Craig Albernaz’s gamble backfires as Orioles’ bats stay silent in loss to Red Sox

At this juncture of the season, with the playoff picture taking shape, every decision — and every outcome that succeeds it — will be dissected that much more. So, in the coming hours, manager Craig Albernaz will have to process the choice he made in the sixth inning of the Orioles’ 5-0 loss to the Red Sox on Saturday night.

Until that point, Chris Bassitt was stellar, pitching five scoreless frames. But, in the sixth, he allowed a pair of hits and a walk that loaded the bases and prompted an Albernaz mound visit.

Typically, a manager leaving his dugout signals the end of the line for his pitcher. Rico Garcia was warming up in the bullpen.

Instead, the 37-year-old Bassitt pleaded his case to clean up his own mess. The longer the two spoke, the more the suspense built.

Bassitt’s plea was successful. The ensuing at-bat wasn’t. Eli White hit a two-run single to give the Red Sox a 2-0 lead. Bassitt yelled as he ran to back up home. When the sequence was over, Albernaz left the dugout again and Bassitt’s evening was complete.

As Garcia warmed, Bassitt slammed a cup on the ground before sitting on the bench. He watched from that same spot, putting his hand over his forehead as Connor Wong’s RBI single went right up the middle to extend Boston’s lead to 3-0.

A poor outcome doesn’t necessarily mean the choice that preceded it was wrong, but it does prompt questions.

On one hand, Bassitt’s velocities were the same in the sixth as they were in the first. Bassitt struck out White with a sweeper in his prior at-bat. The single was hit 69.1 mph on a sinker in on his hands, though it had an expected .950 batting average.

At the same time, Albernaz had Garcia warming in the bullpen for that exact purpose. And Bassitt’s mistakes in the sixth inning were over the heart of the plate.

Debate the merits of Albernaz’s choice but, ultimately, that alone didn’t decide the game. The Orioles’ offense had plenty of opportunities to overcome it. Instead, Baltimore has now gone 18 innings without scoring a run. The Orioles last put up a crooked number in the ninth inning of Thursday’s loss to the Red Sox.

The Red Sox were a modest 3-for 11 with runners in scoring position but padded their lead when Isiah Kiner-Falefa hit a two-run double in the seventh.

Sonny Gray pitched seven scoreless frames, allowing three hits and three walks while striking out seven Orioles. Baltimore’s lefties had trouble connecting on Gray’s curveball. Only four of the 15 balls the Orioles put in play were hit 95 mph or more.

Baltimore had runners reach base in five of the seven frames against Gray, but the few chances it had to score were squandered.

Colton Coswer doubled to open the third inning and advanced to third with one out. But Blaze Alexander hit a grounder to third, and Cowser was thrown out at home.

The Orioles’ best opportunity to show any sign of life came in the eighth against the Red Sox’s bullpen, when Pete Alonso came to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs. He struck out on three pitches and sauntered back into the dugout.