The Orioles can’t convert with runners in scoring position in 2-1 loss to Blue Jays

Thursday’s matchup between the Orioles and the Blue Jays likely won’t be included in a tutorial about situational hitting. Far from it.

The teams combined to finish 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position and leave 16 runners on base, a result of missed opportunities and hard-hit balls right at defenders. Breaking through against either pitching staff required a mistake on the mound.

That happened in the eighth inning, when Orioles reliever Anthony Nunez allowed a leadoff double to George Springer. A sacrifice bunt followed by an intentional walk to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. put runners on the corners. With two outs and the bases loaded, Nunez walked pinch hitter Yohendrick Piñango, allowing Springer to score the go-ahead run in the Orioles’ 2-1 loss at Camden Yards.

“They put some really good at-bats against him, and that’s their calling card,” manager Craig Albernaz said. “They create a lot of contact. They force pitches in the strike zone, and they weren’t chasing like his changeup, especially to lefties, and it was a great pinch-hit at-bat to work the walk.”

One night after arguably their best offensive series of the year, the Orioles couldn’t convert the few opportunities they had. They finished with eight hits, two more than the Blue Jays, but couldn’t string them together.

“That’s always a tough thing when you’re in a tough spot where you lose a close game, like a 2-1 game, just everything is heightened,” Albernaz said. “We feel it in the dugout; the players feel it. Like you know what it’s going to be. Same thing on their side as well.

“You’ve got to make sure, when there’s opportunities, you’ve got to catch them in because you don’t know when those opportunities are going to come again. I like our approaches, but also we just didn’t get the job done with runners in scoring position.”

The loss spoiled one of the better outings of the year for Orioles starter Chris Bassitt against his former team. For the last three seasons, Bassitt did in Toronto what he was paid to do in Baltimore: stabilize the middle of the rotation. Over three seasons with the Blue Jays, Bassitt pitched to a 3.89 ERA in 96 appearances, including 95 starts.

This season, the Orioles haven’t gotten that version of Bassitt. He’s been durable, but his results haven’t been up to par: a 5.51 ERA in 10 starts entering Thursday. His advanced metrics have regressed from last year.

But Bassitt continued a strong stretch for Orioles’ starters of late. Over the last nine games, Baltimore’s starting pitchers have posted a 2.23 ERA. And, against the defending American League pennant winners, Bassitt kept the Orioles in striking distance as their offense struggled to give him support.

The first inning served as an omen for the Orioles. The first two hitters found themselves in scoring position when Taylor Ward singled and Gunnar Henderson reached on an error, allowing both to move up a base. But Adley Rutschman lined out and Pete Alonso and Coby Mayo struck out to strand both runners.

“They pitched great; we pitched great,” Alonso said. “But there’s just like certain little things in the game where ... like a sac fly, or like a ground ball, or something like that, just with runners on third, less than two [outs], the ball has to be put in play there. For me, I really enjoy being in those situations. And not to come through for the team there, it really stinks.”

In the third, Bassitt allowed a solo homer to Andrés Giménez to give the Blue Jays a 1-0 lead. The Orioles, meanwhile, hadn’t reached base in 11 straight at-bats after Henderson’s ground ball. Then Mayo, who has punished left-handed pitching this season, launched an opposite-field home run to even the score.

Bassitt, who has used his curveball 25% of the time this season, didn’t utilize it as often Thursday night, trusting his sinker more against Toronto’s hitters.

In the fifth inning, Bassitt found himself in a jam with runners on the corners and one out. A high sinker to Springer resulted in a lineout to second. Two pitches later, he used a four-seam fastball to retire Nathan Lukes and keep the score tied.

Of Bassitt’s 80 pitches, his mix consisted of 40 sinkers and 18 cutters. He threw only eight curveballs, including the pitch Giménez launched for a solo homer, five four-seam fastballs and sliders and four sweepers.

“Obviously I know those guys really well over there, so I just had a game plan that I wanted to go into today,” Bassitt said. “Knowing kind of who they are, knowing their personalities, knowing what they look for in counts and just try to stay as unpredictable as I could.”

Despite Bassitt’s efforts, the Orioles couldn’t find the timely hit. Henderson lined out to first base with two runners in scoring position in the sixth.

One final opportunity fell into their laps in the eighth thanks to a hustle play from Alonso, who beat out an infield grounder to extend the inning.

Then, Alonso attempted to get an aggressive lead to beat a potential infield ground ball or score on a ball in the gap. But he overcommitted with his lead and got caught too far off first base. Catcher Brandon Valenzuela picked him off to end the inning.

Alonso lay on the ground, shook his head, slammed his helmet in the dirt and proceeded to the dugout with his head down, as many teammates had throughout the evening.

“It’s really tough to kind of take ourselves out of the inning like that, from just playing too far over my skis, so to speak,” Alonso said. “I feel awful.”

This article has been updated.