Orioles strand bases loaded twice, bullpen falters in loss to Phillies

When every night could be the difference between buying a player to help the team in 2026 and trading one away for the future, these games carry additional weight.

Of course, as Friday night displayed, even a win could lead to a sell-side trade for the Orioles, who dealt right-hander Dean Kremer to the Minnesota Twins. But a loss like Saturday’s 5-0 defeat to the Philadelphia Phillies doesn’t help the equation.

Baltimore (54-57) struggled to break through against left-hander Cristopher Sánchez despite twice loading the bases, and Philadelphia (58-53) pulled away with four eighth-inning runs against the bullpen.

“I have tons of confidence in this team,” outfielder Taylor Ward said. “I just think we got to keep playing good baseball. I think that’s just the biggest thing. Tonight got away from us a little bit. We had opportunities, but it’s just part of it. Got to think about what we did right, what we did wrong, and learn from it and get back up on the horse tomorrow.”

Even with the loss, the Orioles remain 1.5 games out of the American League wild card because the Guardians, Twins and Rangers also lost.

The dam broke in the eighth when left-hander Grant Wolfram walked Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper. And, once Wolfram was lifted for right-hander Andrew Kittredge, the situation worsened. Kittredge allowed RBI singles to Alec Bohm, Brandon Marsh and Justin Crawford before he was pulled for freshly promoted Yaramil Hiraldo.

Manager Craig Albernaz said, with the way Kittredge sprayed the ball, it appeared he had footing issues on the mound.

“Kitt’s not going to make an excuse,” Albernaz said. “He wanted to make an adjustment. He just couldn’t, but he still made pitches to keep us in it.”

Had the Orioles managed any offense, they might have withstood that barrage better. Instead, right-hander Shane Baz pitched well and has nothing to show for it.

He has been unlucky this season; the Orioles are averaging 3.4 runs per game with Baz on the mound, which is the lowest total for any of the regular starters. By contrast, right-hander Brandon Young has received 6.2 runs per game and right-hander Kyle Bradish benefits from 4.9.

“I feel like I can go toe to toe with anybody, so just trying to outlast and win,” Baz said. “It’s been tough, just not coming away with W’s. But it’s nothing that I can do about it. It’s a team game, and I have a lot of faith in our team and our lineup and our defense and everything.”

The opportunities were there. Twice the Orioles loaded the bases against Sánchez. Twice they were stranded by outfielder Leody Taveras.

The first opportunity came in the fourth inning, with Sánchez doling out three walks around a leadoff flyout from Ward and Pete Alonso’s strikeout. Taveras earned the nod as the switch-hitter in center over Colton Cowser because Cowser has “close to a 50% strikeout rate” in left-on-left matchups, Albernaz said before the game. But Taveras, who hasn’t done well against southpaws this year either, struck out.

In the sixth, with Sánchez nearing the end of his outing, Ward walked, Tyler O’Neill singled and Christian Encarnacion-Strand walked to load the bases with two outs. Rather than turning to a pinch hitter — Jeremiah Jackson was another right-handed bat on the bench — Albernaz left Taveras in.

Taveras grounded out to shortstop. Of the seven runners left on base through six innings, Taveras accounted for six in two at-bats.

Taveras entered with a .500 OPS against left-handers. Jackson is slightly better at .614. There are also no easy matchups against Sánchez. But given hindsight — and given the way Sánchez pitched around Encarnacion-Strand twice — it’s worth wondering what might’ve happened with a pinch hitter in that spot.

“Leody’s faced him a couple times, so we trust the familiarity there,” Albernaz said when asked if he considered pinch hitting in that spot. “It was a great at-bat. Moved the ball forward. But all our chances were with two outs, which is tough. Our guys did a great job. I think we worked five walks off him. To do that was impressive in itself. I think anybody would’ve loved to see Leody come through right there, but it was a great at-bat, moved the ball forward. It was just no result.”

As Sánchez left the mound, he appeared to stare at the Orioles’ dugout and say something in that direction.

“They were yelling some things, but what they don’t know is those type of things, that motivates me,” Sánchez told reporters in Spanish. “I saw one of their coaches talking a little but, again, I take that as fuel.”

Sánchez was impressive. There’s no denying that. But he gave the Orioles prime opportunities twice and, without a breakthrough, Baz left in line for the loss.

Baz was also a force. He allowed one run in 6 1/3 innings, creating a three-start streak with one earned run allowed. Baz conceded that lone run in the fifth inning. He walked Bryson Stott and allowed a two-out RBI single from Bryan De La Cruz.

Losses elsewhere from other wild card-chasers mean the Orioles didn’t lose ground Saturday. But they also missed a chance to gain ground in the hunt for the postseason at a critical point, with the trade deadline arriving Monday.

This article has been updated.