Wrapping up Orioles' 4-1 loss to Indians

CLEVELAND - John Means made one pitch he'd really like to have back. The Orioles were held to one hit, going 1-for-28. That was not a good combination today as Cleveland beat the Birds 4-1 at Progressive Field.

Trey Mancini lined a solo homer to left in the fourth off Indians right-hander Adam Plutko, called up from Triple-A to make this start. But the Orioles got little else going against the right-hander and three relievers. They were held to one hit for the first time since Sept. 12, 2018 against Oakland. It was the first time since Aug. 24, 2014 that the Orioles were held to one hit that was a homer. That was at Wrigley Field against the Cubs when Steve Pearce homered.

"We faced a guy that just knows how to pitch," said Orioles skipper Brandon Hyde as his club dropped to 1-4 on the road trip and 15-30 for the year. "He threw the ball great. A really well-pitched game on his part - hardly any mistakes. Not many balls in the middle, and attacked our weaknesses and threw the ball well. Gave them what they needed, which was six good innings with a really good bullpen."

Mancini homered for the second time in three games and fourth time in eight when he smoked an off-speed pitch 110.6 mph in the fourth. It was No. 10 for Mancini, who began today tied for fifth in the American League in extra-base hits.

"When he's right, he really stays on the ball," Hyde said of Mancini. "Not looking to pull, but pull because the ball that shows up on the inner part of the plate and he catches it out in front. The way he drove the ball out the other night to right field, just missed one to right-center also today."

Said Mancini: "He just left a changeup in the middle of the plate and I took advantage of it. I was looking for a fastball there and just kind of reacted to it. I think we fouled some pitches off we could have hit overall. But they kept us in check out there."

So with not much offense to speak of, Means was going to have a hard time winning and for just the second time in seven starts he allowed more than one earned run. Means gave up three runs and five hits over five innings on 94 pitches. Not long after Mancini's homer, Jordan Luplow, with an OPS of 1.228 against lefties, hit a two-run shot off Means in the home fourth for a 2-1 lead.

"I mean it was a 2-1 curveball and he just got to it. It was hanging," said Means, who is now 5-4 with an ERA of 2.68. "That was my whole problem today. A 2-1 curveball was the homer, 2-1 changeup, double and the 1-1 slider. So just getting behind in the count."

But Means showed something in the fifth today when he got a double play ball with one out and the bases loaded. It was Luplow batting again, but he hit one to third and Rio Ruiz started a 5-4-3 double play with Chris Davis scooping out the relay throw. That held the deficit at 3-1 and kept the Orioles in it.

"I thought John threw the ball really well," said Hyde. "There's a couple pitches that he'd like to have back, but besides that, I love the way he grinded through that fifth inning and got the double play ball and kept us in the game. He really minimized damage there and I thought he threw the ball great."

Means did walk a season-high three and felt he wasn't as sharp as he's been.

"I think my fastball felt good. I just didn't have my secondary pitches today," he said. "They weren't swinging at bad pitches, which kudos to them. I just feel like the three walks, I'm not a guy that walks a lot of guys. To have those was really frustrating."

The Orioles are 2-21 when scoring three runs or less. Cleveland threw its first one-hitter since May 7, 2017 at Kansas City and first at home since Aug. 13, 2016 against the Los Angeles Angels. This series wraps up Sunday afternoon at 1:10 p.m.