Orioles waste Wells' quality start, Mullins leaves game with injury

The six strikeouts in the first four innings today could be used as an example of Tyler Wells’ effectiveness against the Guardians. The whiffs or frozen bats off his four-seamer, cutter and changeup.

But also, the way he maneuvered out of a jam in the first inning when his outing could have fallen apart fast.

A leadoff single by Steven Kwan was followed by a comebacker from Amed Rosario that Wells knocked down and fielded before attempting to get the force at second base. A mixup in coverage brought together Jorge Mateo and Adam Frazier at the bag. Mateo failed to make the catch, and Wells was charged with the error.

The right-hander retired the next three batters on a popup, strikeout and ground ball. His 21-pitch inning would launch him to a third quality start.

It wouldn’t spare him the loss.

Allowing one run against the worst offensive team in baseball didn’t prevent the Orioles from falling to the Guardians 5-0 before an announced crowd of 25,249 at Camden Yards.

The bullpen surrendered four runs in the seventh after Wells left, and the Orioles lost for the third time in four games to leave them at 34-20. A Tampa Bay win at Wrigley Field today would push the Orioles five games back in the division.

Much worse could be the injury to center fielder Cedric Mullins, who pulled up before reaching first base in the eighth inning on a ground ball to short. Mullins, who walked twice today and is batting .263 with an .835 OPS, 12 doubles, three triples, eight home runs, 39 RBIs and 13 stolen bases in 53 games, bent forward after crossing the bag and limped off the field.

Mullins appeared to reach for his right hip/groin after sprinting out of the batter’s box. The Orioles will provide an update later.

The Orioles have an open spot on the 40-man roster if Mullins goes on the injured list and they want to select a player's contract from Triple-A Norfolk. Outfielders Colton Cowser and Kyle Stowers are both on the seven-day IL with the Tides.

Will Brennan led off the fifth with a double, moved up on a balk and scored on Steven Kwan’s fly ball to give Cleveland a 1-0 lead. That was the extent of the damage against Wells, who threw 101 pitches in six innings, one short of his career high, and held the Guardians to four hits with no walks and seven strikeouts.

Wells has struck out seven or more batters in four consecutive starts. His ERA is 3.29.

Scoring has been a chore for the Guardians, who ranked last in the majors today with 178 runs. The Rangers just left town after ranking first.

Myles Straw reached against Cionel Pérez on a high chopper with one out in the seventh, Brennan singled, and Cam Gallagher singled again to give Cleveland a 2-0 lead. A revenge game for the former Orioles minor league catcher.

Kwan grounded a ball into center field for a hustle RBI double, Mike Baumann replaced Pérez, Adam Frazier fielded Rosario’s grounder and bounced a throw past catcher James McCann to let two runs score. Pérez was charged with three earned and four total.

Rookie left-hander Logan Allen, in his seventh major league game, worked a career-high seven scoreless innings with three hits allowed, two walks and a career-high 10 strikeouts.

Mullins drew a leadoff walk in the first and Gallagher threw him out attempting to steal. Anthony Santander singled with two outs. Mullins walked with two outs in the third. Ryan Mountcastle reached on an error in the fourth and McCann doubled with two outs.

Still nothing on the board.

Santander singled again with one out in the sixth, but Gabriel Arias made a diving stop of Mountcastle’s ground ball and got the force at second base. Mountcastle crossed first base and tilted back his head, a familiar posture with so many tough-luck at-bats.

The Orioles were 12-6 on Memorial Day since 2000, the fourth-best winning percentage in baseball per STATS. But can’t win if you don’t score.

They threatened again in the ninth on Santander's leadoff double and Mountcastle's single. Trevor Stephan retired the next three batters, with Adley Rutschman on deck but failing to appear in a game for the first time this season.

* Double-A Bowie’s Carlos Tavera was named Eastern League Pitcher of the Week after tossing five hitless innings. Tavera was a fifth-round pick in the 2021 draft out of the University of Texas at Arlington.