Home runs power Orioles past Guardians 5-4 (updated)

Tyler Wells was hours away from the postgame meal today and he already had lots to digest.

A first inning with the first two batters retired and José Ramírez hitting an opposite-field home run.

A second inning with the first two batters retired and Andrés Giménez hitting a ball onto Eutaw Street.

Wells struck out Luke Maile, walked back to the dugout and replayed the mistakes in his mind. Having his fill of them.

The Guardians ran out of power, the Orioles supplied more in support of the Wells and the bullpen, and they evened the series with a 5-4 victory at Camden Yards.

Trey Mancini hit a solo shot in the first inning, Austin Hays made Triston McKenzie pay for back-to-back walks in the third with a three-run homer over the left field wall, and Rougned Odor transported a slider onto Eutaw Street in the fourth for a 5-2 lead.

No one came here today to play small ball.

Keegan Akin allowed two runs in the fifth, but Cleveland was done scoring and the Orioles improved to 23-32. They had three hits, all home runs, until Anthony Santander's single with two outs in the eighth.

Dillon Tate put a runner on third base with one out in the eighth and walked Ramírez intentionally with two down. Jorge López hit Owen Miller with an 0-2 pitch, but he retired Josh Naylor on a fly ball with the count full and earned another multi-inning save.   

Wells was on a shorter pitch count after throwing 88 over six innings in Boston. Manager Brandon Hyde removed him after 61, 41 for strikes, in four frames.

"An extra day of rest also here coming up, we're always going to side with caution with him this year, and we made the decision," Hyde said.

"This was going to be a day of a shortened outing."

The two hits against Wells were the home runs. The only walks came in the fourth before the double play.

"I had a conversation with Holty (pitching coach Chris Holt) after my last start about it," Wells said. "It wasn't a for-sure thing, but given kind of the situation I was in and how I looked in the last inning, I think that's what gave them that reason. I talked to Hyder about it, he told me, 'After your last outing, it's OK. We've got Keegan, he's fresh.' He just went ahead and went with him.

"I didn't want to come out of the game. That's just the competitive side in me. I'm glad that Hyder was able to pull me aside and talk to me about it. That makes the decision easier, but at the same time, too, I still wanted to be out there."

Twelve of Wells’ 15 pitches in the first inning were strikes, but one landed in the right field seats for Ramírez’s 14th home run.

Mancini tied the game in the bottom half with a 438-foot home run into the visiting bullpen, the longest by an Orioles player this season. His exit velocity was 107.6 mph, per Statcast.

His streak is hot to the touch.

Mancini has reached base in 27 of his last 28 games since May 8. He’s 43-for-118 (.364) since May 1, with five doubles, a triple, four home runs, 15 RBIs, 14 walks and 16 runs scored. And he’s shoving aside players while climbing various lists of league leaders.

Giménez launched a 95.3 mph sinker over the flag court, the ball hitting the warehouse on one bounce. The first on Eutaw Street this season, 114th in the ballpark’s history and 61st by an opponent.

Odor’s ball became the 115th overall and 54th by an Oriole. Today marked the first game with two Eutaw Street blasts since June 29, 2012 with Matt Wieters and Cleveland’s Asdrúbal Cabrera.

"I think that it warms up, ball starts to jump," Hyde said. "We kind of knew that was going to happen."

Cedric Mullins and Mancini drew one-out walks in the third and Hays crushed a slider, sending it 411 feet with an exit velo of 107 mph.

Myles Straw robbed Mullins in the fifth with a running, sliding catch in right-center field.

Hays began a new hitting streak after his 13-game ended last night. Odor’s homer was his second in four games, third in seven and fourth in 11.

Wells retired the side in order in the third, walked two batters in the fourth and benefitted from a caught stealing and 5-6-3 double play. Akin entered with his 1.60 ERA and 0.802 WHIP and loaded the bases with no outs, and two fielder’s choice grounders reduced the lead to 5-4.

Akin has allowed eight earned runs this season and they’ve come in four games, including a pair on April 21, May 3 and May 28.

Félix Bautista retired the side in order in the seventh. Shortstop Jorge Mateo made another spectacular play - they seem to come easier to him than the routine - by ranging far to his right to backhand Oscar Gonzalez’s grounder and make the throw from deep in the outfield grass.