PHOENIX — Gunnar Henderson underscored the Orioles’ frustration in the top of the fifth inning, slamming his bat to the ground after striking out to end the frame.
The Orioles’ inconsistent start to the season continued Tuesday as they lost 4-3 to the Arizona Diamondbacks after scoring only one run after the first inning. Baltimore (5-7) jumped out to a quick lead in the first on a two-run single by outfielder Cedric Mullins but couldn’t build off that momentum as Arizona starter Merrill Kelly retired 16 of the final 19 hitters he faced.
Charlie Morton, making his third start of the season, dealt with control issues all evening, issuing five walks and leaving a pair of curveballs over the heart of the plate that Diamondbacks right fielder Corbin Carroll and first baseman Josh Naylor punished for a solo home run and a two-run double, respectively. Morton’s ERA fell to 8.78 with the outing.
Coming off a game manager Brandon Hyde described as one of the Orioles’ most complete performances of the young season, the offense once again fell back into its on-again-off-again habits that have been a common theme over the first two weeks of the season. The defense behind Morton played a clean game — including a sneaky back pick by catcher Gary Sánchez — and the bullpen kept them within striking distance, but their lineup couldn’t break through.
Their best chance of a rally came in the seventh, when the Orioles knocked Merrill out of the game with a Mullins double and a walk by Tyler O’Neill to open the inning. Reliever Shelby Miller got Heston Kjerstad to line out and hit Sánchez with a pitch to load the bases before a chaotic scene unfolded at Chase Field.
Jackson Holliday hit a low liner to left field that the Diamondbacks’ Lourdes Gurriel Jr. snagged with a sliding catch. He then spun back onto his feet and launched a throw well wide of home plate, allowing Mullins to tag up from third and score. However, third base umpire Mike Estabrook never signaled an out call, causing O’Neill to round third without tagging up. The Diamondbacks threw the ball in and tagged him to end the frame with only one run scored.
“The bottom line is the run scored before the appeal,” Hyde said after the game. “We didn’t see a call on the field. That’s a little bit of the problem I had.
“It’s a tough play for everybody at that point. I’d like to see a call on the field. Nobody saw it. I thought Ced ran the bases extremely well and did the right thing.”
Adley Rutschman also gave the Orioles a chance in the eighth when he hit a one-out single. Hyde pinch ran Jorge Mateo and it appeared to be a smart move as Mateo stole second and third with the pinch-hitting Ryan Mountcastle at the plate. But Mateo got caught in a rundown when Mountcastle hit a grounder to first, costing the Orioles another chance to tie the game.
The Orioles put the potential tying run on base in the ninth when O’Neill was hit a by pitch from Justin Martinez, but Kjerstad grounded into a double play to end the game.
Instant analysis
Through three starts, Morton has yet to have an outing where his curveball has operated as the primary weapon it has been for him the past few seasons.
Morton threw his curveball 42% of the time last year and opposing batters hit just .200 of the pitch. So far, he’s not been able to lean on it as often. When he has, hitters have done damage against it, like Carroll and Naylor did Tuesday.
If Morton is going to be the steady, middle-of-the-rotation arm the Orioles hope he can be, improving the curveball is going to be crucial for him to start to stabilize.
On deck
The Orioles and Diamondbacks will send Dean Kremer and Brandon Pfaadt, respectively, to the mound Wednesday for their rubber match. Kremer is coming off an inefficient outing against the Kansas City Royals in which he threw 88 pitches in 4 1/3 innings.
The Orioles jumped out to a 2-0 lead against Arizona, but their offense stalled in part because of a bizarre end to a bases-loaded opportunity.
Subscribe to continue reading this article.
Already subscribed? To login in, click here.
More in Baltimore Orioles
