On an Apple TV+ Friday Night Baseball broadcast, rookie Kyle Bradish struggled against an American League East opponent, leaving the Orioles six runs behind in the second inning the last time they overcome a six-run deficit. And Baltimore lost to the Rays at Tampa not long ago after leading 8-0 in the second.
When the Orioles went behind 6-0 in the second inning of their game against Tampa Bay on Friday night, their rookie starter had his worst performance of the season. Baltimore’s comeback was televised on Apple TV+.
The Orioles rallied for a 22-8 victory at Camden Yards, their third comeback victory of six or more runs in the last nine seasons and their first since May 27, 2022, against the Boston Red Sox. With just a 23-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on September 28, 2000, the 22 runs are tied for the second-most in the team’s history.
Sometimes baseball is poetic.
Friday was one of the high points of Tony Mansolino’s 37 games as interim manager, if the 12-8 loss to Tampa Bay was the low point. The Orioles answered with four runs in the second inning and took the lead for good with a two-run homer by Gary Sanchez in the fifth, but Baltimore didn’t give up after one of the best teams in the AL started against its best pitcher, Tomoyuki Sugano.
On the base paths, the Orioles (35–46) were aggressive, converting line drives into doubles, including a three from Colton Cowser. Mansolino limited his bullpen’s workload by keeping Sugano in the game despite the catastrophic second inning. Sugano survived five frames on 86 pitches despite giving up seven runs on nine hits, including three home runs.
But the story was the offensive response by the Orioles. In their most recent game, the Rays’ right-hander Ryan Pepiot, who struck out a season-high 11 batters in eight innings of one-run ball, totally dominated Baltimore. Pepiot had given up three runs or less in 12 consecutive starts going into Friday, and he did not give up a hit in the June 16 game.
Jacob deGrom, the ace of the Texas Rangers, shut out Baltimore in seven innings on Wednesday night. Going into Friday, the team has not allowed a hit in 70% of their innings throughout the previous five games. The offensive appeared to be on the decline once more.
Naturally, the Orioles ended the series opener with 21 hits, including a massive 14 for extra bases, destroying one of the division’s top starting pitchers and one of baseball’s hottest teams. In five innings, they scored three or more runs, including seven in the eighth inning against position player Jos Caballero and reliever Paul Gervase.
Gunnar Henderson went 4-for-6 with a two-run homer against Caballero and a triple, Cowser and Sanchez combined for seven RBIs, and Coby Mayo blasted the first home run of his major league career off Caballero after giving a critical two-run single to reduce the early deficit. Caballero came in and gave up six runs while throwing lobs over the plate after Gervase gave up a home run by Jackson Holliday to start the eighth.
It would have been simple to assume that the Rays (46-36) would glide after Tampa Bay established a 6-0 lead in the second. Baltimore has failed to pull off a major comeback victory this season, and they had a frontline starting on the mound and had just given up one run in a recent three-game sweep of Kansas City.
However, Friday’s game did its thing, this time in Baltimore’s favor, just as Cedric Mullins claimed it did when the Orioles blew an eight-run lead against the Rays eleven days prior.
Sugano’s advanced numbers indicated that a regression was likely to occur. His projected ERA of 4.97 is more than a run higher than his 3.55 ERA for the season. Teams are hitting 23% of his pitches, he is tied for 12th place in the AL in home runs allowed, and his anticipated batting average of.290 is among the worst in MLB.
With an average exit velocity of 96.8 mph, the Rays got off to a blazing start on Sugano’s fastball. His velocity was lower than his season average, and he only produced one whiff with the heater.
Tampa Bay hit two of its three home runs off the cutter Friday, despite opponents only hitting.256 and.191 against the cutter and fastball this season. This season, the 35-year-old rookie has given up a home run in 75% of his appearances.
Baltimore may try to deal the right-hander at the trade deadline, and Sugano’s issues come at the worst possible time. In his first 15 starts, he had given up no more than four runs, but every game after that has diminished his value.
Zach Eflin, Saturday’s anticipated starter, has given up 13 runs and 22 hits in eight combined innings during his last two appearances, which have been awful. On Saturday, he will have to bounce back against his old squad, who he gave up a season-high 12 hits against on June 16. Eflin will throw against Zack Littell, a right-hander for the Rays.
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