Orioles’ first shutout loss of the season nets a series win for the Mariners

SEATTLE — The Orioles ran into another buzz saw.

This time, it was right-hander Bryan Woo who kept Baltimore at bay throughout this series-ending 3-0 win for the Mariners. It was the Orioles’ first shutout loss of the season.

The pitching duel between Woo and right-hander Shane Baz was competitive except for a two-out, first-inning letdown for Baz. With those three runs across, Woo had all the advantage he needed.

The result leaves Baltimore with a series loss to begin its nine-game road trip that continues Friday in Los Angeles against MLB’s best team this season, the Dodgers.

“Seattle has great pitching,” manager Craig Albernaz said. “We had great at-bats. All series, we had some really good swings, hard contact. And we also had some bad at-bats. The big hit eluded us with runners in scoring position. But I think with our guys, it’s just, keep doing our process, keep having great at-bats, and, you know, the time will come.”

The time needs to come sooner rather than later. The Orioles (35-41) are benefitting from the weak American League playoff picture. Even six games under .500, they aren’t far out of it (as of the final out in Seattle with games ongoing elsewhere, Baltimore is 2.5 games from the final wild card spot).

The more pressing matter will be deciding whether this is a team close enough to a playoff spot at the Aug. 3 trade deadline to warrant buying. At this point, that is far from the minds of those in the clubhouse, at least publicly.

“I don’t think anyone’s really thinking about that in here right now,” said outfielder Colton Cowser, who recorded one of Baltimore’s three hits. “We’re worried about the next 24 hours. So, yeah, looking forward to heading down to LA and putting together hopefully some good at-bats and some good starts and playing like the team we know we’re capable of.”

This one ended with a potential scare, as a throw from shortstop Colt Emerson hit Adley Rutschman on the ear as he ran to first base. Rutschman exited the game, but Albernaz said it was a precautionary departure given that there was only one out left in the game. Albernaz said Rutschman was being looked at postgame and more information may be available later.

For six innings, Baz matched Woo’s excellence. But in the first inning, the crack began with a two-out single from Josh Naylor, and Naylor took second on an error by right fielder Leody Taveras. Then Dominic Canzone walked, Cole Young doubled and Emerson brought home two more with a single.

Those two-out runs were all the Mariners managed, but they were enough, given how well Woo pitched.

“I didn’t really feel super sharp in the first,” said Baz, who noted he shook off a few pitch selections and opted to throw something that, “when I go and look back, was probably the wrong pitch.”

Apart from that first inning, though, Baz was excellent. He finished with nine strikeouts in seven innings.

“We’ve been working our butts off about just what I need in between starts and what I need to work on and what needs to be kind of a plan of attack,” Baz said. “It’s been better. It’s been really good.”

Consistency in baseball is a difficult-to-grasp concept, because even the most consistent hitters record an out 70% of the time. Still, what the Orioles managed in a series loss to the Mariners has to be described as something, and even if “inconsistent” is an imperfect descriptor, the three-game sample is emblematic of some of the season-long tendencies seen from Baltimore.

What doesn’t help, of course, is that the Mariners seem to have an ace on the mound most nights. In the series opener, right-hander Logan Gilbert was untouchable. In the series finale, Woo followed suit, producing seven scoreless innings with three hits and nine strikeouts.

Last week, when Woo faced the Orioles at Camden Yards, Baltimore hit him around for seven runs in five innings. Cowser said Woo approached the Orioles differently this go-around, and it worked.

“He commanded his fastball really well and was able to pitch off of that, and it’s a good fastball,” Cowser said.

Added Albernaz: “We just couldn’t make an adjustment on the heater.”

Woo dotted the strike zone with his fastball, and his secondary offerings were just as precise. He was, until the eighth, infallible. Then Taveras and Colton Cowser reached base to begin the inning and that spelled the end of Woo’s day.

With two on, however, the Orioles didn’t manufacture a run. Right-hander Eduard Bazardo got Blaze Alexander to ground into a forceout at third base. Jackson Holliday flied out to shallow center, and Taylor Ward’s strikeout stranded the pair of runners.

The Orioles had another opportunity against Andrés Muñoz in the ninth once Gunnar Henderson led off with a walk. Henderson was out on a force play near second, but Rutschman reached safely even though Emerson’s throw hit him on the head. Jeremiah Jackson replaced Rutschman as the pinch runner, and Samuel Basallo walked.

But Muñoz struck out Taveras to end this forgettable series loss in Seattle. Whether this is the start of a forgettable road trip in its entirety remains to be seen.

“Going on a West Coast trip, it is definitely an adjustment, but it’s a good time to, look in the mirror and block out all the extra stuff that you could be thinking about and just playing the game,” Baz said. “We’ll show up tomorrow with a good attitude.”