Orioles rally from four runs down to ruin Red Sox visit (updated)

Do the Red Sox count as a soft portion of the schedule?

They were a last-place team but with a record above .500 upon arriving in Baltimore. They began the season by winning a series against the Orioles. They led the majors with nine comeback victories.

The Orioles claimed their eighth tonight.  

Austin Hays delivered a tie-breaking single in the fifth inning and threw out a runner at third base in the sixth, and four relievers protected a slim lead in the Orioles' 5-4 victory before an announced crowd of 11,811.

The Orioles have won seven games in a row and 11 of 13, and they improved to 15-7.

Yennier Cano earned his first career save after Danny Coulombe retired the side in order in the eighth and walked Masataka Yoshida to open the ninth. Cano balked pinch-runner Raimel Tapia to second base but struck out the next two batters and retired Jarren Duran on a line drive to third baseman Ramón Urías, who made a backhand grab that set off more fireworks.

The bullpen didn't allow a run or hit in 3 1/3 innings, and the unit's ERA is down to 3.00, fourth-lowest in the majors.

"Those guys are electric," Hays said. "They have a great relationship with each other, they root for each other, and their stuff is phenomenal."

Félix Bautista pitched in two of the last three games, including the ninth inning yesterday. Cano’s high-leverage status reached new heights.

"Staying away from Félix tonight just because of his workload here of late," said manager Brandon Hyde. "I wanted to give him a night off, and tried to piece it together with Coulombe and Cano at the end. ... Our bullpen tonight was really good.

"Obviously, really fun watching them pitch well. They've been unbelievable pleasant surprises. Coulombe has been in the big leagues for a while and we knew that he was going to be a nice piece for us, but you didn't know what Cano was going to do. He was pitching really well in Triple-A and you were hoping it was going to translate up here."

Tonight marked Cano's first save opportunity. He had 12 saves in four minor league seasons.

"That was a bit nerve-racking," he said via translator Brandon Quinones. "I've never come into a major league game in the ninth inning trying to close it out. But at the end of the day, it all remains the same, going out and trying to do the job. Thankfully, it worked out really well.

"All the emotions kick in but you've got to control it somehow, you've got to get ready to go out there and do the job, because the entire game's on you at that point."

Urías squeezed the ball for the final out and Cano said he felt like he could breathe again.

"The moment he hit it, I was super-tensed up," Cano said. "It was great to just see him catch that line drive to win us the game."

The confidence that Cano brings into his appearances isn't hidden. Just watch him.

"I think he shows it on the field," Hyde said, laughing. "He's got presence, pitches with energy, pitches with emotion, and rightfully so. He's come a long way. To be up here in the big leagues doing what he's doing, that's fantastic."

Cano has retired all 20 batters that he's faced to leave him four behind Fred Holdsworth in 1976 for the club record to start a season.

"I feel really good right now," Cano said. "I feel really comfortable up there on the mound. Wherever I want the pitch to go, it's going right there where I want it. I'm throwing a lot of strikes."

"He's incredible, his stuff is unbelievable," said starter Dean Kremer. "He throws mid-90s with a disgusting changeup. He's basically Félix from shoulder height."

"I feel like he's thrown every day since he's been here," Hays said. "He runs by me going into the game every day, I feel like. He's done really well."

The Orioles recalled Cano while Keegan Akin was on the paternity list, and he may never go back.

"I told myself at the start of the year that even if I started off in Triple-A, I'd go out there and get the job done the best I could," he said, "and that's exactly what I did."

Cano averaged eight walks per nine innings last season. The Orioles acquired him last year in the Jorge López deadline trade and he walked five batters in 4 1/3 innings while also posting an 18.69 ERA.

"I'd like to say that somebody came up with a certain drill or whatnot, but I don't think so," Hyde said. "I just think that he kind of figured some things out. Some guys figure it out later than earlier. You'd have to ask him, but good for us."

The game ball was in Cano's locker as he spoke to the media.

"I'll save it and keep it at the house," he said, smiling.

Kremer served up two home runs within the first three innings but retired eight of nine batters entering the sixth inning. He was removed after 5 2/3 with the Orioles ahead 5-4.

"The offense did a hell of a job picking me up after the four," said Kremer, who earned his first career victory against the Red Sox and has won consecutive starts for the first time.

"This team has kind of had my number since I debuted. They're a tough lineup day in and day out."

Justin Turner led off the sixth with a single and Hays nailed him trying for third base on Yoshida’s single. Kiké Hernández flied out and Akin registered the final out.

"It's a big confidence booster," Kremer said of Hays. "I know he has my back every time he plays the field. All of them do."

Yoshida led off the second inning with a single, and Kremer’s next two pitches resulted in a double play and 426-foot home run to right field from Triston Casas.

A 96.2 mph fastball was tattooed, with an exit velocity of 111 mph.

Rafael Devers followed Alex Verdugo’s RBI single in the third with a home run onto Eutaw Street to give the Red Sox a 4-0 lead. The ball left his bat at 115 mph.

Devers produced the 118^th Eutaw Street homer in Camden Yards history. Jackie Bradley Jr. was the most recent of the seven Red Sox players to perform the feat, in April 2017.

Orioles starters had allowed one run over 31 innings in the past five games, the third-best span in modern franchise history, per STATS. The starters’ ERA was 6.75 ERA before they got on a roll, the third highest in the majors.

The 1974 and 1995 rotations didn’t allow a run over a five-game period totaling 45 and 42 innings, respectively.

Adley Rutschman would have homered in the first inning in 2021 or earlier. His fly ball to left field was caught on the track.

The Orioles cut the lead to 4-1 in the third on Cedric Mullins’ leadoff double and Adam Frazier’s one-out single, a couple left-on-left hits against Chris Sale.

Ryan Mountcastle singled with one out in the fourth, Anthony Santander doubled, and they both scored on Urías double on a hanging slider that hopped into the bullpen. James McCann delivered the fourth hit in a row, a game-tying single into right-center.

The Orioles made contact on 40 of their 42 swings against Sale, and they moved ahead in the fifth on Jorge Mateo’s leadoff double and Hays’ one-out single into left field.

Hays also singled off reliever Brennan Bernardino in the seventh, his 59^th career hit in 50 games against the Red Sox.

Asked what he'll remember the most about his performance, Hays chose defense.

"The throw to third for sure," he said. "You don't get too many assists throughout the course of the year. They're hard to come by. That was a big point in the game, and then we ended up winning by one run, the game stayed there. I was pretty excited about that one."

Sale allowed five runs and nine hits in five innings, and he didn’t strike out a batter after fanning 11 in his last start. He’s faced the Orioles twice this season and allowed 12 earned runs in eight innings.

All nine starters recorded a hit for the first time since Aug. 6, 2022 against the Pirates.

"Just in general tonight, besides maybe the first two games in Boston, this was our best offensive game," Hyde said. "I mean, who loves no punchouts? I do."

Plate umpire Junior Valentine ejected Red Sox hitting coach Peter Fatse in the top of the sixth inning. There was lots of chirping from the visiting dugout over Valentine’s generous strike zone.

The seventh inning wasn’t any better for Boston. Yu Chang left the game with left wrist pain in the middle of his at-bat, and McCann threw out Connor Wong attempting to steal.

Bryan Baker struck out two batters in the inning. He hasn’t been scored upon in his last 11 appearances over 11 1/3 innings since surrendering three runs on Opening Day.

Mullins led off the bottom of the seventh with an infield single. Hernández made a diving stop, rolled and fired the ball into second base umpire Manny Gonzalez’s back or backside. Replays were inconclusive. No one challenged it.

The Orioles are the team that’s become a pain for the rest of the league.

"No panic," Hays said. "We had our plan, we stuck to it, and we started to find our groove there in the fourth inning. ... There's nothing more fun than winning in the big leagues, so just enjoying the ride right now."

"Not making it easy," Hyde said. 

"Feels like last year's team a little bit. We don't blow people out, really. A lot of tight games, and I think our players are better for it and how many close games we played last year. It seems like that's what we're going to do this year, also, so hold on tight a lot of nights. But our energy level, effort level, absolutely no complaints. These guys are playing to win every night."