Victory eludes Orioles again in another twisting, extra-inning game against Braves

Welcome to the Orioles experience, where little goes smoothly and the unexpected happens more often than not.

A baffling error from a Braves second baseman to give Baltimore life? Check. A line-drive double play to squander a bases-loaded, no-out opportunity for the Orioles in the 10th? Yep. A tightrope effort from right-hander Andrew Kittredge in the 11th to keep hope alive? Oh, yeah.

These Orioles know how to twist a fanbase into knots, and this series at Camden Yards against Atlanta was full of bowlines and hitches. It ends with an 11th-inning loss in which Baltimore had ample chances but is left to rue another game. Atlanta held on to capture a series win through this 3-2 victory.

“In a close game like that, there’s a lot of stuff you can go back to,” manager Craig Albernaz said.

After Kittredge allowed a double from Austin Riley to score the automatic runner in the top half of the frame, the Braves couldn’t add another run, even with the bases loaded. That led to the Orioles loading the bases with two outs in the bottom half because right-hander Tyler Kinley walked Leody Taveras and intentionally walked Jackson Holliday.

Catcher Sam Huff, who’s on the roster to fill in for the injured Samuel Basallo and Adley Rutschman, grounded out. He remains hitless since returning last week to the majors.

There were so many twists and turns before that, too, in a series full of them. On Friday, the Braves needed extra innings to win. On Saturday, the Orioles evened the series by walking off as winners. In the finale, the Braves gave the Orioles life with a blunder in the ninth.

The ground ball that Taveras hit with one out could not have been more routine. It likely should have been a game-ending double play. Instead, second baseman Ozzie Albies completely whiffed on the ball, which set up runners on the corners with one out in a one-run game.

Holliday ripped a ground ball to the right side, and while Albies made a nice diving stop that time and threw Holliday out at first, the tying run scored.

In extras, right-hander Tyler Wells walked the first batter he faced, slugger Matt Olson, to begin the 10th. But he stranded both runners, including the automatic runner at second, through two pop-ups and a flyout. Then left-hander Danny Young walked Dylan Beavers to begin the bottom half of the frame, despite Beavers attempting to lay down a sacrifice bunt.

Young intentionally walked Pete Alonso to load the bases with no outs, but Gunnar Henderson’s line drive was caught by Olson at first base, and Olson stepped on the bag before Alonso could dive back — or so the umpires ruled (the Orioles challenged, but the call stood).

“I just should have took a shorter lead,” Alonso said. “I thought I was pretty close to the bag, but it turned out that it still needed to be shorter. Yeah, that’s really tough. Not being able to cash in there, that obviously was a huge blow.”

Olson, of course, is a three-time Gold Glove winner. He made an excellent play. Perhaps there was nothing Alonso could’ve done differently. But the Orioles star took responsibility, saying the loss “was on me.”

“Big time. Big-time missed opportunity because of misjudgment on my part,” Alonso said. “Honestly, I should have just been standing on the bag, just like Little League.”

Atlanta then turned to Kinley with two outs to face outfielder Taylor Ward, who popped out to extend the game.

It was almost baffling how the Orioles didn’t score there. Henderson smoked the ball. It turned into two outs rather than the winning run.

And in the 11th, after Riley’s RBI double, the Orioles had another chance to at least tie it. But they left the bases loaded again.

That frame began with Coby Mayo striking out on three pitches rather than attempting to bunt the automatic runner to third to set up a potential sacrifice fly that could’ve tied the game.

When asked why the Orioles didn’t call for a bunt, Albernaz said: “Coby bunting would not be the best position for him to succeed.”

On Friday afternoon, a few hours before the Orioles began this series, owner David Rubenstein proclaimed that, if Baltimore won seven out of every 10 games to end the season, the club would wind up in the playoffs.

That was a rough estimate, and it was an overly ambitious one at that. Realistically, given this weak American League field, the Orioles likely would not need to win at a 70% rate to make the postseason.

Either way — if the Orioles must win at a 70% clip or a 60% clip — the prism through which Baltimore looks has more to do with what its record is on Aug. 3, when the trade deadline arrives. When Rubenstein said his line about winning seven of every 10 games, there were nine games to go until then.

Now, after this loss to the Braves, there are six remaining. Baltimore heads to face the Detroit Tigers before welcoming the Philadelphia Phillies at Camden Yards.

“We’ve given a lot of stuff away collectively through mistakes and what have you throughout the year,” Alonso said. “So that’s why our record is what it is. But we have the ability to go on a run. ... We just need to execute and do that.”

Time is running out on a decision — one source with direct knowledge of the front office’s thinking said the Orioles have prepared for all scenarios: buying, selling or a mix.

By dropping this series against the Braves (62-43), and not looking all that great doing it, the Orioles are nearing a point of diminishing returns. Even if they buy, is it too little, too late? That will be the debate within the B&O Warehouse.

At 51-55, the Orioles are only 2.5 games out of the final wild-card place. There are multiple teams in that same ballpark, between buying and selling. And the Orioles are here because they too frequently lack the fundamentals that anchor winning baseball.

Neither of the runs off right-hander Shane Baz through the first four innings should’ve happened. They took defensive shortcomings to occur — a common theme for Baltimore.

In the second inning, Michael Harris II singled to center. Colton Cowser bobbled the ball, which allowed Harris to take an extra 90 feet. He advanced to third on a flyout and scored on Dominic Smith’s single — an unearned run, because Harris should’ve been at first base still.

“Cowser’s error in the outfield, that, looking back on it, hurt us,” Albernaz said. “It just changed the complexity of the base state, the runners. Put a little more pressure on Shane.”

And in the fourth another Smith single scored a run. With two outs, he lined a ball to left field with Olson on third base. Beavers’ poor jump — he staggered back before attempting to make up ground with a dive forward — allowed the ball to drop.

Baz didn’t have his best day. He allowed six hits and two walks with two strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings, and Albernaz pulled him at 90 pitches. Still, had those two plays been made, Baz might’ve skated by without any runs against him.

“Gosh, I feel like that was probably as bad as I’ve been all year, just not being in the zone 0-0,” Baz said. “That lets them see that many more pitches. I just felt like my command wasn’t great today. Probably could have thrown a few more fastballs, I feel like.”

As it was, the Orioles managed little offense until Alonso powered a solo home run off left-hander Dylan Lee in the eighth inning.

Before then, right-hander Reynaldo López pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings and left-hander Dylan Dodd entered to supply 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief. The Orioles’ relievers, including right-hander Albert Suárez, who made his first appearance since July 8, all pitched scoreless frames to send the game to extras.

It took an Atlanta error to get there. The Orioles wound up spurning the gift. And they are running out of time before the trade deadline to convince president of baseball operations Mike Elias to buy.

“We have two whole months of baseball, which is a lot of time,” Alonso said. “It is, but it isn’t. Take that how you will.”

So it really isn’t. The deadline is approaching quickly. The season hangs by a thread.

This article has been updated.