O's Overcome Gunnar Henderson Being Picked Off Twice In Wild Extra-Inning Win

Gunnar Henderson tossed his bat in familiar disgust as he so often does following a walk, this time to open what would become a bizarre, 7-5, extra-inning victory over the Royals that symbolized the broken fundamental baseball that has come to define the Mike Elias era.

A few pitches after reaching base, in the latest exhibition of baseball foolishness that should fall on their embattled general manager, the Oriole’s best player was picked off first by Royals starter Seth Lugo. He was only getting started as Henderson was picked as many times Monday as the Orioles reached base via base hit during nine innings. (Henderson should be watching Tuesday’s game from the bench after this display but discipline and accountability have been in short supply during Elias’s perpetual rebuild).

The Orioles’ slumbering bats once again woke up late, with Leody Taveras’s 12th inning grand slam to dead center finally securing the outcome of this strange, strange baseball game and further making the case for the former Ranger top prospect to be patrolling centerfield just about everyday for Baltimore (11-12). Of course, reliever Cameron Foster had to work out of a no-out, bases-loaded jam to finish it off, a fitting end to a wacky evening.

But back to where this thing started.

Henderson was picked off the first time just before Taylor Ward extended his league-lead in doubles – a blast that would have scored Henderson from first even if he had decided to moonwalk from second to third. And after that, well the Orioles did something that seems to come so naturally to them for years running now – Elias’s lineup mustered absolutely nothing against a starting pitcher.

And when Henderson walked again to open the ninth, he was, impossibly, picked off by struggling closer Lucas Erceg. The Elias Way had struck again. The Oriole Way was killed off sometime around July, 2024.

It would have been a crushing way to lose, especially for rookie skipper Craig Albernaz, but the O’s have been scrappy and that served them betting in Kansas City than it did in Cleveland.

“I told Gunnar that he reached his pick-off quota for the year in one game,” Albernaz said.

The Orioles managed to tie the game on rookie Sam Basallo’s gutsy base hit with two outs in the ninth, with Henderson’s out at first base again looming large. A strange double play off an errant outfield throw by the O’s helped keep the Royals from scoring in the 10th , and rookie Dylan Beavers came through with a smart approach – not trying to do too much – just as Basallo did in the 11th to drive in the go-ahead run, only for the Royals to tie it at two when down to their last strike.

A five-run 12th inning should have ended any drama, but the Royals still brought the tying run at the plate with no one out before it ended on a Kyle Isbel strikeout

Another Rough Start

This game was always going to be a mismatch for the O’s maligned lineup. Baltimore is only doing damage against bullpens, and this starter’s arsenal was going to be a challenge.

Lugo’s Statcast page reads like a line out of Bad News Bears (I promise there won’t always be a reference in this recaps) when the kid Carmine from New York shows up to practice in jeans rattling off his vast repertoire of pitches. Of course, Lugo (one hit and seven strikeouts through seven) actually knows what he’s doing; he used all nine of his offerings and he barely threw the four-seam fastball (19 percent), because, duh, everyone in the American League has known for years how to attack Elias-constructed rosters.

The Orioles entered this game having seen the most breaking balls in MLB, because they are whiffing 39 % of the time (worst!), with a .182 XBA (worst!), .311 SLG (25th) and .243 XOBP. They entered the game having seen the fifth most percentage of offspeed pitches, because they are 25th in XBA, and 24th in SLG vs those offerings.

The slumping Royals (7-16), however, have just an anemic of an attack, and they let O’s starter Kyle Bradish (10 hits and three walks through 5 1/3) off the hook repeatedly in this game, when it was clear that the former Cy Young vote-getter again did not have close to his best stuff. His delivery was off, he was missing high to batter after batter and falling behind everyone. Bradish wiggled out of two jams; Jac Caglianone mashed a solo home run (437 feet) in between those Whodini acts, that accounted for all of the scoring until things started getting wacky again in the ninth.

“Bradish has elite stuff,” Albernaz said, “and when you have elite stuff on the mound you can get away with some stuff.”

Bird Seed

It’s early and all, but the O’s better get Pete Alonso going, soon. He has just four hits in 25 at bats the last seven games with 10 strikeouts. He has just seven extra base hits on the season … Basallo, who did not get a ton of innings catching in the minors while also toggling between first base and designated hitter, shined behind the plate, and was constantly forced into blocking theatrics with Bradish so out of whack early. His pop-times are extraordinary and he neutralized a potent Royals speed game. “That was by far his best game behind the plate,” said Albernaz, a former catcher … Reliever Rico Garcia again flashed electric stuff, he helped Bradish out of a jam late and now has 11 outings without allowing a hit this season … The Orioles struck out 14 times, continuing a disturbing trend. Hey, at least it wasn’t 16 like the other night.

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