Another walk-off loss: Bases-loaded walk ends it in 10th (with quotes)

TORONTO - For the Orioles it was yet another day when they got a decent starting pitching effort but little offense. You've heard this story before, and it rang true again this afternoon at Rogers Centre.

The Orioles went 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left 13 on base. In a 3-3 tie in the ninth they got runners to second and third with one out but failed to score. The Blue Jays won it 4-3 on a bases-loaded walk in the last of the 10th.

The Orioles took their second walk-off loss in this series this afternoon. Mychal Givens came on in the 10th and walked Justin Smoak with one out. Kendrys Morales singled to put runners on first and second. Givens got Kevin Pillar to fly to deep center, but threw a pitch up and in and hit Randal Grichuk to load the bases. The game ended as he walked Luke Maile on four pitches.

Right after the Orioles had tied this game 2-2 in the top of the seventh, Grichuk drove a Kevin Gausman first-pitch fastball out to left center to start the home seventh. His fifth homer, a blast he hit 418 feet off a 93 mph heater, made it 3-2 Jays.

The Orioles then used a Blue Jays bullpen-aided rally to tie the game without a hit in the eighth. With one out, a hit-by-pitch, an error on the pitcher and a walk loaded the bases. Then Tyler Clippard fanned Chance Sisco. But with Jace Peterson batting, his wild pitch tied the game 3-3.

Earlier, there were plenty of offensive frustrations for the Orioles. Manny Machado hit a line drive 112 mph in the first, but it was caught for the third out. Danny Valencia led off the second with an infield single and the Orioles got nothing. Aaron Sanchez walked two with two outs in the third and then Machado popped out on a 1-1 fastball. The O's got two-out singles in the fifth from Sisco and Peterson. But Adam Jones flied out on a 1-0 fastball.

At that point in the game the Orioles were 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position today and 0-for-13 in the series. And they had scored just one run over their last 16 innings.

Toronto took a 1-0 lead in the third. Gausman had pitched out of a two-on-none-out jam an inning earlier. But Toronto got three straight singles to start the third, the last by Yangervis Solarte broke the scoreless tie.

The lead doubled in the sixth when Solarte and Teoscar Hernández began the frame with back-to-back doubles. But Gausman then struck out the next three batters to strand a runner and hold the game at 2-0.

The Orioles finally scored and knocked Sanchez out in the seventh as they tied the game 2-2. After Kevin Pillar robbed Mark Trumbo with a diving catch in center, Trey Mancini singled and scored on Sisco's double to the base of the wall in right. Sisco took third on the throw home. Peterson walked and Danny Barnes replaced Sanchez. Jones greeted him with a first-pitch single to right for his 29th RBI and the tie at 2-2. Jones hit ended the Orioles' 0-for-13 run in the series with runners in scoring position.

Gausman recorded the Orioles' fifth quality start in five games on this road trip, and their ninth in the last 10 games. He went 6 2/3, allowing nine hits and three runs with no walks and six strikeouts. He used his splitter often today, and his fastball touched 99 mph. But he gets a no-decision as his ERA dropped to 4.58.

O's starters have an ERA of 2.27 the last five games and 3.34 the past 10, but have a 2-7 record over that stretch.

Toronto began this series with seven losses in eight games and with a 1-10 record in its last 11 home games, but they've turned that around since the Orioles arrived here Thursday.

Baltimore falls to 19-44 with three straight losses and losses in 10 of 12 and 16 of 22 games. The Orioles are 1-5 versus Toronto and 9-26 on the road.

In the series finale Sunday afternoon, right-hander Alex Cobb (2-7, 6.19 ERA) pitches opposite right-hander Marco Estrada (2-6, 5.29 ERA).

Postgame quotes:

Givens on the bottom of the tenth: "Just got off rhythm and wasn't throwing strikes. As a bullpen guy you try to make an adjustment, and I didn't make the adjustment. Tried to attack the next hitter but wasn't in a good rhythm and didn't throw quality big league pitches. The ball just got away from me right there and lost the game."

Gausman on stranding some runners early on: "Just make pitches. Mixed my pitches and threw some good splits down in the zone. That is a pitch that when I have the combo of throwing my fastball up when I need to and down and away when I can, and throwing my split down in the zone, that can get some swing-and-misses."

Gausman on Grichuk's homer in the seventh to break the 2-2 tie: "Trying to throw a fastball down and away and it kind of came across the plate. You know, just one of those things. More mad at myself about, we just came back and tied the game up. Told myself I was going to go out there and attack those guys. You know, maybe didn't throw my best fastball down and away, and he put a good swing on it."

Manager Buck Showalter, did Givens just lose his mechanics in the 10th?: "Obviously. He just worked under a lot of balls, a hit-by-pitch, a changeup with an 0-2 count that he left up to Morales, that hurt him too. He had him set up there, if he gets it off the plate somewhere down, because you know he's cheating for the fastball."

Showalter on another day with little offense: "The end game is three runs again, or less. But we did create more opportunities, but there's two parts to that, creating opportunities and not cashing them in. That big hit has just been elusive for us. Gausman was good again. Like I said in the spring and early in the season, I thought with the weather and everybody kind of settled with some of the things that went on with some of the late signings, that we thought it (the rotation) would be a strength of ours. Hopefully, we can get Darren (O'Day) back out there tomorrow and get him pitching the way he can, and maybe Zach on Monday."

Showalter with more on Gausman: "He pitched well. We've been saying that a lot about him lately. I know it's frustrating for them. They're doing the best they can, and that's why it's a team game. I thought we had about three plays we didn't make today that didn't show up on the scoreboard. They were pretty free with hits today. Pretty nice. It should have been about - in the major leagues - three errors I thought, but what do I know?"