Defensive shortcomings for O's contribute to series sweep (updated)

The bats came out of the rack. They made some loud noises. The threat of another shutout was obliterated like the pitch Renato Núñez launched into the left field seats to open the top of the second inning.

If the Orioles were going to lose again tonight, at least they'd go down swinging.

A problem is fixed and the ship springs two other leaks. And the solution wasn't to keep plugging away.

Wade LeBlanc lasted only 3 1/3 innings, the defense collapsed behind him and an offensive rush that hadn't occurred since the Rays left town and included a season-high four home runs was wasted in an 8-7 loss that completed Miami's four-game sweep.

A bullpen that had been so sturdy cracked in the decisive seventh inning but also suffered from the same lack of support that LeBlanc experienced.

Jesús Aguilar lifted a sacrifice fly to the warning track in left field off Mychal Givens, who replaced Evan Phillips with runners on the corners and no outs, and he scored on Brian Anderson's triple for an 8-6 lead. Austin Hays ran into the left field gap and toward the fence, reached over his head and the ball nicked his glove.

Phillips hit Jon Berti and Francisco Cervelli bounced a single past third baseman Pat Valaika, who reached for the ball and couldn't touch it. Dwight Smith Jr. overran it, allowing Berti to reach third, and the Orioles had their latest miscue.

Chris Davis led off the top of the ninth with a double to left-center field off Brandon Kintzler, making him 2-for-23 this season, and he scored on pinch-hitter Pedro Severino's single. Anthony Santander singled after Hanser Alberto grounded into a double play and was forced at second to end the game.

Smith and Núñez went back-to-back in the sixth for a 6-6 tie - Núñez's third career multi-homer game. A pair of big boy shots off Jorge Guzman, who was making his major league debut.

All six runs off LeBlanc were earned. Only one error was charged while he pitched, but it looked a lot worse in person.

The Marlins broke a 4-4 tie in the fourth after Logan Forsythe singled and Magneuris Sierra was hit by a pitch. Monte Harrison flied out, but Jonathan Villar lined a run-scoring single into right field and Sierra came home when Santander sailed a throw past third base.

LeBlanc balked and manager Brandon Hyde removed him at 56 pitches.

Shawn Armstrong stranded Villar with a strikeout and fly ball to keep the deficit at two runs.

The first six Orioles batters produced three extra-base hits, including Alberto's leadoff double in the first and Chance Sisco's double in the second that followed Núñez's solo shot. They hit for the cycle by the third, with Alberto scoring the tying run on Santander's triple.

Sisco hit a leadoff home run in the fourth to tie a game that couldn't find a quiet moment.

Villar hit his first home run with the Marlins and it came on LeBlanc's initial pitch of the game, a sinker that didn't perform its trick. Lewis Brinson walked with one out in the second, advanced to third base on Forsythe's double and scored on Sierra's sacrifice fly for a 2-1 lead.

Harrison crashed at full speed into the fence in front of the bullpen area while chasing Santander's triple, the echo carrying through an empty ballpark and into the press box. He stayed in the game and Smith's sacrifice fly gave the Orioles their first lead of the series.

Their five hits were half the total through the first three games.

It felt like a major breakout.

Marlins starter Jordan Yamamoto was fortunate to only be tied through two innings. Or he was skilled. Depends on your perspective.

Alberto was stranded after consecutive strikeouts by Santander, José Iglesias and Smith. Sisco moved to third base with one out after Harrison ran down Hays' drive in right-center field, but Davis struck out and Valaika flied out.

The Orioles had their run and wouldn't be blanked, but they failed to take advantage of the opportunities to bust out.

They had two runners on base with no outs in the sixth after Guzman walked Sisco and drilled Hays in the left ribcage, but Mike Morin stranded them.

A lead came to the Orioles in the third. It was lost in the bottom half, with the defense again at fault.

LeBlanc retired the first two batters, but Francisco Cervelli doubled and Aguilar reached on an infield hit. Valaika bounced his throw past Davis, who fired home to chase Cervelli back to third. Aguilar raced to second and the official scorer ruled fielder's choice rather than an error.

The mistake, however recorded, was critical after Anderson lined a two-run single to center field.

The Orioles really miss Rio Ruiz at third base.

Staying competitive in most games can be a salve to a rebuilding club, but the Orioles were hurting today. They found little comfort in losing three straight, even knowing that a clutch hit here and there could have reversed the outcomes.

John Means left Wednesday night's start with 14 of 16 batters retired and only one run on the board, but the bullpen suffered a rare lapse in a 4-0 loss. The Marlins swept yesterday's doubleheader by a combined 3-1 score.

A few of the wins also have been tight, including a 5-4 victory over the Rays in 11 innings that allowed the Orioles to check out the new rule of putting a runner on second base after regulation.

The worst showing for the team was its first, when the Red Sox won 13-2 in the opener at Fenway Park. David Hess allowed three runs and seven hits in three innings and hasn't been used again.

Hess isn't restricted by an injury. He's available and waiting for Hyde to find the right moment.

"Nothing physical," Hyde said earlier today. "It's just one of those where we haven't had the situation for him to get in there. He pitched opening day, we've been playing a lot of close games and I'd like to get him a clean inning and a low-pressure situation. But we've been playing a lot of tight games, so the opportunity just hasn't been there."

Armstrong retired all five batters he faced with two strikeouts. Phillips kept the game tied by stranding Harrison at second base in the sixth, but the Marlins pulled off their first four-game sweep of the Orioles.

Note: Two more changes are coming to the Orioles' schedule.

The postponed game against the Yankees yesterday will be made up as part of a Sept. 4 doubleheader at Camden Yards beginning at 5:05 p.m. The starting time for the Aug. 19 game against the Blue Jays at Camden Yards has been moved from 7:35 p.m. to 1:05 p.m.

Hyde on defense: "We had a few plays we didn't make that hurt tonight, but happy with how we swung the bat. Nice to see our guys come out and answer their runs early and pleased with the offense, but we've done a fairly nice job of taking care of the ball so far. Tonight it just wasn't our best night.

"I just think we had a bad night defensively. I thought we misplayed a few balls. Tried to throw to a base which the play wasn't there and things that we haven't been doing. I would assume this was just a tough night defensively. We just didn't play very well defensively tonight."

Hyde on LeBlanc: "I just thought he wasn't as sharp. He made some decent pitches. He got a little unlucky on the Villar single to right, then we tried to throw it to third with no play there. I just thought he was a little off tonight."

Hyde on Davis: "We've had some conversations the last couple days. I thought he swung the bat very aggressive tonight. Even the first AB on the punch out, I was good with it. He swung with some intent. Foul ball back, foul ball pulled hard. Next at-bat he drove a ball that I thought was gone, but it kind of hung up. But had a really nice swing and barreled the baseball. And then that double there at the end. I just wanted him to be more aggressive early in the count. I want him when he swings the bat to have some presence and swing with some intent, and he did that tonight."

LeBlanc on series: "It's frustrating any time you feel like you have something good going and then show up and one day it's there and the next day it's not. The game of baseball itself can be frustrating. But on a personal level, tonight you have an offense that's scratching and clawing getting some big home runs and giving you some leads, and just to go out there and not execute what you know will get you some outs and just give the leads right back, it's a frustrating night on all fronts for me.

"The frustrating part is the guys behind me fighting to give us those leads and to just roll out there and give them right back is something that makes a guy lose sleep at night."

LeBlanc on balk: "I don't know, to be honest with you. It's something that a guy like Villar can cause some havoc on the basepaths if you don't have what you're wanting to do in your mind going into it. I had something in mind that I wanted to do, thoughts changed over the course of those pickoffs, and one of those things. I don't know. One of those embarrassing things that you look back on, hopefully, in 20 years and you can laugh at."

Sisco on his hot start: "I feel good. A lot of the work I put in this offseason and in quarantine time was being able to repeat some things with my swing and repeat on a nightly basis and I feel like I'm able to do that right now. And that's obviously the goal, is to be able to be able to continue to repeat that."