Daily News 19

Tag: Shane Baz

  • Orioles-Athletics Lineups and Notes Ahead of Series’ Second Game in Sacramento

    Orioles-Athletics Lineups and Notes Ahead of Series’ Second Game in Sacramento

    The Baltimore Orioles have won five of their last seven games after a 4-3, 10-inning victory over the Athletics in Sacramento. They entered today two games behind the final American League Wild Card position.

    Baltimore also received a boost with Blaze Alexander’s reinstatement from the injured list. Alexander led off in the win and went 1-for-5, but he is not in tonight’s lineup. Jackson Holliday moves back into the leadoff spot, while Gunnar Henderson bats third after serving as a pinch-runner last night.

    Orioles lineup and recent hitting trends

    Pete Alonso is the designated hitter for a second consecutive game, with Coby Mayo starting at first base. Alonso is 0-for-8 with five strikeouts over his last two games and 1-for-24 against the Athletics across his last six games.

    Mayo is 6-for-19 with one home run and five RBIs in his last five games. Samuel Basallo starts behind the plate, and Dylan Beavers returns to left field. Beavers is batting .346 (9-for-26) with three doubles and three home runs over his last nine games.

    Holliday is 2-for-14 over his last three games and 5-for-24 over his last five. He went 3-for-6 and 2-for-4 in two games against the Cardinals in St. Louis.

    Shane Baz seeks run support against Oakland

    Shane Baz will look for the run support that has been difficult to find. He has received 15 runs over 12 starts since June 18. Among pitchers with at least 50 innings during that span, Baz’s 1.95 run-support average is the lowest in the majors.

    The right-hander is 4-14 with a 4.04 ERA in 26 starts. His 14 losses are tied with Tanner Bibee for the most in the majors. Baz is seeking his first win since June 12 against the Padres, and his eight-decision losing streak matches his career high.

    One encouraging statistic is Baz’s home-run rate. He has allowed 0.65 home runs per nine innings this season, the lowest mark by an Orioles starter with at least 20 appearances since Kevin Gausman posted a 0.56 rate in 2014.

    Baz started against the Athletics on May 9 and allowed five runs in 4 2/3 innings, leaving him with a 5.48 ERA. He has a 4.10 career ERA in four starts against Oakland. In his only appearance at Sutter Health Park, he allowed four earned runs and five total runs over seven innings.

    Max Muncy is 2-for-3 with a home run against Baz, while Lawrence Butler is 2-for-12 with a double.

    Orioles bullpen and Oakland matchup

    Baltimore’s home-run streak ended at 15 games after last night’s victory. Alex Hoppe became the 10th Orioles pitcher to record a save this season, tying the franchise record set in 1987.

    Athletics right-hander Jack Perkins, a fifth-round pick in the 2022 draft out of Indiana University, is 3-9 with a 6.68 ERA and a 1.483 WHIP in 31 games, including 11 starts. He has struck out 104 batters in 90 1/3 innings.

    Perkins earned a “hold” on May 8 in Baltimore after retiring two batters in the ninth inning. He allowed one run and one hit, walked one batter and recorded two strikeouts. He also started against the Orioles last summer at Camden Yards and earned the win after allowing three runs and three hits over six innings. All three runs scored on Henderson’s first-inning home run.

    In his most recent start, on Aug. 12, Perkins surrendered six earned runs and seven total runs on 12 hits in five innings against the Rays. He then followed with 3 2/3 scoreless relief innings in Kansas City and allowed one earned run, three total, over five relief innings in Houston.

    Perkins has a 7.56 ERA and a 1.600 WHIP in 17 home games, compared with a 5.58 ERA and a 1.339 WHIP in 14 road games. He is allowing 1.69 home runs per nine innings this season after posting a 0.93 mark last year.

    Butler is hitting .355 (22-for-62) with five home runs, 11 RBIs and nine walks over his last 17 games. The Athletics are 8-20 over their last 28 games.

    Starting lineups

    For the Orioles

    • Jackson Holliday, 2B
    • Pete Alonso, DH
    • Gunnar Henderson, SS
    • Christian Encarnacion-Strand, 3B
    • Samuel Basallo, C
    • Dylan Beavers, LF
    • Coby Mayo, 1B
    • Colton Cowser, CF
    • Leody Taveras, RF

    Starting pitcher: Shane Baz, RHP

    For the Athletics

    • Henry Bolte, CF
    • Jeff McNeil, 1B
    • Zack Gelof, 2B
    • Lawrence Butler, RF
    • Tommy White, 3B
    • Donavan Walton, SS
    • Max Muncy, DH
    • Carlos Cortes, LF
    • Jonah Heim, C

    Starting pitcher: Jack Perkins, RHP

    Source: www.masnsports.com

  • Orioles Bullpen Shines in Win Over Athletics

    Orioles Bullpen Shines in Win Over Athletics

    Yennier Cano delivered a defining moment in the Orioles’ 5-3 win over the Athletics on Saturday, striking out Zack Gelof and Lawrence Butler with the bases loaded in the seventh inning before striking his trademark post-strikeout pose at Sutter Health Park.

    With Baltimore leading 4-2, one out and the bases full, Cano entered in his usual fireman role. The right-hander, who is not typically known as a strikeout pitcher, said he was looking for a double play to end the threat. Instead, he used splitters to strike out Gelof and Butler back to back, escaping a dangerous inning in dominant fashion.

    “That was fun to watch,” Orioles manager Craig Albernaz said. “That was electric, and we needed it.”

    Orioles bullpen repeatedly escapes trouble

    Cano’s performance highlighted the Orioles’ bend-but-don’t-break bullpen. Baltimore allowed multiple baserunners in each of the final four innings but avoided major damage every time while protecting its narrow lead.

    Right-hander Alex Hoppe escaped a bases-loaded jam in the sixth before Cano repeated the feat in the seventh. With runners on the corners in a one-run game in the eighth, Cam Sanders relied on a crucial around-the-horn double play. In the ninth, closer Andrew Kittredge stranded two more runners to secure the victory.

    “You really feel good [with] everybody running out of the bullpen,” said starter Shane Baz, who allowed two runs over 5 2/3 innings. “It’s awesome.”

    Baz cruised through five scoreless innings before losing his command in the sixth. A bases-loaded walk and a hit-by-pitch brought home two Athletics runs.

    Hoppe, who recorded his first Major League save in Friday’s extra-inning victory, appeared ready to escape again after opening the at-bat against Athletics designated hitter Max Muncy with three pitches well outside the strike zone. He settled down, however, getting Muncy to hit a tapper to third base to end the inning.

    Christian Encarnacion-Strand makes key defensive plays

    That was the first of several important plays by Christian Encarnacion-Strand, who started at third base for Baltimore. Primarily a first baseman during his time with the Reds, Encarnacion-Strand started the Orioles’ do-or-die 5-6-3 double play in the eighth inning.

    He then stayed back on a chopper to third in the ninth, leaving runners on second and third and ending the game.

    “The way he’s been playing third base has been outstanding for us,” Albernaz said. “Those plays were huge — in big moments, too.”

    Shane Baz ends lengthy winless stretch

    The Orioles’ late-inning escapes gave Baz his first win in more than two months. The right-hander had lost his previous five starts and had gone winless in 13 outings since defeating the Padres on June 12.

    To Baz, the drought felt even longer.

    “[Brandon Young] made a joke to me that I haven’t had a win since ’Nam,” Baz said. “It kind of feels true. Sometimes it takes one, you know? It just takes one to get rolling.”

    Baz and the Orioles picked an important time to get moving. Saturday’s victory clinched Baltimore’s third consecutive series win and continued its rise in the American League standings. At 67-69, the Orioles entered Sunday’s series finale one game behind the third and final AL Wild Card spot.

    After what Baz acknowledged was a “rocky start” to the season that included plenty of sloppy play, Baltimore likes its position in the playoff race.

    “We’ve done such a good job of not pressing and panicking and trying to do too much,” Baz said. “It’s fun to be in this spot. I think we have all the tools to make a run. We’ve got great leadership. We’ve got a great team with a lot of talent.”

    Baltimore bullpen showing depth

    The Orioles’ bullpen has been central to their recent surge, combining veteran experience from pitchers such as Cano and Kittredge with younger arms including Hoppe, Sanders and Anthony Nunez.

    “They’ve done a terrific job, and I think they deserve a lot of credit for coming in here and getting their job done,” Cano said. “We still have some pieces on the way and some help that might be needed, but with that being said, I feel really proud of the work that we’ve been doing here as a group and really happy with the way that the guys have come in and gotten the job done.”