O's Zimmermann done in by one pitch in loss to Miami

If you are a starting pitcher and your team has not scored you any runs, your margin for error is not minimal, it's zero. One mistake could cost you. That happened today to Baltimorean Bruce Zimmermann.

The left-hander was twirling a shutout in a 0-0 tie at Miami when one pitch that got drilled into the gap led to a three-run inning and the Marlins went on to beat the Orioles.

Another attempt to get back to .500 came up short as the Orioles fell 3-0. They went 3-2 on this road trip and come home at 8-10 for the season.

Zimmermann allowed a leadoff single and a two-out walk in the fifth. Then Miami first baseman Jesús Aguilar came up. Zimmerman fell behind in the count 2-0, but worked it back to 2-2. His 2-2 pitch was a fastball up, but one that found too much of the plate. Aguilar smoked it to left-center and both runners scored to give Miami a 2-0 lead. Aguilar drove the pitch 101 mph off the bat to break the scoreless tie.

Manager Brandon Hyde then hooked Zimmermann for right-hander Cole Sulser, but he allowed an inherited runner to score. Adam Duvall's single made it a 3-0 game.

So, over 4 2/3 innings, Zimmermann gave up six hits and three runs with two walks and four strikeouts. He threw 81 pitches and falls to 1-2 with a 4.57 ERA.

He had a nice pitch mix going today and got 14 whiffs on 25 swings at his secondary pitches, including six of eight on his changeup. He threw his fastball 48 percent of the time today, at an average velocity of 90.4 mph. It topped at 92.7.

This was Zimmermann's shortest outing of the season after it looked like it would be a day he could again go six innings, something he did in each of his first two starts, before going five his last time out. O's starters have thrown 4 2/3 innings or less in nine of 18 games this year.

Over their past seven games, O's starters have a 3.25 ERA.

The O's offense this afternoon was stymied by Miami left-hander Trevor Rogers, their 2017 first-round pick, who began the day at 1-1 with a 2.40 ERA. That went down as he allowed only four hits over seven scoreless innings with one walk and eight strikeouts.

He improved to 2-1 with a 1.64 ERA and showed a fastball that topped at 96 mph among his 82 pitches.

The Orioles scored 18 runs in their three wins on this road trip and zero runs in both losses. They were blanked for the second time in a three games and third time on the season and held to just four hits today.

When scoring three runs or fewer in 2021, the Orioles are now 1-8.

After an off-day on Thursday - their second in four days - they host Oakland on Friday night to begin a seven-game homestand versus the Athletics and Yankees.