Orioles can't maintain rapid pace in 9-3 loss (updated)

BOSTON - The Orioles came out swinging today in baseball's most literal sense.

The first pitch to Cedric Mullins was lined into left field for a double. The first to Ryan Mountcastle was launched for a two-run homer. The first to Anthony Santander was lined to center for a single. The first to Austin Hays was pulled foul before he drew a walk.

Nick Pivetta needed to pivot. The Orioles needed to find a way to sustain their momentum, which can be halted as if reaching a barricade.

Rookie Zac Lowther surrendered three runs in the bottom of the first inning to lose the lead and catcher Austin Wynns homered in the second to create a tie. A high-octane start to a game that again sped away from the Orioles.

Xander Bogaerts had an RBI single and three-run homer off Mike Baumann in consecutive innings, another Orioles rookie pitcher subjected to a hard lesson, and the Red Sox won again 9-3 at Fenway Park.

Lowther was removed after 3 1/3 innings and three runs, and the Orioles fell to 47-101 overall and 4-11 against the Red Sox.

"Trying to roll with the punches," Lowther said. "My stuff's not really where I want it to be. Really continuing to battle through some of the command issues that I've been having. But being able to go out there and battle against a team like the Red Sox, it's tough and you have to take it head on. ... Just taking the good things, building on those and not sweat at the bad stuff."

The lineup was missing Trey Mancini, Ramón Urías and Pedro Severino due to physical ailments that will cause them to appear and disappear over the remaining games. No plans for immediate shutdowns, though Mancini's sore oblique could force the issue.

"Just because they've been dealing with some nagging things as of late," manager Brandon Hyde said this morning. "We've got two weeks to go, probably not going to clear up overnight, so it's going to be something that's going to linger probably until the end of the year for all of those guys, and just going to have to try to manage and monitor and give guys rest when they need it."

Mullins stays atop the order and remains the catalyst. He also singled in the second inning and stole his 30th base, leaving him with 14 more games to get his 30th homer. The steal came with third base unoccupied and on his second attempt to jog to it, umpires sending him back on the initial try.

He could have done somersaults to it.

No player in Orioles history has turned in a 30/30 season. Mullins walked with two outs in the ninth to prevent major changes to deadline stories.

Mountcastle became the first Orioles rookie with 30 home runs, following the Mullins double with a ball that slammed into the National Car Rental sign above the seats on the Green Monster. The only way to keep him from reaching Lansdowne Street.

Wynns found it in the second, his ball zipping beneath the sign for a 3-3 tie.

Four of the first five batters reached against Lowther, beginning with Kiké Hernández's leadoff double. Rafael Devers had an RBI single with one out, followed by singles from Bogaerts and J.D. Martinez, a Kyle Schwarber strikeout and Bobby Dalbec's two-run double.

Lowther did nice work on Schwarber, starting him with a curveball and going fastball and slider. But Dalbec has been hot and he burned the rookie.

Eight batters in a row were retired before Dalbec walked. Christian Vázquez drew a 10-pitch walk, with plate umpire Bill Miller squeezing Lowther and Hyde removing him.

Conner Greene stranded both runners and Baumann took over in the fifth.

"I think some of those swings on my slider and being able to throw that more in more in-game has really benefitted me and my confidence in it and my ability to get it into the zone," Lowther said. "Other than that, I think the biggest key is fastball location, establishing that and then keeping them off-balance."

Devers doubled with one out and scored on Bogaerts' single into left-center field. Martinez was stranded after a walk.

Hernández singled with two outs in the sixth and scored on Hunter Renfroe's double to the deepest part of the ballpark in center field. Devers singled and Bogaerts jumped on the next pitch, a 93 mph fastball, and hit the same promotional sign in left.

"Even though Baumann gave up the runs today, I'm happy with the stuff," Hyde said. "I thought the stuff was better. Now it's just about commanding the baseball. He's throwing 95-96 today with a 90 mph slider, that's going to play. Now he's just got to command it."

Baumann, in his third major league appearance, left the game with an 11.42 ERA.

"You hope it's a learning experience and a learning process for some of these young guys that are pitching in tough environments and pitching against team that are in pennant races with good lineups," Hyde said.

"Zac, it was rough early and then I thought he settled down and got a little better in the second and third inning. Baumann for me, his stuff was better today than it had been the last two outings. Just poorly commanded a couple pitches that hurt him.

"It's professional baseball, so you've got to learn from outings and you've got to adjust and I'm sure Holty (Chris Holt) and the pitching guys will coach them up between their next outing, which will be five days from now or so, both of them. This isn't the easiest league, division, to break in, especially this time of year against teams chasing a postseason berth. They're going to come out and they're going punch you in the mouth and you've got to be able to adjust."

Pivetta was done after 3 2/3 innings, tying his second-shortest outing of the season. He allowed three runs and seven hits before the Orioles went through another cooling period.

Mountcastle walked in the fifth and Hays singled with one out, but reliever Tanner Houck retired pinch-hitter Ryan McKenna on a liner to left and struck out Pat Valaika.

Mountcastle's one-out single in the seventh didn't impact the score, but it kept him rolling along as talk builds of his Rookie of the Year candidacy in the American League.

The Red Sox added an insurance run against Fernando Abad in the seventh after back-to-back singles by Schwarber and Dalbec.

The series concludes Sunday afternoon with rookie Alexander Wells getting his latest start, presenting a similar look to the one Lowther offered the Red Sox. Hyde hasn't mapped out the rest of the rotation, never able to look too far down the line. He hasn't ruled out rookies Dean Kremer and Bruce Zimmermann, but final determinations aren't available on this date.

"Like I've talked about, we're pretty much series-to-series right now," Hyde said. "We're seeing how guys are after every game. I think Kremer and Zimmermann, there's a possibility they come up here and see some innings toward the end of the year, but we haven't scheduled out any starts for them and we're just kind of going day-by-day right now."