Orioles combine new and old to rally for 7-4 win (updated)

CLEVELAND – The standings and lineup didn’t look right.

A Yankees victory earlier in the day dropped the Orioles into second place in the division. Manager Brandon Hyde attacked Guardians left-hander Joey Cantillo by giving Austin Slater and Eloy Jiménez their first starts since the trade deadline. Slater led off, bumping Colton Cowser down to seventh.

Hyde was hoping that Slater could give his club “a little spark” and might “get us going.”

Slater doubled into the left field corner in the first inning and reached on a bunt single in the fifth. Jiménez lined a run-scoring single into left field in the fourth and singled to begin the sixth.

The newcomers left their mark, including starter Zach Eflin, who posted another quality start. But Hyde also knew when to turn to the holdovers. Pick specific players for matchups and push the right buttons.

The Orioles produced a four-run eighth inning with major contributions from Gunnar Henderson, Anthony Santander and pinch-hitters Adley Rutschman and Ryan O’Hearn in a 7-4 victory over the Guardians before an announced sellout crowd of 37,251 at Progressive Field.

José Ramírez hit a two-run homer off Seranthony Domínguez in the bottom of the eighth, but Yennier Cano notched his fifth save and the Orioles moved back into a tie with the Yankees while improving their record to 66-46.

Henderson had a go-ahead single in the fifth and led off the eighth with a double while the Orioles clung to a 3-2 lead. He went to third base on Santander’s single and Rutschman tripled over the head of right fielder Jhonkensy Noel, who broke in on the ball. O’Hearn followed with a double.

Rutschman batted for Jiménez and O’Hearn for Coby Mayo.

The right buttons.

"When they get hits, it works out great," Hyde said, smiling. "When they pop up or punch out, not so much."

Jackson Holliday had his second straight multi-hit game, with his single in the eighth scoring O’Hearn and making him 5-for-14 since returning. He was 2-for-34 in his first stint in the majors.

"It’s incredible," Eflin said. "The goal is to have a competitive AB every single time you go out, and he’s been doing that. He’s been getting hits. ... It’s been really fun to watch him, especially as a 20-year-old. That’s just crazy.”

"It looks like he’s a little bit more relaxed," Hyde said. "You see him stay on the baseball better, be able to hit the ball with power the other way. That one was foul at home and this one was off the wall. Big, big hit up the middle for us to extend the lead. I’m so happy."

Holliday said he's more comfortable than back in April, when he lasted 10 games and was optioned.

"Just trusting myself and my approach and just trying to have fun," he said. "Even when I’m getting out, I feel like I’m hitting the ball hard and putting together good at-bats, which is important. Just glad to help the team win.

"I’m starting to see the ball a little deeper and allowing myself to go the other way, which allows me to see the ball for a longer time."

Media still seeks Holliday but the national stampede hasn't returned. Just the top prospect.

"Yeah," he said, "I think definitely just having my feet under me and being able to come to the ballpark and have a normal schedule and just be able to go out there and play and have fun and kind of put everything else to the side and just enjoy being out there."

The visiting clubhouse has the Golden Tee golf arcade game, which Holliday played again this afternoon. Mayo joined him later.

"Once I started playing that in Norfolk, I started hitting good again," Holliday said. "I made a hole-in-one on a par-five today, so I think that was a guaranteed two hits. So I’ll have to try to do that tomorrow, as well."

Eflin allowed two runs in 6 1/3 innings in his second start with the Orioles. Cionel Pérez replaced him and the Guardians sent up two pinch-hitters. David Fry struck out and Pérez caught Noel’s popup.

"He only made one bad pitch, the two-run homer there. Besides that, just a professional effort," Hyde said. "Sinker, cutter, gets a bunch of strikes. Our infielders are going to need to be ready, it’s a ton of ground balls. Yeah, I mean, this is exactly what we’ve seen him to do us. He’s really tough to hit."

Angel Martínez hit a two-run homer off Eflin in the third inning after Steven Kwan walked. Eflin hasn’t walked a batter in 11 starts this season, and he issued one or fewer in 18 before tonight.

“An 0-0 changeup, and he kind of just got to it," Eflin said. "Other than that, I felt pretty good, mixing and matching. I thought James (McCann) did a great job of calling the game and leading me the entire way. Played great defense and obviously put on some really great at-bats, so it was a great day.”

Mayo went 0-for-3, beginning with a 101.7 mph lineout to left field in the second inning. He bounced out in the fourth with two runners on base and grounded into a double play in the sixth.

Holliday flied to the right field warning track in the third and led off the fifth with a double off the left field wall at 100.8 mph. It was the last pitch thrown by Guardians left-hander Joey Cantillo in his second major league start.

Slater laid down his bunt against Pedro Avila and Henderson poked a single into left field with one out to score Holliday for a 3-2 lead.

The first start for Slater did appear to bring a spark.

“It always feels nice to get off on the right foot and help the team win in any way you can, and luckily that’s how it went this night," he said.

“It was definitely a huge vote of confidence and believing in my track record and just believing that it’s been a rough stretch and that it’s about time to turn it around, and hopefully I can keep building off tonight.”

"Austin Slater is a real pro and he starts the game off there with a double," Hyde said. "Eloy with really good at-bats. This was one of our better offensive games, for me, in a long time. Just the quality of the at-bat, how hard we hit the baseball, using the whole field. We just did a lot of really good things offensively tonight up and down the order."

The Orioles were 2-8 in their last 10 games against a left-handed starter.

"Austin is going to give you a good at-bat against a left-hander," Hyde said. "Eloy is just a professional hitter, against left and right. Eloy won a Silver Slugger, so he can flat-out hit. But the other guys, to see Jackson go left-on-left and do what he did, it was really good win for us."

This could be the role that Slater fills, atop the order and in the outfield when the opponent starts a left-hander.

"Yeah, I think so," he said. "That’s what I’ve done pretty much my whole career. I know the results really haven’t been there, at least so far this season, but really excited to work with this new hitting staff and getting my swing going. I’ve already seen the early results from some swing changes and hopefully the confidence keeps growing and I can keep contributing like that tonight.

"I was working on some things while I was in Cincy, as well, and then kind of got here and started working with the hitting coaches and it feels really good right now so far. A lot of credit goes to them and hopefully we can keep building on that moving forward.”

The Orioles were behind 2-0 before Henderson, Santander and Jiménez stroked consecutive singles. Jiménez struck out in his first two at-bats with the Orioles.

First baseman Josh Naylor made a diving stop of Cowser’s grounder down the line and couldn’t get the ball out of his mitt as the tying run scored. Cowser extended his hitting streak to 16 consecutive games, the longest by an Orioles rookie since Trey Mancini’s 17 in 2017.

Rutschman has a triple in each of his three major league seasons. He went 1-for-4 last night but was 11-for-90 (.122) since June 27.

“I actually was just talking to him about it,” Hyde said this afternoon. “I thought last night the base hit in his first at-bat, that was the best swing he’s had in a while. He got a slider. He wasn’t even looking slider, but sitting on a fastball he adjusted really well, real handsy swing to the middle of the field.

“He’s just kind of getting caught in between for the last few weeks. Maybe being a little bit late on fastballs. You see a lot of body in his swing. Now he’s chasing a little bit more than usual. I think today he’s feeling way better after the game yesterday. That swing, hopefully something’s going to click and he’s going to get back to the player we know he is.”

The team clicked tonight when it mattered, and the Orioles’ stay in second place was brief.

"It’s definitely the most talented young team I’ve ever been around," Slater said. "I did play on a 107-win team in San Francisco, but it’s neck-and-neck. And I think Coby’s going to be great, too. You look around the clubhouse and everyone could be a star in this league, and it’s really exciting to play for.”

* Double-A Bowie pitcher Kyle Brnovich was reinstated from the seven-day injured list.

Triple-A Norfolk’s Justin Armbruester allowed six runs in 1 2/3 innings. Nick Vespi was charged with six in one inning.

Former Orioles reliever Travis Lakins Sr. tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings for Charlotte.

Cole Irvin’s name no longer appears on Norfolk’s roster or the Orioles’ transactions page as being outrighted.

High-A Aberdeen’s Enrique Bradfield Jr. stole two more bases to give him 55.