Huge nights from Holliday and Urías can't save Orioles in 12-10 loss (updated)

Corbin Burnes lost his catcher tonight shortly before the national anthem. He warmed and then paused while a member of the grounds crew ran onto the field with a rubber cleat cleaner and hammer, using spikes to secure it behind the mound. Burnes got the green light to pitch and surrendered multiple runs in the first inning for the only time in his 25 outings with the Orioles.

Typical wasn’t part of the game plan. Nothing around him seemed right.

A 20^th quality start would elude Burnes after Rafael Devers' two-run homer in the third. Two Red Sox batters already were halfway to the cycle. The Orioles were careening toward a loss on Burnes’ bobblehead night.

The heads nodded but also shook at the absurdity that unfolded at Camden Yards.

Burnes allowed a career-high eight runs and 10 hits in four innings, the tie provided to him unraveling in a flash, and the Red Sox hung on for a 12-10 victory before an announced crowd of 34,541.

The Yankees also won tonight and lead the Orioles (72-51) by a game in the division race.

Jackson Holliday had his first three-hit game in the majors and topped it with a fourth, a single in the eighth inning. He’s the second-youngest Orioles player with that many behind Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson in 1957.

"It was pretty awesome to do that against a team that I kind of debuted against and didn’t do quite well," Holliday said. "Yeah, it sucks that we lost. It happens. Kept fighting, but at the end of the day we came up a little short. Yeah, pretty special to get four hits.”

More so when Robinson's name is mentioned.

"Obviously, very special to be able to share that with him," Jackson said. "Hopefully, many more in the future.”  

Ramón Urías drove in a career-high five runs, the last on his sacrifice fly in the eighth. The Orioles finished with 17 hits. And they still lost.

David Hamilton belted a two-run homer off Craig Kimbrel in the seventh after the Orioles again flirted with a comeback, and Jarren Duran piled on with a 420-foot solo shot. Kimbrel has been scored upon in six of his last 10 appearances and his ERA grew to 3.89.

“A couple homers, but the walk, that’s what’s kind of getting him in trouble there," said manager Brandon Hyde. "The walk, the stolen base. They just got on his fastball.”

Urías’ third hit was a two-run homer off Luis García in the bottom of the seventh, temporarily tying his career high with four RBIs. Colton Cowser singled and scored on Gunnar Henderson’s bouncer to recoup the runs surrendered by Kimbrel.

Burnes’ four innings are his fewest since the final game of the 2023 season. He got back-to-back strikeouts in the fourth after Duran’s leadoff walk and a wild pitch, but Devers walked, Connor Wong poked an RBI single into right and Masataka Yoshida hit the roof of the grounds crew shed on a first-pitch curveball for an 8-4 lead.

Two wild pitches were included in the mess. Burnes walked three batters, struck out seven and was removed after 95 pitches. Seven of the 10 hits came against his cutter.

"I think from the get-go in the first inning we made some good pitches," Burnes said. "They scored two runs on three hits that weren’t hit very hard and we went and made an adjustment, and it wasn’t the right adjustment. Fell behind a lot in counts, a lot of hittable pitches up in the zone, and they didn’t miss tonight.

"We fell behind and then we had to come on the plate more than we would want to. Usually, we can get ahead with some breaking balls and stuff. Tonight, we weren’t able to do that. Get into counts where you’ve got to bring the cutter on the plate and they just didn’t miss. I wouldn’t say it was one thing over the other. It was just kind of all in general wasn’t a very command-related thing. When you fall behind in that many counts, it’s tough to get a lot of outs."

It says a lot about Burnes' season that his worst outing didn't arrive until tonight.

"I’d rather not have any of them, but I guess if we’re going to have one, it’s better to do it in a game in the middle of August versus coming down the stretch or into the postseason," he said. "I’m just proud of the way I’ve been consistent all year up to this point. Go back in, figure out what we’re doing wrong, adjust and just get back to what we do."

Adley Rutschman was scratched from the lineup with lower back discomfort, pairing Burnes with James McCann for the 11^th time this season. The Red Sox ranked sixth in the majors with 115 stolen bases. Burnes ranked first with 33 allowed.

That was supposed to be one of the challenges tonight, but the Red Sox only moved their runners via hits.

Hyde said afterward that Rutschman's back flared up while the All-Star was hitting in the cage 30-45 minutes before the game.

"He’s day-to-day right now, I’m hoping," Hyde said. "We’ll see.”

Burnes had allowed five runs total in the first inning before tonight. The Red Sox scored twice after only four batters, with Duran reaching on an infield hit and racing home on Wilyer Abreu’s double, Triston Casas grounding to the mound and Devers delivering Abreu with a bloop double down the right field line.

The inning also included a walk and two strikeouts and cost Burnes 24 pitches.

Duran doubled and was stranded in the second, but Boston scored two more runs in the third on Devers’ 26^th home run. Burnes threw him a sinker and watched it travel 400 feet to center field. Two singles followed before Burnes got out of the inning.

A three-run third for the Orioles leveled the game and brought the crowd to life, but this wasn’t standard Burnes. Maybe he was just due for a dud. He’s human, after all, as Hyde reminded the media in Cleveland.

“They were aggressive in the first," Hyde said tonight. "Got some soft contact, couple runs there early. I thought his stuff was still good. Maybe the breaking ball wasn’t maybe as effective and sharp as it had been in the past, but he’s still throwing 98 (mph) cutters and sinkers. They were aggressive with him. Some bad luck there with that Wong chopper that went through with two outs, but he’s been incredible for us and he’s not going to be perfect every night he throws. I thought that they took some good at-bats against him, but I’m sure he’ll bounce back well.”

Holliday had two singles and a triple within the first five innings. The Orioles loaded the bases against Cooper Criswell with no outs in the fifth on singles by Eloy Jiménez and Holliday and a walk to Cedric Mullins. Urías singled to score Jiménez and McCann flied to the center field fence to cut the Red Sox’s lead to 8-6 and create another pitching change.

"We battled offensively," Burnes said. "Seemed like every time they scored, we would try to fight back, and we did for the most part. The pitching staff, we just didn’t do a good job tonight."

The Red Sox used an opener tonight, left-hander Brennan Bernardino, who was allowed to face only three batters and throw 13 pitches. Colton Cowser struck out, Anthony Santander walked and Henderson struck out. Ryan Mountcastle doubled off Zack Kelly, but Jiménez popped up.

The bulk plan involved Criswell, reinstated today from the COVID list. He entered in the second inning and gave up a run and three hits, including Urías’ single that scored Holliday.

Mountcastle and Jiménez had back-to-back doubles in the third and Holliday tripled off the out-of-town scoreboard in right, his first in the majors, to reduce the lead to 4-3. Mountcastle’s ball left the bat at 109.6 mph and hit the top of the left field wall, 400 feet away. But he’d eventually cross the plate.

So would Holliday, who already was the youngest Orioles player with three hits and three runs scored prior to his single in the eighth, after a walk/wild pitch that tied the game. Yet another sign that the night was going to be extremely weird.

Keegan Akin tried to bring a semblance of normalcy. He replaced Burnes and provided two scoreless and hitless innings, striking out three batters. But Kimbrel walked Nick Sogard with one out in the seventh, allowed another stolen base and was burned by Hamilton and Duran. He was booed on his way back to the dugout.

Burch Smith allowed a run in the eighth after retiring the first two batters. The Orioles got it back on singles by Ryan O’Hearn and Holliday and Urías’ sac fly.

"We’ve got a special offense," Holliday said. "To put up that many runs is always fun.”  

Giving up more was the issue tonight.

* Rookie Cade Povich is the confirmed starter for Saturday.

"At this point, you’re trying to make sure everyone stays healthy for October," Burnes said, "and giving everyone a breather this time through, I think, is only going to be beneficial."

* Triple-A Norfolk reliever Dillon Tate retired all three batters he faced in another scoreless outing. He struck out two batters and lowered his ERA to 2.30.

Double-A Bowie’s Trace Bright allowed one run and three hits and struck out seven batters in 4 2/3 innings.

Enrique Bradfield Jr. had two hits and his first Baysox stolen base. Catcher Samuel Basallo singled three times, drove in a run, scored on Dylan Beavers’ triple and threw out a runner from his knees trying to steal. John Rhodes had three RBIs.

Ethan Anderson, the 61^st-overall pick in the 2024 draft, had three hits, an RBI and a run scored for Single-A Delmarva.