An interleague series in late September wasn't so bad for the Orioles. In fact, it may have healing powers.
The Orioles completed their three-game sweep of the Diamondbacks today with a 2-1 victory before 31,229 at Camden Yards, with Dylan Bundy winning his 10th game and Hyun Soo Kim delivering a decisive home run.
The Tigers are losing at home to the Royals and could drop 1 1/2 games behind the Orioles for the second wild card in the American League. The Blue Jays rallied to beat the Yankees in the bottom of the ninth, so the Orioles don't gain any ground on them.
The Orioles (85-71) will finish the regular season with a 50-31 record at home. They're off Monday before playing three games in Toronto and three in New York.
Bundy held the Diamondbacks to one run and three hits over five innings, with one walk, five strikeouts and a hit batter. He threw 92 pitches, 59 for strikes, before Mychal Givens replaced him in the sixth.
Givens tossed two hitless innings, striking out four batters. Brad Brach worked a scoreless eighth by getting back-to-back strikeouts to strand Chris Owings at second base and Zach Britton notched his 46th save.
Bundy retired the first nine batters before Jean Segura led off the fourth inning with a double and scored on Paul Goldschmidt's one-out single. Bundy issued a two-out walk before getting the final out on his 68th pitch.
The Diamondbacks ran Bundy's pitch count to 92 with a prolonged fifth inning that included a single and hit batter. Chris Davis was charged with an error on Bundy's pickoff throw. Owings grounded out, however, and the Orioles held onto their 2-1 lead.
Bundy hasn't completed six innings in his last six starts, but the Orioles are more than happy to take five innings of one-run ball. The bullpen lined up as they wanted it.
The Orioles wasted Manny Machado's two-out double off rookie Braden Shipley in the first inning, but Kim hit a two-run homer in the second after Pedro Alvarez reached on a bad-hop infield hit.
Kim has five home runs this season. The latest traveled an estimated 413 feet to right field.
Kim hadn't homered since Aug. 4 versus the Rangers.
The Orioles had a chance to build on their lead in the fifth when Caleb Joseph reached third base with one out on right fielder Yasmany Tomas' three-base error. But Adam Jones popped up and Davis struck out.
Davis has a career-high 210 strikeouts.
Joseph still doesn't have an RBI this season. He hit a long foul ball to left field in the second, a cruel tease, and was robbed of a hit on left fielder Brandon Drury's diving catch on the warning track.
Walks to Mark Trumbo and Alvarez in the sixth also produced nothing. Pitching and defense were going to win this one.
The Orioles have scored three runs or fewer in eight of their last nine games, but the output today was sufficient.
They may need a few more runs in Toronto.
The Orioles drew 2,172,344 fans this season for an average of 26,819 in 81 home dates.
Note: A scoring change from last night gives Trey Mancini a single in the seventh inning instead of reaching base on an E-4. Mancini is now 5-for-11 with three home runs.
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