Orioles strike first but can’t build any momentum in loss to Rays

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — It took two pitches for the Orioles to get their offense moving Tuesday night. Taylor Ward lifted the fastball from Griffin Jax to deep left field, applying an anodyne to any lingering soreness from Monday night’s blowout loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.

The salve was short-lived.

Ward’s leadoff home run marked the Orioles’ only score of the night. Right-hander Kyle Bradish produced a strong performance, but he received little offensive support before the bullpen buckled late to widen the margin.

Baltimore found another way to lose a game — after its pitching melted down Monday, its lineup couldn’t build momentum from Ward’s blast. In the end, two extra-base hits against Bradish were enough to hand the Rays a 4-1 victory, which seals the series ahead of Wednesday’s matinee.

Both came from Yandy Díaz, who continued a great start to the season with a two-RBI day. After a two-out walk from Jonathan Aranda in the first inning, Díaz launched a sinker Bradish placed on the bottom of the zone to center field for a double, tying the game immediately.

And in the sixth, as the Orioles (21-28) tried to stretch Bradish a few more outs after short starts from other members of the rotation Sunday and Monday, Díaz came through again. A hanging slider left Díaz’s bat in a hurry. He flipped his bat behind him, certain of the no-doubt homer.

“Can’t really give up a homer right there, especially late in the game,” Bradish said. “It’s just a frustrating one because I felt like I did a lot of things well today. Battled with guys on base, got out of jams. And, I mean, they had four hits. Unfortunately, we got the loss, and that’s kind of what sticks in my mind.”

Between those two key hits, Bradish excelled. He allowed two runs in 5 1/3 innings. Three walks, though, helped elevate his pitch count. The right-hander reached 94 pitches at the end of the fifth, but Baltimore ran him out to face Díaz again. In hindsight, Bradish perhaps should’ve been pulled after five.

The first inning was especially taxing, and it could’ve been worse if catcher Samuel Basallo hadn’t made an astute challenge call. On Bradish’s 36th pitch of the frame, Basallo challenged what was ruled ball three. The pitch nicked the zone, resulting in a strikeout, and Bradish could breathe before returning for four more clean innings.

The right-hander called the Rays, who own the American League’s best record at 32-15, a “complete team.”

“They’re patient,” he said. “They make you come in the zone. And unlike a lot of teams, they’re fine taking a single the other way. They’re not all trying to do damage. But when you leave a pitch in the middle of the plate like I did for Yandy, they’re on it.”

Bradish was talking about the teams he usually faces, not his own. But in some ways, that description illustrates the difference between the Rays and Orioles. Baltimore struggled Tuesday — and at other times this season — to find grass. While higher exit velocities are a good thing (the harder it’s hit, the harder the ball is to catch), there is a benefit to working counts and creating havoc with the ball in play.

The Orioles finished with four hits and were 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.

“Ward set the table, obviously, with the home run. And after that, we couldn’t get anything going,” manager Craig Albernaz said. “Now, we had three stolen bases to get guys in the scoring position, but that hit eluded us.”

And it saddled Bradish with the loss, despite keeping Tampa Bay in check after the Rays plated 16 runs in the series opener. His last three starts have all been strong. He has conceded a combined five runs in 18 1/3 innings.

Bradish handed the game over to a stable of relievers who kept the one-run deficit until the eighth.

The additional dent came with two outs — a frustrating trend for the pitching staff. Right-hander Yennier Cano hit Díaz to give Tampa Bay a baserunner, and Díaz was lifted for pinch runner Carson Williams. Before it went any further, Albernaz turned to his best reliever, right-hander Rico Garcia, to close the door.

These were only the third and fourth hits against Garcia all season, but they came at an inopportune time, having inherited a runner. And while it had been a clean defensive game, Baltimore will want this moment back.

Richie Palacios laced a deep fly ball to right field that turned Colton Cowser around as he tried to track it. The ball glanced off his glove and hit the the wall. Cowser got to the loose ball quickly, though, and hit cutoff man Jeremiah Jackson. Jackson’s relay throw home beat Williams there in plenty of time but hopped short of Basallo and bounced away to allow Williams to score.

“Dissecting the play, Jackson, when the ball was coming to him, his back was to home plate,” Albernaz said. “He didn’t really get turned and didn’t get ready to throw to home. So, he was kind of flat-footed. He still got off a good throw and just short-hopped Sammy and Sammy couldn’t complete the catch and tag. I think [if] Sammy completes the catch and tag, which is tough on the short hop, I think he would have had him.”

Then Jonny DeLuca blooped in a single to plate Palacios, creating a three-run lead for right-hander Bryan Baker. The former Orioles reliever-turned-Rays closer yelled toward his dugout as he struck out Pete Alonso to secure the victory.

Baker, whom the Orioles traded away for a compensation-round pick that in turn was used to acquire right-hander Shane Baz this winter from Tampa Bay, is producing his best season yet. Tuesday marked Baker’s 13th save.

Baltimore, meanwhile, is facing the reality that it’s getting late quickly. The Orioles are a season-low seven games under .500. And the best they can hope for Wednesday is to avoid a sweep.