Orioles avoid no-hitter but not a 10-2 loss (updated)

The only stickiness for Keegan Akin tonight was a third-inning jam.

A worse mess for the Orioles was their inability to get a hit until the eighth inning.

Three Astros pitchers beginning with Jake Odorizzi combined for only a walk and hit batter before Maikel Franco's two-run homer off reliever Brandon Bielak in the Orioles' 10-2 loss before an announced crowd of 7,414, a potential eighth no-hitter against them and second at Camden Yards sailing into the bullpen.

Bielak nailed Austin Hays on the back of the helmet for the Orioles' second baserunner of the night. He appeared to strike out Franco on an 0-2 slider, the ball clearly catching the plate, but he didn't get the call, and another slider kept the Astros from producing the seventh no-hitter in the majors and first combined effort.

Stevie Wilkerson followed with a single, but the scoring was done.

"As a team, we don't want that (no-hitter)," Franco said on his Zoom call. "I don't think anyone wants that, so we just have to go out there and compete. We want to break up that no-hitter and when that happened, everybody got excited."

As for the non-strike call that kept Franco alive, he said, "I know it was a close pitch, but at the end of the day, it's what it is. They didn't call that pitch a strike and gave me another chance to do a good thing and that's what happened."

Odorizzi handled the first five innings, his only sin a walk to DJ Stewart with one out in the fifth. Ryan Mountcastle ended the seventh with a scorching line drive off Cristian Javier that center fielder Myles Straw caught inches from the grass. Freddy Galvis began the inning with a liner to center.

Javier tossed two spotless innings and Bielak struck out Stewart to open the eighth before the hit batter and Franco's ninth homer.

"It was a big relief when Maikel hit that home run," Akin said. "Obviously, you never want to get no-hit, so it was nice to see that broken up."

The game was halted with one out in the top of the eighth, Rule 5 pick Mac Sceroler on the mound and a 3-1 count on Jose Altuve, a torrential downpour forming puddles on the infield and track. Sceroler walked Altuve following a 41-minute stoppage and Michael Brantley delivered a two-run double, with Cedric Mullins slamming into the fence while in pursuit.

He got up. The Orioles tried, but the margin against them was too large.

"It wasn't very fun," manager Brandon Hyde said on his Zoom call. "We struggled offensively and gave up 10 runs, and there was a tough eighth inning there with the rain. And credit to Nicole (Sherry) and the grounds crew for getting the field in good shape after taking on a lot of water. But not a good night."

Akin froze Astros left fielder Yordan Alvarez with a 92 mph fastball to escape trouble in the first. Two runners stranded and two umpires checking the rookie for a foreign substance after he crossed the first base line on his way to the dugout.

Akin's glove, cap, belt and forearms were inspected by crew chief Ted Barrett and plate umpire Ángel Hernández. He stood patiently as if waiting to go through airport security.

Just his start was delayed, for exactly one hour, with periods of heavy rain dominating the night almost as much as Astros pitching.

"It was pretty easy, honestly," Akin said. "Definitely different. I was kind of nervous the first time, honestly. I had nothing to worry about, but it was unique. It's weird that we got to that point. It's good that they're doing it, but it's unique."

Tonight marked the first game with umpires checking the starters and relievers, with violators subjected to possible fines and suspensions. No one on the Orioles or Astros raised suspicions. It was strictly new business.

The Astros went to work on Akin in the third, scoring five runs and cruising. Or sailing, given the amount of water at the ballpark.

The decisive inning began with Jason Castro's leadoff double and included Chas McCormick's RBI single, a walk to load the bases, Yuli Gurriel's sacrifice fly to the fence in front of the bullpen and Alvarez's three-run shot to left field.

Odorizzi retired the first 13 batters and the Orioles lost for the 11th time in 12 games to leave their record at 23-49. The Astros are 44-28 and winners of eight in a row and 16 of 21.

The outcome was influenced in part by McCormick's grounder in the third that sneaked past Galvis and both runners moving up on Hays' throw home, with no one in position to cut off the ball.

Akin threw 20 pitches in a scoreless first and was at 63 heading into the fourth. He struck out Castro on a 94 mph fastball, walked Altuve with two outs and got a fielder's choice grounder from McCormick.

Allowed to return for the fifth, Akin threw one more pitch, resulting in a Brantley single, and came out of the game after 83.

"Obviously, I'm not happy with it," Akin said. "I've got to get over that third-inning hump. Didn't make the best pitches and paid for it. Just got to get better and get over that hump and grind out five or six innings on days like this."

Travis Lakins Sr., recalled today with César Valdez on the injured list, stranded the runner. Akin was charged with five runs and six hits, with four walks and five strikeouts, to increase his ERA to 6.42.

He also was checked twice by umpires, who did the same with Odorizzi.

Dillon Tate replaced Lakins in the seventh and let two inherited runners score on singles by Brantley and Carlos Correa. Sceroler was charged with three runs in the eighth, the last scoring on Garrett Stubbs' double to leave his ERA at 18.41.

Umpires examined him, too.

"The weather, I've seen worse, tried to play through worse than that," Hyde said. "But it started to come down, where obviously Mac - I felt bad for him - had trouble getting a dry ball, and the infield was getting really wet at that point. Once they pulled the tarp, it didn't last much longer after that, so they were just trying to get us through that because it was so late in the game. And it got a little heavier than everybody anticipated, but, yeah, I've seen worse."

A two-out walk and single put Akin in a bind in the first inning, but he struck out three of the first six batters, each looking at fastballs between 92-94 mph. A double play closed out the second after Abraham Toro's infield hit.

The drama beyond umpire shakedowns was whether Odorizzi would remain perfect. He hadn't gone past 5 1/3 innings this season or completed the eighth since July 22, 2016 in Oakland.

Stewart drew his walk in the fifth and was stranded, and Odorizzi had to settle for the win. He struck out nine batters in five innings and 86 pitches.

The only threat to Odorizzi's clean slate before Stewart reached came on Hays' ground ball with two outs in the second. Toro backhanded it along the line and made the long throw to barely get Hays, who's running on a sore left hamstring.

Pedro Severino lined to Alvarez in the sixth, a scorched ball that produced another out. There were lots of them until the Orioles finally broke through in the eighth.

The Mariners' Hisashi Iwakuma produced the last no-hitter against them on Aug 12, 2015 at Safeco Field. The Red Sox's Hideo Nomo was responsible for the only one here, on April 4, 2001.

The rest belong to the Angels' Bo Belinsky in 1962 and Nolan Ryan in 1975, the Brewers' Juan Nieves in 1987, the White Sox's Wilson Álvarez in 1991 and the Red Sox's Clay Buchholz in 2007.