O’s Wait Out The Rain To Win Series
The heavens opened up over Baltimore in the top of the sixth inning on Thursday. For some reason play continued during the first downpour and when the unpiring crew called for the tarp, the grounds crew was not out yet and the cover was still on the tarp. What followed was tarp on, tarp off and tarp on for a 2 hour 18 minute delay.
Leading by a score of 5-0 with one on and one out in the sixth when the rains came, the Baltimore Orioles held on to defeat the Seattle Mariners (67-55) by a score of 5-2 once play resumed. With the win, the Orioles won their first series since the MLB Trade Deadline and now have a 5-7 record (.417) since the nine player sell-off.
The Orioles plated three runs in the fourth inning with a lead-off walk by Jordan Westburg starting the party. Ryan Mountcastle‘s one out single put runners on the corners. A two out wild pitch allowed Westburg to score and an error by the pitcher on Mountcastle’s steal of second put him at third. Following a Daniel Johnson walk, Mountcastle stole home when the Mariners tried to get Johnson out in a rundown during the double steal. Jeremiah Jackson singled Johnson home for the O’s third run. It looked like the Mariners were getting ready for their appearance in the Little League Classic on Sunday.
Baltimore added two more runs in the fifth with a Jackson Holliday walk, a Westburg hit by pitch, a Gunnar Henderson RBI double and a Mountcastle RBI sac. fly.
The rain cut short the start by Tomoyuki Sugano (10-5). He earned the win and a rain-soaked jersey for his 1 run, 3 hit, 1 walk and 2 strikeout effort over 5.1 innings. Sugano did hit a batter and was responsible for the runner on when the game was delayed.
After the game Sugano had this to say about his performance and achievement (through his interpreter Yuto Sakurai), “It’s just one goal, there’s more goals ahead. So I just want to make sure I get more wins for the team moving forward.”
When play resumed Baltimore reliever Rico Garcia was greeted with a two run homerun off the bat of Seattle’s Julio Rodriguez before he finished out the sixth inning. Keegan Akin, Kade Strowd and Dietrich Enns combined to cover the seventh, eighth and ninth innings, respectively, with Enns earning his first save.
Having recorded four hits before the rain delay, the Orioles could only work a Dylan Carlson walk in the sixth after the delay.
The “make-do” outfielders combined to go 1 for 8 (.125) with a run scored, 1 RBI, 3 walks and a strikeout on the day; not necessarily striking fear into the Orioles’ opponents.
2025 Record: 55-66
Next Game: Fri. 8/15 @ 8:10 pm vs. Astros in Houston