Trey Gibson flounders as Orioles fall to season-worst 9 games below .500

Orioles manager Craig Albernaz will not be accused of pulling Trey Gibson too early for the second time in a week.

Last Wednesday, the 24-year-old right-hander sat at 66 pitches at the end of the fourth inning. He’d settled in after allowing two early runs. Yet Albernaz turned the ball over to his bullpen, who surrendered a two-run lead in an extra-innings loss.

Gibson threw 12 more pitches Tuesday night against the White Sox, but one fewer strike. The rookie struggled to find the strike zone, doling out six walks. He exited two outs into the third inning, having surrendered eight runs, all earned.

Baltimore (39-48) went on to lose 9-3. The Orioles have lost four straight and are a season-worst nine games below .500.

Albernaz remains optimistic about his team’s ability to turn things around.

“Our guys are open, they’re smart, they love to play the game, and they’re extremely talented,” he said after the game. “That’s what makes me very bullish on what we have ahead of us even though it’s a daunting task. But like I said earlier, like, I’d bet on that group any day of the week.”

The night got off to a rocky start when Gibson labored through a 24-pitch first inning. He allowed an RBI double to Andrew Benintendi, but stranded the bases loaded and got through a scoreless second inning.

The wheels came off in the third, however. Seven straight batters reached before an out was recorded. Two of those batters – Colson Montgomery and nine-hole hitter Junior Perez – crushed long, loud home runs. Montgomery’s 440-foot blast will receive a plaque on Eutaw Street.

Gibson’s ERA ballooned to 7.36.

He acknowledged after the game that his issues were both mechanical and mental.

“I throw a ball, and I feel the next step in my head, I try and make the adjustment, and the adjustment is just too big,” he said. “I’m kind of bouncing back and forth [between] those lines.”

“Days like this are gonna happen, especially for young pitchers,” Albernaz said. “Sometimes it’s tough to realize that, but the way he went out and still competed, it’s something that he should hang his hat on. This is a tough league. He’s had some good starts, and he had a start tonight. That’s all a great learning experience for him and he’ll be better for it moving forward.”

Albernaz spoke Monday night and again Tuesday afternoon about his team dealing with outside noise. But at times during both games, the noise was coming from inside the stadium, as boos rained down from a restless Oriole Park crowd.

With Dean Kremer’s return appearing imminent – Wednesday’s starter has yet to be announced, but Kremer was at the ballpark Tuesday – Gibson’s next start could come back in Triple-A Norfolk.

“I truly believe that I have the stuff to compete in the big leagues, but I think the biggest thing is getting in the strike zone,” he said.

If nothing else, the Orioles can take solace in the fact that Gunnar Henderson’s restoration at the top of the lineup continued to yield positive results. After reaching base three times in the series opener, Henderson collected two hits in the middle game, including a double.

He singled and came around to score in the first on a Samuel Basallo base hit. He scored again in the fifth thanks to a Dylan Beavers double, his first hit since returning from the injured list Sunday.

Pete Alonso drove in the third Orioles run one batter later on an RBI single off right-hander Erick Fedde.

Albernaz pieced the rest of the game together with four relievers after yanking Gibson. Josh Walker, Andrew Kittredge, Albert Suárez and Rico Garcia mopped up the final 6 1/3 innings.

A massive heat wave is expected to descend on Baltimore as the Orioles face the White Sox in the series finale Wednesday. But the heat has been turned up for a while on this Orioles team. A loss would drop the O’s to the same record they had through 88 games last year.

“Need to come up and be ready to compete and play hard and take the opportunity in front of us,” Albernaz said. “Tomorrow is a big game.”