Orioles pushed to extra innings again and lose 3-2 (updated)

Corbin Burnes is universally liked and respected inside the Orioles clubhouse. Teammates were thrilled by the trade that brought him to Baltimore. They lauded his work ethic in camp. Everything from his routine in the weight room to how he approached bullpen sessions and starts.

Their failure to provide offensive support isn’t personal. More of a weird, quirky coincidence. But it exists.  

The Orioles hadn’t scored with Burnes on the mound in his last 18 1/3 innings, getting shut out twice, until Adley Rutschman led off the fourth tonight by hitting a José Berríos sinker 425 feet to the back of the flag court.

Finally, a run.

Rutschman decided to spoil Burnes, dumping a changeup above the out-of-town scoreboard in the sixth to break a tie, the first multi-homer game of his career. Burnes exited with a lead, with manager Brandon Hyde turning the game over to his bullpen.

Craig Kimbrel registered his third straight scoreless appearance, but Daulton Varsho homered off Yennier Cano with one out in the eighth to again knot the score. The Orioles would need at least one more run.

It never came.

Pushed beyond regulation for the third time in five games, the Orioles lost to the Blue Jays in 10 innings, 3-2, before an announced crowd of 24,358 at Camden Yards.

Ernie Clement reached on a bunt single against Jacob Webb leading off the 10th, putting runners on the corners. Keegan Akin entered with one out to face Varsho, who was robbed of a single on Jorge Mateo's diving stop as the go-ahead run scored.

Jordan Romano returned after breezing through the ninth and stranded Ryan Mountcastle at third base and Jordan Westburg at first. Cedric Mullins grounded out on the first pitch, making him 0-for-4 and extending his slump to 5-for-57.

The Orioles are 26-14 overall after losing two straight and 6-2 in the division.

Hyde removed Burnes after only 85 pitches. The veteran right-hander allowed one run and six hits in six innings, lowering his ERA to 2.68. His two strikeouts are a career-low as a starter.

"Talking after that sixth inning, felt like he kind of emptied the tank there, so that was the end of his night," Hyde explained. "The bottom line is we didn't score enough runs. ... Just not enough offense tonight."

"Felt like 85 pretty stressful pitches tonight," Burnes said. "It felt like every inning we were kind of grinding through it. They were tough outs from the very first out of the game. Would I have liked to go farther? Yeah. But I was at the point where I was fatigued. Really, I think the end of the fourth inning, that nine-pitch AB with (Alejandro) Kirk, it felt like after that it was kind of struggling to catch my breath and the fatigue set in a lot faster than it has been. That's just due to a little more traffic, a lot of high-stress innings, but I was still pleased to get through the sixth."

Kimbrel struck out two batters and induced a fly ball in his new role, which still puts him in high-leverage situations. Cano retired Davis Schneider leading off the eighth, but Varsho hit a changeup 408 feet to right – the third home run allowed by Cano in 21 games.

The next two batters walked, Hyde brought in left-hander Danny Coulombe, and Mateo made a nice sprawling stop of Daniel Vogelbach’s grounder to start a 4-6-3 double play.

Webb replaced Coulombe, who threw only one pitch, and retired the side in order in the ninth.

Asked about Kimbrel, Hyde said, "That's three in a row of him really looking really, really sharp, so that's a great sign."

Berríos was 10-1 with a 2.98 ERA in 14 career starts against the Orioles before tonight, but he allowed five runs and nine hits over six innings last August at Camden Yards. Perhaps a sign that they had him figured out. That they unlocked the Berríos mystery.

Or not.

Berríos retired nine of the first 10 batters, with Ryan O’Hearn lining a single into right field with two outs in the first inning. Berríos threw 28 pitches, 20 for strikes, in the first three innings.

"He's pitched us tough ever since I've been here," Hyde said. "Hats off to him. He pitched an outstanding game."

Rutschman homered for the second time in less than 24 hours and O’Hearn followed with a fly ball toward the Orioles bullpen that Varsho pulled back over the fence to prevent back-to-back shots.

Reliever Cionel Pérez raced toward the ball, watched Varsho make the leaping catch and raised both arms in disbelief.

Eight straight Orioles failed to reach base before Rutschman stepped to the plate again. Rutschman is 12-for-19 with two doubles and three home runs lifetime against Berríos.

"I take the same approach that I always do and try to get my swing off on good pitches, and I was able to do that two times tonight," Rutschman said. "I stay with my process, I guess."

Rutschman’s eight home runs this season are second on the club behind Gunnar Henderson’s 12. His 25 RBIs leave him two behind Henderson and Westburg.

His first career two-homer game meant little after a loss.

"I think I'd just rather win," he said. "I think everyone's just focused on team stuff. Obviously, the individual stuff's always great but I think everyone here's just focused on the next day."

Berríos left after seven innings and only two runs and three hits allowed. Yimi García struck out the side in the eighth.

Bo Bichette led off the second inning with a single and stolen base and Vogelbach walked, but Kirk flied out and Isiah Kiner-Falefa grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. Burnes rode that wave to an 11-pitch third, retiring the side in order and striking out Schneider on a nasty curveball.

The next batch of trouble arrived in the fourth on back-to-back, one-out singles by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bichette. Vogelbach bounced out to put Bichette in scoring position and Kirk struck out on another curveball after fouling off five pitches.

Clement was stranded in the fifth after reaching on a chopper to third base with two outs. Guerrero walked with one out in the sixth, Bichette singled for the third time after entering the game with a .203 average, and Vogelbach singled to tie the game.

The Orioles turned another 6-4-3 double play to leave Burnes at 85 pitches.

There wouldn’t be an 86^th. There wouldn’t be a win on his ledger.

There wouldn't be a win for his club.

“You don’t want to say May 13 is a huge game," Blue Jays manager John Schneider told reporters, "but this was a huge (expletive) win.”

"Their record isn't toward the top like ours and some other teams are, but that's a tough team," Burnes said. "You saw it tonight. Every AB felt like it was a tough out. Pitching-wise, when they line up their guy like that with their best bullpen arms, it's going to be a tough game.

"Definitely what you sign up for when you get in division games."