O's offense falls short in 3-2 loss to Cubs (updated)

CHICAGO – The Orioles came to Chicago riding a bit of a high. A series win over Toronto at home concluding a 5-1 homestand and they scored 42 runs in winning six of their previous seven games.

But their offense has been slowed by the Chicago Cubs in the first two games of this series at Wrigley Field, and the Orioles lost 3-2 today in front of 40,605 at the Friendly Confines to fall to 43-27.

O’s starter Kyle Gibson, an eight-game winner who was 4-0 with a 2.61 ERA his previous five starts, got his outing today started well. He fanned the first two hitters he faced in a 1-2-3 first inning on 15 pitches. He got two more strikeouts and retired the side in order in the home second.

But then the Cubs scored twice off him in the third to lead 2-0.

With one out, catcher Yan Gomes struck out on a sweeper, but he reached first on what was scored a wild pitch. When Mike Tauchman walked with two outs, second baseman Nico Hoerner came up and drilled an 0-1 two-seamer in the gap in left-center field. It went for a two-run double to break the 0-0 tie on a ball he hit 96.4 mph off the bat. Seiya Suzuki followed with a deep drive to center, but Aaron Hicks ran it down to retire the side.

Cubs lefty Justin Steele came off the injured list today and showed no early signs of rust whatsoever. Steele’s last start came May 31, but he went 6-2 with a 2.65 ERA in his first 12 outings, allowing two earned runs or fewer nine times.

Steele looked sharp early, although the Orioles did strand two runners each in the second and fourth innings. Jorge Mateo grounded out with two on and two outs in the O’s second. Catcher James McCann grounded out to end the threat in the Baltimore fourth with Steele at 56 pitches to that point.

But by the end of the fifth, the Orioles would be playing in a 2-2 tie.

With two outs, Austin Hays, batting leadoff, took a changeup to right field for a single. Then on a 1-2 pitch, Adley Rutschman hit a 406-foot game-tying homer to left-center. Rutschman hit No. 10 on a slider that moved back toward the middle of the plate.

“Just trying to get a pitch over the middle of the plate," Rutschman said of the homer. "See something up. I think every day we always feel like we’re in it, no matter what. Team continues to fight. Didn’t get it today. But come back tomorrow ready to go."

Rutschman and Salvador Perez of Kansas City are the only two catchers in the majors with 10 or more homers. 

Last year Rutschman hit .173/.287/.265/.552 off lefty pitching with one homer in 115 plate appearances. At gametime today he was batting .300/.412/.413/.825 off lefties, and his homer was his third in 100 plate appearances.

“I’m fortunate to have good coaches around me, to help me make some adjustments and give myself the best possible chance," Rutschman said of hitting better against lefties in 2023. 

That tie didn’t last long at all, as the Cubs scored in the last of the fifth on Mike Tauchman’s sac fly for a 3-2 lead. Gomes produced a leadoff double, moved up a base on a sac bunt and scored on Tauchman’s deep fly ball.

It was a tough-luck loss for Gibson, now 8-4 with a 3.94 ERA. He went six innings allowing three hits and three runs with two walks and seven strikeouts on 93 pitches. 

“I felt really good warming up today," he said. "Really worked on little delivery stuff mid-week and even yesterday. And tried to take it to the bullpen. Just felt like my delivery was really, really in a good spot. Arm side, glove side, was really able to execute some pitches today."

But missed scoring chances were a story of this day for the Orioles.

“Yeah, just frustrating game, offensively," manager Brandon Hyde said after seeing his team leave nine on base. "O’Hearn hits that ball into the wind. We had some opportunities to score. Only got two runs on Rutschman’s homer.

“Kyle pitched great. They hit a two-run homer and a sac fly. We hit a two-run homer. But we had opportunities to score. They made some nice plays defensively behind him and came up a run short."

Steele allowed two runs and five hits over five innings.

The Orioles missed another scoring chance against Mark Leiter Jr. in the seventh when Hays singled and Rutschman walked. Leiter got Anthony Santander on a called third strike and Gunnar Henderson grounded out to second. Baltimore was 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position. 

In the series finale on Sunday, O's right-hander Dean Kremer (7-3, 4.74 ERA) faces Cubs righty Jameson Taillon (2-4, 6.70 ERA). 

McCann update: Manager Brandon Hyde said McCann turned his ankle on a slide into first base on his infield hit in the second inning. Ryan O'Hearn pinch-hit for him in the sixth.

“He’s day-to-day right now,” said Hyde. The O's have catcher José Godoy here on the taxi squad.

A series loss: The Orioles lost just three of their first 16 series of this season, going 12-3-1 in those series. They just won two of two during the last homestand. But with this loss today, they are now 3-4 the last seven series since late May.

“Didn’t even realize that, honestly," said Gibson. "We’re still playing really well. We haven’t gotten a couple of hits here and there or put up a zero here and there. But, except for the game yesterday, shoot, feels like they’ve mostly been pretty close. Kind of the story of our year. We’ve been playing good ball and you’ll take your chances on the road in a pretty fun environment to play in."