Orioles offense manages little to help Kyle Bradish in series-ending loss to Reds

CINCINNATI — The Orioles did not lose because of the decision to leave right-hander Kyle Bradish in the game in the eighth inning. They lost due to a tepid offensive performance one day after an electric offensive performance.

It’s worth starting at the end, however, because of an immediate hit against Bradish that resulted in a two-run deficit rather than a one-run deficit.

Manager Craig Albernaz walked to the mound with two outs in the eighth inning and a runner on second. Bradish, Baltimore’s ace, had thrown 102 pitches. But, after a discussion, Albernaz left Bradish on the mound — he had just struck out Cincinnati Reds star Elly De La Cruz, after all.

The hard-hit grounder down the third-base line from Sal Stewart followed four pitches later, and it gave Reds right-hander Emilio Pagán an extra run of cushion during his save. He needed it, because Gunnar Henderson lifted a bases-loaded sacrifice fly. That would’ve tied the game. Instead, a run in the eighth gave Cincinnati the ability to weather a mild rally.

So, while Bradish’s performance was the furthest thing from a problem in Sunday’s 3-2 loss to the Reds, that extra run was large, considering how challenging the Orioles found it to create offensive opportunities.

Albernaz said he was leaning toward taking Bradish out ahead of the plate appearance against Stewart until he talked to his ace. Bradish, he said, has “earned the right” to make those calls.

“Right away when I got there, he was adamant,” Albernaz said. “Runner on second base, two outs, in the eighth inning with the way he was throwing, he earned the right to do it.”

“He’s done it a few times, and I’ve told him I’m good,” Bradish said. “I gotta start showing results for it, but I appreciate the confidence. I like the swings Stewart was taking all day. I just hung a curveball.”

With the loss, the Orioles again failed to win four straight games this season. They’re one of two teams not to reach a winning streak longer than three, joining the San Francisco Giants. Baltimore (42-49) won this series in Cincinnati (41-48), but given how well Bradish threw for most of his 7 2/3 innings, this was a missed opportunity to sweep.

Blaze Alexander, who recorded three hits to raise his batting average to .310, said he has seen comments about Baltimore’s inability to reach a four-game winning streak. The Orioles have won three straight games seven times.

“I see that on Twitter,” Alexander said. “It’s just, got to win that fourth one, really. There’s no cloud in here over us, thinking like, ‘Hey, you can’t get that fourth one.’ I don’t even think anyone really looks at that, besides maybe me. But really just play consistent baseball, pitch well, play really good defense and good situational hitting. I think that’s kind of the recipe to that fourth win. But got a homestand coming up, got six games. Maybe we sweep both. That’d be cool.”

The Orioles have six more games before the All-Star break, with series against the Chicago Cubs and Kansas City Royals. With Sunday’s loss, Baltimore is guaranteed to enter the break with a below-.500 record.

Bradish blew through the first four innings without allowing a baserunner. He needed only 35 pitches to retire the Reds in order. But, in the fifth, a walk and a blast combined to prod Cincinnati ahead.

Eugenio Suárez led off with a walk, and Spencer Steer finished an eight-pitch at-bat by clubbing a two-run homer to right field. Steer lifted a slider from Bradish that hung in the strike zone one pitch after Steer fouled off a slider in a similar location.

Bradish may have doubled up on the sliders because Steer has struggled against that pitch, having entered Sunday with a 32.1% whiff rate against it, according to Statcast.

That was the lone damage against Bradish until the eighth inning, however. He pitched a nearly flawless game.

“The first four or five innings were super quick,” Alexander said. “Felt like we were on the field, off the field. Just didn’t give him enough at the plate, run support there. Again, unbelievable by him, and it’s kind of what you expect out of him.”

After Taylor Ward doubled into the left-center gap against left-hander Nick Lodolo, Coby Mayo’s two-out single put the Orioles on the board. Mayo has crushed lefties this season. With that knock, his OPS is up to 1.038 in those matchups.

The Orioles stranded the bases loaded after that, though. Tyler O’Neill and Leody Taveras walked, leading to Jeremiah Jackson’s bases-loaded opportunity. Jackson swung through a low curveball for strike three.

Then came the eighth, when Bradish threw his most pitches since returning from Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery last year. He earned the chance to face Stewart. Stewart beat him by pulling a curveball down the line to score an insurance run.

And, given how challenging the Orioles found it on offense Sunday, that run was meaningful. Pagán walked two batters in the ninth and Alexander knocked a single, which created a bases-loaded opportunity for Henderson. He hit a sacrifice fly. Then, with two outs, Adley Rutschman flied out to center to end the game.

That late life wasn’t enough to make up for eight innings without much punch. Bradish excelled for 7 2/3 innings, then hung a breaking ball. The combination left the Orioles searching for a winning streak longer than three games once again.

This article has been updated.