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 that didn’t pan out in the sixth inning of the Orioles’ 5-0 loss to the Red Sox on Saturday night.

“Those decisions keep you up at night,” Albernaz said. “Like, I’m not going to sleep tonight. That’s part of it. You make your decision, and you go with it.”

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.

“Obviously, I want to finish the inning,” Bassitt said. “You know how much the bullpen’s rundown.”

As it turned out, it wasn’t much of a plea. Albernaz was planning to stick with Bassitt as long as he felt good. Bassitt felt fine and was pitching well. Albernaz liked the matchup, especially with a taxed Orioles bullpen.

In the ensuing at-bat, 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.

“He made a good pitch, but those are the decisions that keep you up at night, and you can’t dwell on it,” Albernaz said. “If there’s a lesson to be learned, learn the lesson from the event, but ultimately, with all the information you have at hand, you just have to make the best decision.”

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.

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.

The Orioles have lost five straight games, matching a season high. Baltimore has 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.

Baltimore sits three games out of a wild-card spot with 19 games remaining.

“Win tomorrow,” first baseman Pete Alonso said. “Win tomorrow. Got to turn the page. Obviously, losing the series, it’s a big series. Tough. But we have to win tomorrow.”

The loss was due in part to a poor outcome of a decision that was made with sound logic.

Albernaz noted that Bassitt’s pitch count wasn’t high. His 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.

“I made my pitch. He made a good swing. I mean, that’s literally it,” Bassitt said.

On the other hand, 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. But Albernaz stuck with his veteran anyway.

After the game, Albernaz walked up to Bassitt in the locker room and patted him on the back. The two talked for a moment, then Bassitt patted Albernaz on the shoulder before the manager walked away.

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.

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.

Albernaz said he felt the offense was pressing. Alonso said the team needs to do a better job shrinking the strike zone.

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

Colton Cowser 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 Alonso came to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs. He struck out on three pitches and sauntered back into the dugout.

“That kind of encapsulates like what’s happening,” Alonso said. “Where it’s like we’re getting good pitches to hit in the zone, just not moving them, moving them forward enough to make them pay.”

This article has been updated.