Former O's lead the way as Arizona takes series opener from Orioles (updated)

PHOENIX - The Orioles haven't lost often this year when scoring first and when playing the opening game of a road series.

They did both tonight but lost 4-2 at Arizona to start the regular season's final month and begin an important nine-game road trip.

Former Orioles Zach Davies and Christian Walker helped beat the Orioles in front of 18,248 at Chase Field as Baltimore fell to 83-51 and missed a chance to move 2.5 games ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays, who lost to Cleveland.

Each team scored in the first inning, which ended with Arizona leading the Orioles 2-1.

Against right-hander Davies, the Orioles’ 26^th round pick in the 2011 MLB Draft, the Birds got a one-out single in the first from Gunnar Henderson and he advanced to second on a groundout. With two men out, he scored on Ryan O’Hearn’s RBI single to center. It was RBI No. 46 for O’Hearn, a .306 hitter with runners in scoring position.

That lead lasted just one batter in the home first as Arizona’s No. 2 hitter homered to give them a 2-1 lead.

Leadoff batter Ketel Marte reached on an infield single to third base off lefty Cole Irvin and scored on a Lourdes Gurriel Jr. two-run shot to left for the lead. Gurriel hit No. 21 on a 1-1 changeup. The ball was hit 103 mph off the bat and 403 feet on a line drive into the left-field stands.

In the home fourth, Henderson made a spectacular defensive play to save a run from scoring and keep the Orioles down by that 2-1 margin.

With runners on first and third and one out, Henderson, playing shortstop, ran into shallow left and made an over-the-shoulder catch of a flare off the bat of shortstop Nick Ahmed. He then turned and threw home, right on the money, a two-hopper to get the speedy Corbin Carroll.

It was one Rookie of the Year candidate throwing out another. Just another night at the ballpark.

Davies has had a rough year with an ERA of 6.93 through 13 starts and two trips to the injured list. But he was shutting down his former organization tonight.

After the O’s first and through the sixth, they only had one runner reach second. And that runner got doubled off base.

A walk to No. 9 hitter Ramón Urías was followed by an Adley Rutschman hit by pitch in the Baltimore third. That promising rally was short-circuited when Henderson lined out and Anthony Santander lined into a double play. Urías seemed to forget how many outs there were on the Santander liner to right and was doubled off second base to end that inning. The O’s had just four hits through the sixth.

And then they fell further behind when another former Oriole, Arizona first baseman Walker, hit a two-run homer to left in the Diamondbacks sixth. The O’s drafted Walker in round four of the 2012 draft and he played 13 games for the team in 2014 and 2015.

Tonight, after Tommy Pham’s leadoff double, Walker hit No. 29 on Irvin’s first-pitch curveball and sent it 414 feet to left for a 4-1 lead. Walker has put together a couple of strong seasons for Arizona, hitting 36 homers and winning a Gold Glove last year. And he began play tonight tied for 10^th in the National League in home runs.

O'Hearn's double in the eighth scored Henderson, who had doubled with the O's second run and gave him a two-RBI night.

That was Henderson's 50th extra-base hit and he became the fifth rookie in O's history to have 50 EBHs per Stats Perform. Cal Ripken Jr. had 65 in 1982, Eddie Murray 58 in 1977, Ryan Mountcastle 57 in 2021 and Trey Mancini 54 in 2017. 

Davies got the win and is 2-5 with a 6.45 ERA. He allowed four hits and one run over six innings and has given up two runs over 11 innings in two starts since returning from his second 2023 stint to the injured list. He threw 85 pitches, 51 for strikes. Tonight was his first career outing against the Orioles.

Irvin took the loss, allowing four runs and eight hits over 5 2/3 innings. He falls to 1-4 with an ERA of 4.91.

The Orioles had won his last six starts and, in eight starts since June 10, he had an ERA of 2.72. But two long balls cost him tonight and the O's offense, which scored 79 runs the previous 12 games, could not get going.

The Orioles fall to 41-25 on the road, to 49-15 when they score first and to 16-6 in road series openers.

They will try to get even in this series on Saturday when Arizona native Kyle Bradish (9-6, 3.03 ERA) pitches against right-hander Slade Cecconi (0-0, 2.57 ERA).

Manager Brandon Hyde on a night with just two runs: “I just thought we expanded the zone too much on him (Davies). Our approach tonight going in was outstanding and then we didn’t really follow through in the game. We just didn’t take very many good at-bats. Only scored a run off him. Give him credit, but we have to score more than two runs to be able to win these games."

Hyde on Henderson's spectacular double play: “He had a great game. And he is showing everybody why he’s Rookie of the Year. Fun to watch him play right now but we have to do a lot more offensively. We haven’t been swinging the bat very well. We need to keep the line moving and score more runs.

“Just so athletic to be able to catch it going back and spin and make an accurate throw there with a plus runner at third base and then Adley with a great kind of a deke and tag there. The way he positioned himself, there wasn’t going to be a play and then at the last minute, catch and tag.”

Irvin on the two homers he gave up, poor pitches or good hitting?: "I think the slider/curveball to Walker was, I hadn't thrown a single one of those in any of the other at-bats so, thought I could get ahead. He put a good swing on it. The Gurriel pitch was a changeup up in the zone. I wasn't executing that pitch in the first couple of inings. Found it later on. Was execution tonight. Felt like the middle innings I was plugging along well and executing. So just taking the good with the bad and learn from it."