Tough to scale this mountain: Bautista comes up big again for the Orioles

The latest save for rookie right-hander Félix Bautista was among his greatest saves of this year. He got save No. 9 last night as the Orioles beat the Chicago White Sox 5-3 in the series opener.

This one required heavy lifting and more blazing fastballs.

Bautista needed to get five big outs and pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth. He threw one fastball 103.1 mph, making him one of eight pitchers in the Statcast era (since 2015) to throw a pitch at least 103.0 mph.

Since the O's traded closer Jorge Lopez to Minnesota, Bautista is 6-for-6 in save chances with an ERA of 1.74 and 15 strikeouts in 10 1/3.

Before Tuesday's game, O’s manager Brandon Hyde said that since that trade, he’s been quite impressed with how the inexperienced Bautista has both done in the closer’s role and how he has handled the ninth inning challenge.

“He’s definitely embraced it,” said Hyde before the O's latest win. “Love it. Think what’s been so nice to watch about Félix is the strike-throwing ability. Not giving up free passes. He’s given up some homers and he is going to. They can square up 100 and it can be hit pretty well. But the homer in Texas, we had a four-run lead. The homer in Williamsport, a three-run lead.

“It’s great he’s not awarding people free bases. Not putting the tying run on base due to walks. The ability to go after people with confidence has been so impressive to me for him. Going into this year, walks have been high in his career. I thought in spring training he commanded the ball fairly well but you didn’t know what it would look like with major league hitters in the regular season.

“And he’s pitching with a ton of confidence. And rightfully so. He’s got great stuff and a great split to go along with the fastball. And mixing in his slider is huge. To be able to have another little thing for them to think about. He’s pitching in big spots and he has been a great story for us this year.”

They won't lose big this year: During his pregame press conference before Tuesday’s game, Hyde was asked about the Orioles reaching the 63-win mark, which meant they will not reach 100 losses for the first time in a full season since 2017.

“I don’t know. It’s not something I’m real proud of before so it doesn’t seem like a real accomplishment to be honest with you. You want to win as many games as you can. For me that’s kind of a round number. I just don’t want us to stop. Want us to keep playing well and see where we are at the end,” he said.

Mounty's praise for Mateo: Ryan Mountcastle said he loves to watch his teammate, shortstop Jorge Mateo, play. He loves the fire and energy he brings to the field and the team. And Mountcastle said Mateo’s recent hitting tear is mostly the result of his hard work.

Mateo had another big hit for the Orioles in last night's win, with an RBI single in the seventh that gave them a 5-3 lead.

“He’s been putting in a lot of work with the hitting guys and it’s showing on the field,” Mountcastle said. “Super excited for him. He is probably in the top five most fun players to watch in baseball. I love watching him go out and play and for him to get that hit (Sunday) the other night was huge for us. And you know, brought a little spark of energy coming into the last stretch of the year.”

And the passion Mateo plays with is important to the team.

“Means a lot. It shows he cares. He’s fired up, he wants to win. And I think it’s contagious through the team,” said Mountcastle.

The Orioles are now 4-1 against the White Sox and have won the season series for the first time since 2017. They went 0-7 against this team in 2021 but hold a key tiebreaker now over Chicago if it comes into play later.

O's starter Austin Voth allowed two runs over 5 2/3 and he is now 4-1 with an ERA of 2.85 with the club. He became the third pitcher in O's team history last night to earn a team win in his first six home starts with the club. He joins Jerry Walker (1957-59) and Jimmy Key (1997).

The Orioles pinned a loss on righty Dylan Cease last night. This year between May 29 and Aug. 11, Cease allowed one earned run or less for 14 straight starts to set a MLB record. He was the American League Pitcher of the Month for both June and July. But he gave up four runs in 5 1/3 Tuesday night and allowed four earned runs or more for just the fourth time in 25 starts in 2022. 

Mountcastle's three-run homer in the first inning was his 18th this year. It was also his third in the last eight games and fourth in his last 13. 

Since June 11, the Orioles are 40-23 (.635). A team playing at that pace over a full season would produce 103 wins.