Orioles erupt early and late in extra-inning loss (updated)

Kyle Gibson lasted only three innings in his previous start, the shortest of his Orioles career, in a 13-1 loss to Seattle. He threw 35 and 34 pitches in the last two frames and followed up tonight with a 30-pitch first.

And he was better than Luke Weaver for a while.

Rain didn’t slow tonight’s game. The teams did it.

The first inning lasted 38 minutes and featured 18 batters, 70 pitches and seven runs.  The Reds scored three in the top half and the Orioles answered with Ryan O’Hearn’s RBI single and Gunnar Henderson’s bases-loaded triple.

Just as storms blew past the last two nights, the offense suddenly went away after the Reds reclaimed the lead in the second. The Orioles didn’t score again and were held to one hit entering the eighth, and Buck Farmer retired the first two batters.

And then, the calm was gone. Jordan Westburg followed Aaron Hicks’ single with his first extra-base hit, a double into the left field corner, and Adam Frazier homered onto the flag court to tie the game.

Félix Bautista put runners on the corners with no outs in the ninth and escaped the jam, but the Reds scored four runs against Keegan Akin in the 10th and won 11-7 before an announced crowd of 21,152 at hazy Camden Yards.

Will Benson brought home the automatic runner with a triple, TJ Friedl homered with the count full, and the Orioles fell to 48-31. The Reds registered their 29th comeback win to break a tie with the Orioles for the major league lead.

"It just felt like baseball," Westburg said. "Sometimes it happens. Sometimes you jump on the starter and then he kind of finds his rhythm and puts a few zeros against us. We got to their bullpen a little bit late in the game, which was exciting and fun. Just kind of slipped away from us at the end."

Akin also surrendered a double and threw a wild pitch that gave the Reds their 11th run before he recorded the second out. He couldn't finish the inning.

The Orioles had two runners on base in the bottom half against Fernando Cruz. Westburg struck out to finally end it.

"They just played a little better than we did tonight," said manager Brandon Hyde.

"This team, there's no give up," Westburg said. "You saw it tonight. Going into the eighth, they could have easily thrown the towel in and just given up six outs and gone home, but we fought, scratched, clawed, were able to tie it up there. It just kind of got away from us at the end."

The Reds were blanked for five straight innings before Yennier Cano surrendered a run in the eighth. Elly De La Cruz and Jake Fraley reached on infield hits in the ninth, and Cruz wound up at third base after producing his club’s fifth stolen base of the night. But Bautista struck out the next two batters, the last two pitches to Spencer Steer 102.3 mph and 103.3 mph, and got a weak ground ball.

Another excuse for the crowd to erupt. And for Bautista to power-walk back to the dugout, his fist slamming into his glove.

It proved to be a tease. An exciting one, for sure, but the Orioles wouldn't get their fourth consecutive home series win.

Cruz, the rookie phenom, was 0-for-8 with four strikeouts in the series and hitless in his last 14 at-bats before his RBI single in the first inning. Gibson hit Jonathan India with a 92.8 mph sinker prior to Cruz’s at-bat, with Friedl standing on second base after a leadoff single and steal.

Two more runs scored on Fraley’s single and Joey Votto’s fielder’s choice grounder. A walk extended Gibson’s stay.

Pitching coach Chris Holt made two trips to the mound in the first two innings. He came back in the second while the Reds were taking a 6-4 lead on Benson’s leadoff double, Friedl’s run-scoring single, India’s RBI grounder and Fraley’s RBI single. Fraley is 5-for-7 with two homers lifetime against Gibson.

The bullpen was quiet. Akin threw a clean inning last night. Bruce Zimmermann worked three innings on Monday. Hyde was trying to push Gibson deeper into the game.

Gibson responded by retiring nine of his last 11 batters and allowing six runs and nine hits in 4 2/3 innings. O’Hearn robbed Votto in the fifth with a great diving stop along the first base line, but Steer’s bloop single into center with two outs left Gibson at 95 pitches.

"I  think the lefties kind of gave him a problem there," Hyde said. "He was trying to get his cutter in and there were a lot of base hits to the right side his first couple innings. I thought he was really good after that."

"I think my stuff still felt pretty good tonight, which is frustrating to say because I don't really like sitting here and talking about how my stuff feels good when you give up six runs," Gibson said. "I don't really like giving up that many runs early. Anytime, really, but especially when the offense comes back and puts up four, and then to give the lead right back, it ended up being the back breaker. Frustrating night overall."

Mike Baumann stranded Steer and kept Gibson’s ERA at 4.66. Gibson has allowed 11 runs and 16 hits in 7 2/3 innings in his last two starts.

"Everything they hit for was going for a knock," Gibson said. "Eight singles and one double, a lot of those rolled through the infield. The adjustment we made was we started putting cutters away from the lefties instead of in, kind of went away a little bit from some of those bloop hits they had. It was just one of those frustrating games, really.

"When you're throwing the ball and they get three hard hits in the game against me in those innings, it's a tough one to swallow."

Danny Coulombe stranded two runners in the sixth that he inherited from Baumann.

Weaver had a 9.37 ERA in his last five starts and the Reds won each game by averaging 7.8 runs. He came out cold again tonight, facing 10 batters in the first, including Westburg, who roped a single into center field. Henderson tried to score on Hicks’ grounder to second base and was out after the Reds challenged the call.

The pace of play increased with Weaver retiring 10 in a row after Frazier’s first-inning walk. Adley Rutschman led off the fifth with a single for his second multi-hit game in the last three.

Weaver threw 84 pitches in 4 1/3 and left with a 6-4 lead.

The Orioles drew three walks in the sixth, including Henderson to conclude a nine-pitch at-bat, and the Reds used three pitchers. Westburg grounded into a double play on one pitch and Cedric Mullins flied out. No runs scored.

They'd come again in the eighth, with a Mississippi State reunion at the plate when Westburg greeted Frazier.

"That was really cool," Westburg said. "I was really fired up for him. I've only played with him for three games, but he's been really open to me in the clubhouse. I really appreciate that. I'm looking to learn from him, I'm looking to pick up on any knowledge and anything I can, so to be there waiting for him at home plate, that was pretty cool."

The Reds were daring on the bases, challenging Rutschman to stop them. He’s thrown out nine of 51 this season, and he was charged with an error tonight when Friedl swiped second base in the sixth and the ball skipped into center field.

* Henderson's home to third time of 11.43 seconds is the fastest triple by an Orioles batter this season, per Statcast.

* Ryan Mountcastle singled and scored in the first inning, his first hit with Triple-A Norfolk after going 0-for-14 on his injury rehab assignment. He added a two-run single in the sixth clocked at 112.4 mph.

Connor Norby returned to the lineup after fouling a ball off his shin and hit his ninth home run. Josh Lester had a two-run single in the first. Maverick Handley delivered a two-run double in the seventh. Colton Cowser had two hits, including a double. Joey Ortiz singled twice.

Grayson Rodriguez allowed two runs (one earned) and four hits with one walk and eight strikeouts in six innings. He threw 88 pitches, 57 for strikes.

Cade Povich started for Double-A Bowie and allowed three runs and four hits with four walks, five strikeouts and three homers in 3 2/3 innings. Tyler Burch struck out five in 2 1/3 scoreless innings, and Nolan Hoffman struck out three in two scoreless.

Anthony Servideo had an RBI single and a double.

High-A Aberdeen’s Trace Bright struck out eight batters in 4 2/3 innings. He allowed three runs and five hits. Carson Carter tossed 3 1/3 scoreless innings in relief.

Jackson Holliday had a tie-breaking single in the seventh and Creed Williams doubled to score two more runs.

Single-A Delmarva’s Jared Beck took the loss despite allowing only one run and one hit with six strikeouts in five innings.