will make the final start of his rehab assignment Sunday for Norfolk. Means built up to 4 1/3 innings and 79 pitches during his most recent rehab start, but he has a 13.89 ERA during his assignment. The veteran’s rehab stint cannot extend past Monday, meaning he will likely rejoin the Orioles early next week unless he is still injured. Reliever Cionel Pérez will also continue his rehab assignment this weekend in Norfolk, the Orioles said.
Athletics at Orioles
Saturday, 4:05 p.m.
TV: MASN
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
