Orioles celebrate rare series sweep (updated)

Renato Núñez lined a sinker from Rays starter Yonny Chirinos into the left field seats today, rounded the bases and did the social distance celebration.

Every team has its own versions of it.

Núñez was greeted at the dugout steps by a teammate who mimicked a chest bump, hand slap and spike tap. The high fives were more like waves.

The Orioles would be thrilled to hold more air celebrations through the rest of the season. It's like splashing in an empty pool.

Tommy Milone shut out the Rays through five innings with eight strikeouts, Hanser Alberto doubled in the seventh to break a tie, the Orioles tacked on two more runs and they completed the sweep with a 5-1 victory at Camden Yards.

Cedric Mullins led off the inning with a bunt single, swiped second base and raced home on Alberto's double to right field off Chaz Roe. Alberto started to do a little dance as Roe warmed up, his hips swaying to the music, and he struck the right chord at the plate.

The Orioles hadn't swept a series since Aug. 27-29, 2018 against the Blue Jays and hadn't swept the Rays in a three-game series since Sept. 11-13, 2012 in Baltimore. Back when fans would bring brooms into ballparks. Back when the gates were open to them.

Núñez's single up the middle plated Alberto and José Iglesias, who began the game on the bench, lined a run-scoring double to left field. Iglesias had two more hits today and is 10-for-19 with five doubles and four RBIs.

Imagine if he were healthy.

His left quadriceps is improving and so are the Orioles, who take a 5-3 record into their off-day.

Pat Valaika joined the lineup late when Rio Ruiz was scratched and he led off the bottom of the eighth by clearing the center field fence against José Alvarado.

Alberto had three hits to raise his average to .419 with a 1.145 OPS.

Milone served up a leadoff home run to Brandon Lowe that tied the game in the sixth. Miguel Castro entered the game with Milone at 83 pitches. The left-hander allowed six hits and didn't walk a batter, and he would have received a warm ovation in any other season.

Valaika delivered his first career walk-off hit last night in the 11th inning and pumped both arms above his head as if raising the roof as he rounded the bag and jogged to the dugout. Teammates followed along, but not too closely. Ruiz ran up to Valaika but made certain to avoid contact.

There were lots of smiles and not one embrace. A water cooler wasn't emptied over his head. Valaika removed his own batting helmet and heaved it.

"What we can control is doing the best job we can to follow protocols and do a postgame celebration like we did last night, which was very unusual and weird for all of us to socially distance during a walk-off win," manager Brandon Hyde said this morning in his Zoom conference call. "But I think those kinds of reminders are doing our part."

Travis Lakins Sr. earned his first career win and years from now will remember the oddness of it rather than the euphoria. A reflective mood will transport him back to the no-contact lovefest, which amused him today in the retelling.

"I think just how different it was," he said in a Zoom call. "How different the celebration was, how different it was in the clubhouse after it. I think that's what I'm going to remember most. I know it's like a dream of mine, but it was just a crazy experience, just the way Pat had the walk-off and then we celebrated with Pat and then there was a little celebration in the locker room. It was just a wild experience.

"Usually we're jumping all over Pat, ripping his jersey off, throwing water on him, and now we can't even come like six feet from him. You know? It's so weird."

Fans would have erupted as Valaika's soft liner found grass in shallow right field, but the place is empty.

The silence isn't as unsettling these days - we've had plenty of time to adjust - but there are moments like in the 11th inning when the lack of atmosphere is jarring.

"I'm definitely into the game and I've got a lot going on in my head, but I do notice it for sure," Hyde said. "It's weird, like when Pat got that knock last night to win the game, it was a very strange feeling of not having a loud crowd. We don't have as many people in our dugout either, so we're really trying to stay out of the dugout and keep our distance in the dugout, so that's strange.

"Usually in that kind of a situation you would have, the crowd goes nuts, our team's going nuts, we're high-fiving everywhere in the dugout, there's a lot of positive emotion going on. And to not know what to do with your hands was definitely odd. So yeah, there's been some moments where I have noticed how much different it is to not have a crowd there and it's tough. It's tough.

"It's not easy, but we're doing the best we can. Looking forward to the day when the crowd goes crazy again."

It would have groaned today in the bottom of the first inning when the Orioles loaded the bases with two outs and failed to score. Alberto led off with a single, Núñez walked and Chance Sisco was hit by a pitch with two outs, but DJ Stewart grounded out.

It would have cheered in the top of the second when the Rays loaded the bases with one out on three singles and also flopped. Milone induced a shallow fly ball and grounder.

Milone threw 78 pitches through five innings, allowing five hits but no runs or walks and recording eight strikeouts. Sometimes it's the changeup, other times smoke and mirrors.

Castro began to throw in the bullpen with two outs in the fifth as Milone was in the process of striking out Mike Brosseau. He immediately sat down.

The Orioles threatened in the bottom of the fifth with Anthony Santander on second base and two outs. Iglesias pinch-hit for Sisco and lined a single into right field off reliever Jalen Beeks, but Santander was thrown out at the plate.

No social distancing on the tag.

The Orioles challenged the call and it stood after a lengthy review. And despite Santander's hand appearing to touch the plate before the tag.

The non-reversal proved costly after Lowe homered in the next inning.

Evan Phillips fanned Willy Adames leading off the seventh and the Orioles set a new club record with 10 or more strikeouts in five consecutive games. Phillips, Castro and Cole Sulser aided a thin bullpen by each retiring the side in order in their respective innings. Sulser threw only nine pitches in the eighth.

Allowed to come back out for the ninth, Sulser again set down all three batters to notch his third save.

Players formed the celebratory line in the middle of the field. Hyde stood with hands on hips waiting for them. Chris Davis kept sticking out his foot. Again, no contact.

"It's hard to describe the circumstances," Lakins said. "I never thought I would be in this situation or any of us would be in this situation with all the COVID going on. It's just so weird. It's sometimes hard to get yourself up when you go out there on the mound, and then you look in the stands and there's no fans. There's literally nobody there. But you've just got to make the most of it.

"We're all here, we're all doing the same thing and you've just got to make the most of it."

Update: Ruiz was scratched from the lineup with shoulder inflammation. Hyde said it was done for precautionary reasons.

"It's something he's had in the past and we're monitoring it," he said.

Hyde on first sweep as manager: "It definitely escaped us last year. It's still really early in the season, but we beat a good club and I'm really happy with our guys. I'm happy with how we played this series. We still have a long way to go, but I really thought that our at-bats were good again, especially the second half of the game against really good bullpen guys, putting really good at-bats together, playing team baseball. ... I just want to continue to keep it going and have our guys continue to feel what this feels like, of playing in tight games, playing with a lead, being able to come in and throw strikes out of the bullpen with the lead. Those types of things we struggled with last year, I'd just love to see that continue."

Hyde on his club: "We've got 30 guys here and they're playing for each other. There's no doubt about it. That was kind of my goal coming in last year was to start to create a culture of guys playing for each other. I know what that feels like, I knew where I came from and how that really ... there's not a better feeling than going out and having guys who truly care about playing the game card, about caring about your teammates. Huge deal. And I think we have that. With transactions and things that might happen, we have guys who are stepping up and getting opportunities and taking advantage of it.

"We have some great stories. We have so many guys designated for assignment. If you look around the field this series, Yankees series, look at Yankees, look at us, how many guys we've had on the field who have been DFA'd, traded, released, and getting an opportunity and hanging right in there. So I'm really proud of all our guys for all that. I think that they're tough. It's not easy to move organizations, be told that 'we don't want you anymore,' and they continue to compete. And these guys are doing that, so I'm proud of them."

Milone on starting after long layoff: "I think the first couple innings out there it was more like I didn't feel as comfortable, but I was able to navigate and kind of knock some rust off and feel a little more comfortable after that. So I think that's why the last few innings I started to feel a little bit better. Better command of all my pitches and kind of getting through those a little bit quicker."

Milone on bullpen: "I've been impressed with them since Day One, pretty much. Obviously, opening day wasn't the greatest, but since then I think we've only had maybe one or two games, maybe one game that wasn't as great. But solid job by the guys coming in after the starter leaves the game. Some of these are not long outings by our starters, so for them to come in and keep the games at bay and give us a chance to win is huge, and they've done a really good job of doing that."

Núñez on why team is winning: "I just think we're all playing together. Things are happening really good for us. Pitchers are throwing really good - our starters, relievers. Everybody is swinging the bat well. We're bunting. Whatever we have to do we're doing well. I think we're playing baseball and that's why we're winning."