In the first game since a trade deadline that saw now former face of the franchise Adley Rutschman depart, the Baltimore Orioles beat the visiting Los Angeles Angels 3-1 Tuesday night behind six shutout innings from starter Cade Povich and a two-RBI effort from Pete Alonso.
Povich (2-1) allowed seven hits but did not surrender a run, striking out seven across six innings to earn the win, and Tyler O'Neill provided a spark off the bench, connecting for a solo home run to left in the eighth inning.
Alonso brought home the first two runs on a single to center in the third, scoring Colton Coswer and Christian Franklin, who also walked and stole a base in his MLB debut and arriving in Baltimore late Tuesday after being traded from the Washington Nationals organization.
Carlos Narvaez, who Baltimore acquired in the Rutschman deal along with pitching prospects and a player to be named later, started behind the plate, as Samuel Basallo (right shoulder) remains sidelined.
“The people we have in that clubhouse, they’re true professionals and we’re going to go out and give everything we have. We want to win," Alonso said in an on-field postgame interview, and he addressed the fans. "Let’s have a hell of a rest of the year.”
Povich, in his fourth start of the year and first coming back from an injury, threw 88 pitches and 60 were strikes. Povich allowed seven hits, one walk, and struck out seven. “He stepped up big-time,” Orioles manager Craig Albernaz said. “He did a great job all night.”
Angels starter Grayson Rodriguez (3-4), a former Orioles draft pick dealt to Los Angeles in the offseason, was pretty good too, going seven innings, allowing just three hits and two earned runs to keep Los Angeles in the game.
But the Angels, who got 11 hits, were 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position. They managed their only run in the eighth, when Vaughn Grissom drove in a run with an RBI double against Andrew Kittredge.
Rico Garcia tossed a scoreless inning of relief, and Yennier Cano closed out the game with a scoreless ninth, striking out two to earn the save. It sounds like Cano will be the O's closer until further notice. “I like him in the ninth,” Albernaz said.
The Orioles (55-58) are now just 1.5 games out of the AL wild-card spot. Despite trading away Rutschman, astarting outfielder Taylor Ward, reliable bullpen arm Tyler Wells and starting pitcher Dean Kremer, Baltimore is right in the thick of a playoff race with 49 games left in the regular season.
“At the end the day, it a man’s game. That’s it,” Albernaz said. “The game moves on. No one feels sorry us. The Angels are trying to win. We’re trying to win. We got to go out and play… It’s not easy but you got to go out and play.”
Wouldn't it be something if they went on a run from here?