CLEVELAND — For the first 11 batters of Spenser Watkins’ night, the one run the Orioles scored in the second inning looked as if it might be enough. The right-hander cruised through the Cleveland Guardians order — until he didn’t.
And once he didn’t, Tuesday’s outing unraveled rapidly. First was a single in the fourth to break up the perfect game. Next was a two-run home run to break the shutout. Once Watkins returned for the fifth, three more runs scored in short order, ending Baltimore’s streak of quality starts at five games.
With the way the Orioles’ offense has been hitting of late, even a quality start didn’t ensure they’d be in a position to secure a victory. With five runs against Watkins in 4 2/3 innings, there was even less of a chance of that.
Baltimore managed just one hit against Cleveland, opening a series against the Guardians with a whimper en route to a 5-1 loss at Progressive Field. It continues a stretch in which the Orioles (67-61) have scored less than three runs per game in their last seven outings. They still won four of those contests behind strong pitching.
But Watkins is a pitch-to-contact hurler, and there will be the occasional lopsided performance in which that contact comes in bunches or is especially hard. That was the case Tuesday against the Guardians (68-59), with José Ramírez breaking up Watkins’ no-hit bid in the fourth with a single through an open left side due to the shift. Then Josh Naylor caught hold of a cutter over the plate and launched it 399 feet over the center field wall.
After three straight singles in the fifth necessitated a mound visit from pitching coach Chris Holt, rookie outfielder Steven Kwan hit a two-run double down the left field line before a sacrifice fly brought home the fifth and final run off Watkins.
Meanwhile, Baltimore’s offense hadn’t registered a hit since the second inning, when Ramón Urías singled to lead off the frame. Ryan Mountcastle’s sacrifice fly brought him home, but 16 of the next 17 batters were retired after Jorge Mateo and Anthony Santander walked in the third inning.
The Orioles took two of three from the Houston Astros, the team with the best record in the American League, and entered the series against the AL Central-leading Guardians two games back of the final wild-card spot.
They’re still in contention as August approaches September. But with an offense stuck in a mire, near-perfection on the mound won’t save the Orioles every night.
Around the horn
— Right-hander Tyler Wells threw a side session Tuesday in Aberdeen, the latest step in his rehab process from a Grade 1 oblique strain suffered in July. Wells also threw a simulated game over the weekend. Manager Brandon Hyde said Wells’ session Tuesday was in the “30-pitch range and [he] felt great after,” but the Orioles are taking things day-by-day. “We’re going to get him in some sort of sim game or rehab game type of situation,” Hyde added. “As of right now, it went well and we’re going to continue to progress him.”
— On Thursday, rosters will expand to allow Baltimore to call up an additional pitcher and position player. Whether those players will join in Cleveland or in Baltimore remains to be seen, however, with Hyde saying “it could be either one.” The Orioles’ bullpen has pitched 496 innings entering Tuesday, the eighth most in the majors. Another reliever in the mix could alleviate the heavy usage on late-inning options such as left-hander Cionel Pérez and right-hander Félix Bautista.
ORIOLES@GUARDIANS
Wednesday, 6:10 p.m.
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