Defensive miscues direct Orioles to latest defeat (updated)

The Orioles are in such a funk right now that they can’t catch a break or a popup.

Gunnar Henderson and Ramón Urías converged on a ball today in the second inning that should have stranded two runners in scoring position. Kyle Higashioka skied a four-seamer with the count full and Dean Kremer appeared to escape the jam.

A routine play except when a team is scuffling in pretty much every facet of the game.

Henderson and Urías collided, the ball popped out of the third baseman’s glove and the Orioles were down by two runs.

Urías couldn’t backhand Xander Bogaerts’ 102.1 mph grounder down the line in the third inning that was ruled a double and scored Jurickson Profar, another runner crossed in the fourth on Henderson’s throwing error, and the Orioles stayed behind until the finish in a 9-4 loss to the Padres before an announced crowd of 30,008 at Camden Yards.

Michael King ignored a liner off his leg in the first and allowed only two hits in 6 1/3 innings, and the Orioles fell to 61-43 with their 10^th loss in 14 games and 12^th in 18. The Padres have won seven in a row.

The Yankees won in 10 innings and are one game back.

"We haven’t played well defensively for a few weeks," said manager Brandon Hyde. "It’s going to be really important for us going forward. Just been inconsistent in a lot of areas right now. Just got to battle through it.”

There's nothing wrong inside the clubhouse. The tension only comes from the losing. And Hyde isn't blaming the approaching deadline.

“I don’t think so," he said. "Like I said before the game, we played well the first couple games out of the break and then lost a close game, the third game in Texas, and all three games in Miami we didn’t play our best baseball. I don’t think the deadline has anything to do with it. I just think we have some guys that have no chance of getting moved at the deadline just really kind of pressing right now and trying to put it all together.

"There’s some frustration that we haven’t seen here in a couple years, honestly, and it’s some adversity and we’ve just got to battle and wake up tomorrow and stay positive and know the capabilities of our team and how well we played the first three months and keep going.”

Hyde and his staff must trust the best players who aren't producing at their usual levels.

“You just keep going and supporting," he said. "There’s a lot of frustration going on right now with a lot of guys. It’s carrying over a little bit, I think. Sometimes you have to have honest conversations as well as being supportive and positive. They’re really good players and they’re gonna get through it.”

Cedric Mullins accounted for the Orioles' scoring with a two-run double in the seventh and two-run homer in the ninth off former Orioles reliever Logan Gillaspie. Maybe he lit a spark.

"I think we’re getting in our own way a little bit out there and we just need to get back to the brand of baseball that we know we can produce every single day," he said. "I have full confidence in that, and to be starting to pick it up a little bit, I hope I can help contribute."

Mullins also is dealing with the loss of close friend Austin Hays, who was traded yesterday to the Phillies.

"It’s part of the business," he said. "I think my first real experience with that was when we were close with Trey (Mancini) when he was here. To kind of get adjusted to that process, and I wish nothing but the best for him. It’s just one of those things. I have his cell phone number, so I can still reach out to him whenever."

Cole Irvin surrendered four runs in the seventh inning, three on Manny Machado’s first homer at Camden Yards since June 25, 2019. Machado stood and watched as the ball traveled 413 feet to center and his career RBI total jumped to 1,000.

“Just for me it’s missed locations," Hyde said. "We needed him to get us some outs there so we didn’t need to use some guys and he had a tough time. It was just missed locations on some pitches.”

Kremer completed six innings for the first time since leaving the injured list and allowed only one earned run but four total. He walked one batter, struck out seven and threw a season-high 105 pitches – one short of tying his career mark set in September 2022 against the Astros.

"A lot of weaker contact, and you know, some balls fell, but felt good," he said. "Kind of had everything going."

One important task for Kremer was turning the page after the miscues in the field. He was flawless.

"That’s part of the job," he said. "As a starter, it doesn’t matter how things kind of transpire. You have to be able to flush it and kind of keep going.

"I think things are going to start turning around here pretty soon. Guys are realizing it’s just a part of the game and the way we break out of it is we have to be comfortable. It’s not just the defense. I think every part of the game we’re kind of down right now - pitching, hitting, defense, all of it. And it’s kind of all at once. I think that’s what’s attributing to what’s been going on. But this hasn’t happened in three years? Four years? So things like these do happen. We are human. Things will start looking up here pretty soon."

The official scorer charged Henderson with the error in the second and switched it to Urías, who was bumped from behind on the popup. Henderson was calling for the ball.

“I think it’s exactly what it looked like," Hyde said. "I didn’t ask either one of them but it looked like they didn’t communicate well.”

The rally began with one-out singles by Severna Park’s Jackson Merrill and David Peralta. Ha-Seong Kim struck out and Higashioka got underneath a fastball. What happened next caused Padres third base coach Tim Leiper to raise both arms in celebration.

“Thought I called it loud enough," Henderson said. "But, yeah, I guess he didn’t hear me. I gotta do a better job of calling it, I guess.”

Profar drew a leadoff walk in the third, Machado poked a single to the opposite field with one out and Bogaerts doubled for a 3-0 lead. Kremer escaped further harm when Connor Norby fielded Merrill’s grounder and threw home for the out and Peralta fanned.

Norby, in his third consecutive start at second base, made a sliding, backhanded stop of Machado’s bouncer over the mound in the first and executed the throw from the grass.

"Norby played well defensively," Hyde said. "He’s putting a lot of time and effort into his defense and he’s played well.”

Kremer surrendered back-to-back singles with one out in the fourth. Profar grounded to Norby, who got the force at second base, but Henderson sailed his throw to first. Henderson has committed an error in each of the last three games and 14 for the season to match last year's total in 47 fewer games, though he kept moving between shortstop and third base.

"I haven’t been playing well." he said. "That’s pretty obvious. Just going out there and trying to work my butt off every day. It’s obviously not how I want to play, but stuff like this happens. So, just trying to work my butt off every day to get back to helping the team.”

Giving Henderson days off isn't easy when he's so important to the lineup and Jorge Mateo is out indefinitely with a dislocated elbow. He would have sat one day in Texas except Urías was scratched from the lineup with neck soreness.

“(Jordan) Westburg took a lot of ground balls," Hyde said. "I wanted to give Westburg a full day off today but he did take ground balls at short to get a little bit more acclimated there just for that reason.”

Jake Cronenworth struck out to end the fourth and leave Kremer at 84 pitches. The right-hander was guilty of putting runners on base but should have avoided damage in two innings.

Kremer had a six-pitch fifth and retired the side in order again in the sixth. He disposed of the last eight batters.

“I think that might have been Dean’s best start of the year," Hyde said. "I thought he was absolutely outstanding. On a normal day for us he’s maybe going seven, maybe even eight innings. I thought his stuff was really good. The split was outstanding. I thought he was unbelievably competitive. I thought he pitched out of jams. He got double play balls when he needed. I was really, really encouraged by everything he did today on the mound.

"He did a great job of keeping us in the game and when it was not looking good, so I give him a lot of credit for battling the way he did.”

"He threw the ball really well," Henderson said. "Hate we couldn’t make some plays for him. But, yeah, he just beared down and even if we made mistakes, he went out there and just threw the ball really well."

The Orioles’ offense was stymied by King, who allowed singles to Urías in the third and Heston Kjerstad in the seventh. He retired 18 of 20 before walking Anthony Santander to begin his final inning.

“Well, it’s the same as we’ve seen him before," Hyde said. "He’s got really good command of the two-seam fastball that he can front-hip lefties really well. He also can ride on the outer part of the plate. The changeup is better than we saw out of the bullpen. The changeup was really good today. And he’s got the sweeper. He knows how to pitch and he threw the ball great.”

Mullins lined a two-run double down the right field line against Stephen Kolek, who replaced King, to interrupt the shutout bid. Henderson and Adley Rutschman singled in the eighth and were stranded. Rutschman was 8-for-67 this month before his hit.

Colton Cowser singled in the ninth before Mullins' 11th home run.

Bryan Baker allowed a run in the top of the ninth. He’s trying to hold onto his roster spot with new starter Zach Eflin set to join it.

The Orioles are trying to hold onto first place and avoid a massive collapse. They're 8-12 this month and need to run the July table to finish 13-12. Their last losing month was September/October 2022.

"I think a lot of the frustration is due to the fact that we are a good team," Mullins said. "It’s one of those things where we go through these rough stretches and it’s not us as a whole. That’s what kind of builds that frustration. It’s a matter of taking a step back, understanding who we are as a team, getting back to that."

"We’re all trying to do our best to win, and obviously it’s not going our way right now," Henderson said. "But, I mean, we feel like we’ve got the right mindset. It’s just getting over that hump, and once we do that, I feel like we’ll be in a good spot.

"This is my first time going through it, so feel like you just have to buy in together, just trust each other and just try to play for the guy who’s behind you and the guy that’s next to you. It’s just one of those things that’s, baseball’s weird. It’s just one of those things that happen. Just continue to play for each other, and I feel like that’ll be the best option.”