Orioles’ 8-run inning powers them to series win vs. Guardians

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Leody Taveras struggled to do much of anything at the plate for two weeks, yet in the confines of one inning Wednesday night, the Orioles outfielder doubled his hit total this month.

Neither was a particularly fearsome knock. He lifted a single to center field to begin the third, and later in this runaway train of an inning, Taveras blooped another single against left-hander Foster Griffin just over the shortstop’s head. But, given how Taveras has been scuffling, he’ll take those.

Entering Wednesday’s 9-5 victory for Baltimore against the Cleveland Guardians, Taveras had one hit in his previous 22 at-bats. That was a double in Tuesday’s loss. The 28-year-old hasn’t found it easy, but he remains in the lineup largely because of injuries to Tyler O’Neill and Luis Robert Jr.

“Leody, yeah, his struggles, absolutely he’s going through it,” manager Craig Albernaz said before the game. “But his ability yesterday to come through with a big hit, it’s in there. It’s still in there, and he’s working and he’s actively trying to get better and trying to make those adjustments, and he is. … Even though he’s on a cold streak, he can go on a hot streak just as quickly.”

At least on Wednesday night, as the Orioles (71-76) closed a series win, Taveras contributed in a meaningful way. It’s too soon to call this a hot streak, but it was Taveras’ first multihit game since Aug. 29 and he helped Baltimore produce an eight-run inning — matching its highest-scoring frame this season.

After Taveras singled to begin the third, six more batters reached safely against Griffin. Rece Hinds, with a deep sacrifice fly, represented the first out. The cascade of runs wasn’t done, however, even after Griffin departed.

Right-hander Matt Festa replaced Griffin after Taveras’ second hit in the frame. That set up Dylan Beavers for his third RBI of the inning. After blooping a two-run double earlier, Beavers lashed a hard single off the glove of second baseman Angel Genao.

“Guys just passed the baton, didn’t give in, didn’t try to do too much,” Albernaz said.

Everything went Baltimore’s way in that third inning. Only three balls were hit harder than 90 mph, but those bloops worked. Putting the ball in play worked. That’s not a guaranteed recipe for success, but for a team that entered with the fourth-most strikeouts in baseball, this was a refreshing adjustment.

“You hear people say home runs can be rally killers. Today, I feel like it was just kind of death by a thousand paper cuts,” Beavers said. “You just keep passing the baton, and the field’s still open. There’s bases loaded, runners on second and third, whatever it may be. ... At times, a single, walk, hit by pitch, double, those can really lead to huge innings, as opposed to getting two guys on and hitting three-run homers. It’s always nice, but I think the big innings always come from what you saw today.”

In truth, the contact approach lasted only one inning. The Orioles still finished with 10 strikeouts, but they had done most of the required damage in the third inning. And, after the Guardians mounted a brief comeback, Coby Mayo delivered his 22nd homer of the season to provide an insurance run.

Right-hander Shane Baz allowed a two-run homer to Chase DeLauter in the first inning, and he allowed three more runs in the sixth. He benefited from the outpouring of run support, however — a rare sight when Baz is on the mound. Before the eight runs in one inning Wednesday, Baz had received a combined 10 runs of support in his previous eight starts.

Another rare sight of late has been hits for Taveras. He came through twice in the third inning, though, to help Baltimore break the series finale open.

With the victory, the Orioles move back within three games of the last American League wild-card spot. There are only 15 games to play, so their chances are slim, at best. Still, it almost appears as though no team is willing to grab that final postseason place with both hands, so the Orioles have stayed alive.

“We’re still in the fight,” Albernaz said. And while they are long-shot odds, they are not zero.

“Winning 15 games is tough, but if you try to win one game every day, it feels a lot more manageable,” Beavers said. “Next thing we’re focused on is the first game in Toronto.”

Roster move

The Orioles placed utility fielder Blaze Alexander on the 10-day injured list with lower back discomfort prior to Wednesday’s game. Alexander exited Tuesday’s game early because of back spasms. Baltimore recalled infielder Jeremiah Jackson, who recorded one of the RBI singles in the third inning.

Gunnar Henderson was unavailable Wednesday, Albernaz said, due to knee tightness. Henderson fouled a ball off his left knee late in Tuesday’s game, but the shortstop anticipates his injury is day-to-day and won’t require an injured list placement. He benefits from an off day in the schedule Thursday before Friday’s series opener against the Toronto Blue Jays.

This article has been updated.