Henderson homer in eighth gives Orioles 39th comeback win, Bautista leaves with arm discomfort

The Orioles were confused in the first inning tonight. They did not, however, forget that they were the superior team. But also one that isn't immune to injuries. To adversity that can shake them to the core.

They did exactly what was expected of them. Beat the worst club in the National League. Freed themselves from the reverse lock. And then they held their collective breath while trying to remain calm.

Ryan Mountcastle hit his 18^th home run, Austin Hays hit his 12^th, and Gunnar Henderson’s two-run shot off Brent Suter in the eighth inning gave the Orioles a 5-4 win over the Rockies before an announced crowd of 28,872 at Camden Yards.

It came at a cost, the exact price unknown but feared to be high until told otherwise.

Fans were on their feet cheering in the ninth with two outs and a 1-2 count on pinch-hitter Michael Toglia. The place was electric. And then it fell silent.

Félix Bautista, trying for his 34^th save, missed with a 102.3 mph fastball and spun. It wasn't frustration. Head athletic trainer Brian Ebel came to the mound and left with Bautista, who had flexed his hand.

Danny Coulombe got the strikeout on one pitch for his second career save in his 241st appearance.

Manager Brandon Hyde said Bautista had "some arm discomfort."

"He's still being checked out," Hyde said. "I'm not going to discuss it any further than that. We're going to get a bunch of tests and see how it is."

"I just hope it's nothing serious, hopefully, it's just like day-to-day," Henderson said. "I don't know what it was or any details or anything. Just hope he's OK and just hopes he gets better soon.

"I just saw him fall off kind of awkwardly. I don't know exactly what it was. But yeah, I just hope he gets better."

The team didn't sense any arm trouble prior to the pitch. Hyde said Bautista felt good before the game.

The usual victory celebration was tamed with the loss of Bautista, who's 8-2 with a 1.48 ERA, 0.92 WHIP in 56 appearances. He's struck out 110 batters in 61 innings, including the leadoff hitter in the ninth.

Bautista experienced some arm fatigue late last season and went on the injured list in October with left knee discomfort. He's an All-Star this year and an integral part of the postseason plans. An extended absence would be painful for the entire club.

"When the best closer in the game leaves the game, that's never a good feeling," Hyde said. "Hopefully, he's OK tomorrow."

"Praying for Bautista, whatever he's got going on," said Cole Irvin. "This is what our team looks like. We pick each other up when we need to, and the team definitely did that tonight.

"He's been our closer all year, he's been electric for us. I know the fans love him, and you want one of your best guys to still be pitching for you. So, hopefully it's nothing negative and maybe he just needs a little bit of time. But don't know what's going to happen, don't know what to expect, so just praying for him. That's the biggest thing and all we can do right now. He's been huge for us. And honestly, he'd have my Cy Young vote. He's been that good. It's been a lot of fun to have him, so hopefully he comes back solid."

The Orioles (80-48) are 32 games above .500 for the first time since Sept. 24, 2014. They lead the Rays by three in the division race. And they won’t get swept for the 81^st consecutive series.

They’ve won six or their last seven, nine of 12 and 17 of 24. They have 39 comeback wins.

The Rockies fell to 48-80 after losing their fifth game in a row and 12^th in their past 15. Their bullpen had posted a 7.77 ERA this month, and Suter was the latest victim.

Hays walked with one out and the Orioles trailing 4-3, and Henderson lined a slider onto the flag court to send the crowd into a frenzy. Henderson has 22 homers, two behind Anthony Santander for the team lead.

"Gunn is just having an amazing rookie season," Hyde said.

"It was really awesome," Henderson said. "Just real happy to be able to help the team come back in a way like that. It's what you dream of as a kid is to hit a homer like that. It's pretty cool.

"I felt like I got it good enough but it had a little top spin, so that was the only thing I had to worry about. But I was glad to see that it got out."

Left-hander Kyle Freeland retired 12 in a row before Mountcastle led off the sixth with a single. Santander grounded into a double play, but Hays homered to right, his 12^th, to cut the lead to 4-3. The ball bounced off the roof of the grounds crew shed.

That was a thing tonight.

Mountcastle hit his 18^th in the first inning, the ball also taking a high hop off the shed, but it bounded back onto the field. First base umpire Manny González signaled home run, but Mountcastle kept running. He slid into third base, got up after center fielder Brenton Doyle retrieved the ball and fired it past the bag, and jogged home.

Hyde also motioned for the home run while umpires converged. The press box announcement said triple and error. But finally, the correct call was confirmed.

The lead grew to 2-0 in the first after Santander singled, Hays doubled and Henderson flied to center. But Freeland got on a roll.

He also got lucky.

Rutschman’s fly ball to left field in the second was a two-run homer prior to 2022. He should have aimed for the shed.

It evens out. Doyle flied to the wall in the seventh, at the 90-degree angle, after Shintaro Fujinami entered the game. Fujinami retired the side in order, returned for the eighth and stranded a runner.

Fujinami must lead the league in long flyball outs, and he drove Cedric Mullins to the fence in front of the bullpen in the eighth. He earned his first win with the Orioles.

Elias Díaz, who homered off Bautista in the All-Star Game, had an RBI double in the third off Irvin and Alan Trejo tied the game in the fourth with a sacrifice fly.

Charlie Blackmon, who singled twice, led off the fifth with a 12-pitch walk and Ezequiel Tovar broke the tie with a two-run shot to center.

Irvin retired the last six batters and left after 85 pitches. He allowed six hits and struck out five batters.

"It was a hot one today," Irvin said. "A little more sweaty than usual, especially from the West Coast trip. But all in all, this was a great team win. Gunnar Henderson, what else can I say? Fuji coming in, doing what he does.

"Definitely had more in the tank to go a little bit further if I needed to, so definitely feel really good."

In typical fashion, the offense had the starter’s back. And the Rockies were knocked again on theirs.

The Rockies' five straight losses have come with them ahead or tied in the eighth, the longest streak since the 1970 Expos, per the Elias Sports Bureau.

"We stay together, and those guys, they believe that we're going to score late," Hyde said. "We've done this before, so there's confidence there. But it's a special group that's winning tough games late."

"It's a different guy, it seems like, every day," Henderson said. "We just have each other's backs, and no matter what the score is or what inning it is, we're going to go out there and just continue to take it one at-bat at a time and just go out there and try to win each game."

* Coulombe is the 10th Orioles pitcher since tracking data became available in 1988 to record a save on one pitch, and the first since Darren O'Day on April 22, 2017. 

* James McCann extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a single in the sixth.

* John Means started tonight at Triple-A Norfolk and threw 72 pitches (42 strikes) in 4 1/3 innings. He allowed one run and four hits with two walks, two strikeouts, a home run and a hit-by-pitch.

Means had to wait while Norfolk scored eight runs in the bottom of the first, highlighted by Daz Cameron’s grand slam. Coby Mayo had a two-run single.

Cameron had an RBI single in the second.

Durham catcher Logan Driscoll hit a solo home run in the third against Means, whose fastball topped out at 92.5 mph per Baseball Savant.

Max Costes had a single and double for Double-A Bowie and Donta’ Williams hit his eighth home run. Jackson Holliday singled after sitting out last night’s game. It was planned rest.

High-A Aberdeen catcher Samuel Basallo was removed from the game as a precaution after taking a foul tip to the mask.

Adam Hall, climbing affiliates on his injury rehab assignment, had an RBI double.

Single-A Delmarva’s Mac Horvath, the Orioles’ second-round draft pick, doubled, hit his second homer and drove in two runs.