Bassitt, Behind An Opener, Leads Orioles To Desperately-Needed Win

The Orioles desperately needed to find a way to navigate a potent A’s lineup using as few arms as possible Sunday, and their decision to use lefty Keegan Akin as a opener proved sage.

It gave them their best lefty-lefty specialist arm against a top of the order led by lefty leadoff guy Nick Kurtz, it forced the A’s to make some early adjustments and it took languishing veteran starter Chris Bassitt, 37, out of the first inning. Among all of the sad statistics marring Bassitt’s campaign since signing from Toronto as a free agent, his 6.43 ERA in the first inning, for a team that usually cant score itself until the fifth or sixth inning, was beyond problematic.

And hit in the clutch the Orioles (18-24) did not, again, and they have not for about 10 days except for successive outings in Miami last week. Akin and Bassitt would have to be excellent to snap a three-game losing streak and they were in a 2-1 victory that felt crucial given the O’s next opponent.

Akin sent the Athletics down 1-2-3 to open the game and Bassitt had them off balance all afternoon; he looked strong for the Blue Jays coming out of the pen in the playoffs, and sticking with an opener in front of him might make sense moving forward. This was far and away the best Bassitt has looked as an Oriole, most importantly walking just one batter and commanding his breaking ball at will.

Bassitt’s curveball was a hammer (he had no feel for it last week in Miami), he struck out six batters in six innings of work, and the only run they scored was due to bad luck – bleeders off the bat that somehow found grass and Bassitt’s inability to field a ball in the second inning. That was it for damage against him, as Bassitt lowered his ERA to 5.21 and looked like an actual MLB starter for the second time all season.

"He's such a pro," manager Craig Albernaz told the media after the game. "When we approached him about this (Aken as the opener) he was all for it. We kind of gave hm ahead up about this … and he was all for it. "

Bassitt dealt with an issues with his thumb and was bleeding at times, but that did not impact him Sunday.

Quiet Bats

The Orioles were always going to have issues doing much against A’s starter Luis Severino, who, when not pitching in a AAA ballpark at home in Sacramento, is one of the best in the American League. They would have to hustle and scrap for runs, and they did. Dylan Beavers surged out of the box to turn a single into a double and he ended up scoring when Gunnar Henderson tore down the line to beat out a throw to first.

That tied the game at 1 and the Orioles took the lead on rookie Sam Basallo’s double – he continues to provide elite at bats - and an RBI single by Beavers, also a rookie. Centerfielder Leady Taveras, an utterly indispensable player on this team (which speaks to the failings in their roster construction), contributed a single in between and he also kept the game 2-1 with a bullet thrown from center to gun down a runner at the plate in the seventh, with Basallo absorbing heavy contact in the process.

"It’s a tough play for both," Albernaz said of his catcher and centerfielder. "Ledoy has to read the right hop all the way out in centerfield and come in full speed … and make an accurate throw from 250 feet away … And Sammy did an outstanding job."

Henderson in general remains lost at the plate. He chucked his bat in disgust after striking out with the bases loaded to end the seventh, but relievers Anthony Nunez and Rico Garcia were able to make the 2-1 lead hold up.

If this season has told us anything, it’s that way more than two runs will be required to win with any regularity. The AL-leading Yankees come to town Monday after destroying Baltimore in a four-game sweep in the Bronx a week ago, and the Orioles are now just 2-12 against teams above .500 this season.

Bird Seed

Albernaz was unsure about Mionday's starter, though he said he knew who it was, and then kind of committed to Brandon Young going Monday. If you think this skipper has any semblance of voice about anything related to this team whatsoever, and baseball czar Mike Elias isn't pulling every lever, just watch the video of this clip. Wowsers ... Taylor Ward continues to walk like crazy, but on a team desperate for more run-scoring punch, and him coming off a 36-home run season, it’s fair to wonder about his approach. He barely took his bat off his shoulder Sunday and looked to be trying to walk rather than do damage with men on base. His OBP isn’t going to hover around .500 forever and with Henderson is such a deep funk, they could use more thump from the offseason trade acquisition … Nunez got away with a wild pitch in the 8th that moved a runner into scoring position – an ongoing epidemic The Orioles continue their revolving door on their taxed bullpen, designating veteran recent addition Lou Trivino for assignment after using up his arm over the weekend and welcoming Joe Espada back from Norfolk (AAA).

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