O's offense slowed as they dropped the series-opener to Cleveland

Cleveland right-hander Shane Bieber was a pitcher on a roll when he took the mound at Camden Yards last night. He was still rolling when he left the same mound in the last of the eighth. He flirted with a no-hitter into the O’s sixth before Trey Mancini singled but the Orioles lost the series opener to Cleveland to fall to 1-3 on this eight-game homestand.

Two runs would score after Bieber left the game as the Orioles rallied in the eighth on Mancini’s two-run double and Anthony Santander’s RBI single. But he got the 6-3 win, allowing just three hits over seven innings with two walks and 11 strikeouts.

Bieber had posted an ERA of 1.71 his previous three starts and the Orioles found out why on Friday night when he got 23 whiffs on 52 swings against his pitches. He got 14 whiffs on 24 swings versus his slider.

Bieber's 11 strikeouts were his most since he recorded 12 on May 27, 2021 at Detroit. Last night marked his 16th game with 11-or-more strikeouts since he debuted in 2018, the sixth-most among MLB pitchers during that span. He has allowed three-or-fewer earned runs in 34 consecutive road starts, marking the longest such streak since earned runs became an official statistic in 1913. And Bieber is 18-8 with a 2.26 ERA during that span. So, yep, pretty impressive.

Mancini has reached base safely in nine straight games and is batting .382/.462/.647 (13-for-34) with four doubles, a triple, a home run, six RBIs, four walks, and seven runs scored during the streak. And he has also reached safely in 26 of his last 27 games since May 8 and leads the O’s with 19 multi-hit games.

Santander has reached base safely in nine straight games and is slashing .294/.359/.500 (10-for-34) with a double, two home runs, nine RBIs, four walks, and six runs scored during that time.

Left fielder Austin Hays went 0-for-4 last night as his team-leading 13-game hitting streak came to an end.

Lefty Bruce Zimmermann, who had allowed nine homers over his past two starts and 12 in 21 1/3 innings his past four, kept the ball in the park last night. But he took the loss, allowing five runs and 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings. Cleveland scored twice against him in the first and opened a 5-0 lead by the third.

"I thought after the third inning he got better," O’s manager Brandon Hyde said of Zimmermann. "I thought his stuff got a little sharper. Just the first few innings there he didn't have the bite to his slider, the changeup didn't have the depth that it had earlier in the season, so something to work on, but I did think he pitched better as the game went on."

Zimmermann had posted an ERA in the first three innings of his starts of 2.70 before Friday night. Then Cleveland pounced on him for five runs and seven hits in the first three innings. 

The Orioles have fallen 10 games under .500 at 22-32 and are now 13-14 at home. Their starting rotation has an ERA of 6.69 in the past 24 games.

On the farm Friday: Triple-A Norfolk beat Jacksonville 9-8 as Rylan Bannon hit a three-run homer and Cadyn Grenier had two hits and three RBIs. Right-hander Blaine Knight, pitching for the first time in 13 days, pitched three scoreless innings on one hit.

Double-A Bowie beat Altoona 3-2 for its fifth win in the last six games. Cody Roberts homered and produced three hits for Bowie, now 19-28. Right-hander Ryan Watson gave up one run over five innings to improve to 3-1 with a 3.05 ERA.

High Single-A Aberdeen lost 3-2 to Hudson Valley to fall to 33-14.

Low Single-A Delmarva had its game at home with Myrtle Beach suspended in the fourth inning while leading 5-1. Trendon Craig knocked in three runs before the rain hit at Perdue Stadium where they will resume that game today at 5:05 p.m. It will be followed by the regularly-scheduled game, which is now set for seven innings.