The Baltimore Orioles on Sunday were on the wrong end of a questionable umpiring decision in the fifth inning and it helped the Arizona Diamondbacks rally for two runs to tie the game.
Manager Brandon Hyde admits he was irritated for a few moments. Then his offense took the field — a perfect antidote.
Adley Rutschman and Jordan Westburg both had crucial doubles in a four-run sixth inning, breaking open a tight game and leading the Orioles to an 8-5 win over the Diamondbacks.
Photo: Joe Camporeale-USA Today
“They’re good players, we have a good team,” Hyde said of the response. “A lot of guys who just pass the baton on to the next guy. Good at-bats. Good baserunning. Putting pressure on their defense. We’ve been doing that all year. We responded extremely well.”
The Orioles took two of three in the series. Arizona have lost five of their past six.
The Diamondbacks are in a three-way tie with the San Francisco Giants and the Miami Marlins for the final playoff spot in the National League wild-card race. All three teams have a 70-67 record.
“We’ve got to tune some things up, go out and win baseball games,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “That’s the bottom line. We’ve gotta win baseball games.”
Baltimore have the best record in the American League with an 85-51 mark. The Orioles are two-and-a-half games ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays in the Amercian League East.
The Orioles broke a 4-4 tie with four runs in the sixth inning. Ryan O’Hearn got the offense started with a leadoff double to deep center and was driven home by Cedric Mullins’ single. Westburg, who was pinch hitting, added an RBI double down the left-field line and Rutschman’s double scored two more to make it 8-4.
“I think we have a bunch of good players, one through nine,” Orioles third baseman Ramon Urias said. “They compete every at-bat.”
Baltimore’s offensive outburst chased Arizona ace Zac Gallen (14-7), who is one of the leaders in the National League Cy Young race. Gallen was roughed up for a second straight start, giving up five runs on eight hits over 5-1/3 innings.
The right-hander struck out four and walked one.
The Diamondbacks trailed 4-1 after two innings, but rallied with a run in the third and two more in the fifth to tie the game. Taiwanese-American rookie Corbin Carroll — whose solo homer cut the margin to 4-2 — scored the game-tying run on a wild pitch by Jack Flaherty.
Flaherty gave up four runs on six hits over 4-2/3 innings. He struck out seven and walked one.
O’Hearn got the scoring started for the Orioles with a two-run, two-out single in the first inning for a 2-0 lead. The Diamondbacks cut that advantage in half in the bottom of the first when Lourdes Gurriel Jr hit a solo homer — which was his 22nd long ball of the season and second of the series.
Mullins had three hits for the Orioles, while Gunnar Henderson, Urias, Adam Frazier and O’Hearn all had two. Danny Coulombe (5-1) earned the win with 1-1/3 innings of scoreless relief.
Arizona’s Christian Walker hit his 30th homer in the ninth inning, a solo shot to left center that cut the Orioles’ margin to 8-5.
Elsewhere, the Rangers edged the Twins 6-5, the Athletics overcame the Angels 10-6, the Phillies beat the Brewers 4-2, the Cubs crushed the Reds 15-7, the Mets sank the Mariners 6-3, the Marlins mastered the Nationals 6-4 and the Tigers tamed the White Sox 3-2.
The Red Sox routed the Royals 7-3, the Cardinals defeated the Pirates 6-4, the Blue Jays beat the Rockies 7-5, the Dodgers downed the Braves 3-1, the Padres blanked the Giants 4-0, the Rays stung the Guardians 6-2 and the Yankees outplayed the Astros 6-1.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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