A 2-out rally against Shane Baz leads to Rays win over Orioles

The entire inning may have gone differently had Jackson Holliday snared a ground ball to his left from Yandy Díaz. There were two outs, and right-hander Shane Baz was just about out of the sixth inning. But Díaz’s hard-hit grounder eluded Holliday’s grasp, and the inning unraveled from there.

It is, of course, not possible to saddle the subsequent three runs on Holliday. Baz could’ve shut the door before he allowed two more singles and a walk. But, had Holliday made a full-extension play, Díaz is a slow enough runner that he likely would’ve been the third out.

Instead, the ball sneaked under Holliday’s glove.

“We’ve seen Jackie make that play,” Orioles manager Craig Albernaz said. “It’s also not a routine play, by any stretch.”

The Rays capitalized on that two-out single to break open what had been a pitcher’s duel. Tampa Bay tacked two runs on Baz before he departed, and a third scored when left-hander Grant Wolfram allowed a single to Chandler Simpson.

The flurry of offense, all coming with two outs, led Tampa Bay to a series-ending 3-1 victory that prevented Baltimore (63-68) from sweeping its American League East foe. Granted, it wasn’t as though the Orioles managed much offense at all.

They finished with a season-low two hits, both courtesy of Colton Cowser. In the ninth inning against right-hander Bryan Baker, Cowser’s solo homer broke the shutout. But the error that allowed Leody Taveras to reach second didn’t turn into a larger rally.

“I’m always confident in this team that maybe they’ll be able to make a rally, and Leo sparking something there,” Cowser said. “And then, obviously, three really hard-hit balls [that were outs], so came up a little short, but this team never quits.”

Baz has fallen victim to too many of this kind of start this season. His ERA rose to 4.04 with those three runs charged to him, but he has generally pitched well, just as he did Sunday, when he allowed two hits prior to the sixth inning.

But Baz entered the game receiving from his offense the fourth-fewest runs per nine innings among pitchers with 100 or more innings this season, according to FanGraphs. Baz received even fewer than the 3.27 average per nine innings with which he entered.

Baz’s record this season falls to 4-14. A pitcher’s win-loss record hardly matters for this exact reason — he may pitch well and just not receive offensive support — but it’s notable that Baz has been this good and yet leads MLB in losses.

“He’s been great all year. That’s something that doesn’t reflect how good he’s been,” Cowser said. “Feels like, whatever reason, we just need to put up more runs whenever he’s pitching.”

Rays right-hander Nick Martinez carved through the Orioles. He allowed one hit — a double from Cowser — in six innings, and he walked off the mound with a 2.93 ERA.

The bullpen behind him mowed down Baltimore, as well. With no walks, the Orioles snapped a streak of at least one walk in 121 games.

For the most part, Baz matched Martinez. It changed in the sixth, once Díaz hit a hard ground ball to Holliday’s left. The second baseman lunged at it but didn’t dive; rather than the possible third out, the inning kept going.

“We’ve seen Jackie go to a knee and make that play; we’ve seen him stand up,” Albernaz said. “It’s one of those things where he had a great bead on it, it just got underneath his glove.”

Jonathan Aranda struck a single to right field, and a wild pitch from Baz scored Díaz. Junior Caminero chopped a single through the middle for a second run and, after Baz walked Liam Hicks, that was the end of his day.

But there was one more run to score, because Simpson grounded another single through the infield to plate Caminero.

“Just a really bad last inning,” Baz said. “Just a couple of ground balls, a few ground balls kind of getting through, and just not really putting guys away like I should.”

All of that combined to leave the Orioles a win shy of a sweep before they take off to St. Louis for the first leg of a three-city road trip against the Cardinals, Athletics and Rockies.

By the time the Orioles return to Baltimore next month, they could find themselves in a much-improved position. Those are not three juggernauts of the major leagues. But the Orioles haven’t made any such run in a surprisingly tight wild-card race among a score of sub.-500 clubs.

If they’re going to do it, they must do it soon.

“A lot of faith in this group, a lot of faith in this team, and have an off day tomorrow,” Cowser said. “So rest up and then be ready to roll.”

This article has been updated.