Jordan Lyles warmed up in the bullpen to prepare for the start of Game 2, stopping early and heading to the clubhouse in a sweat. Veterans who bragged about eating tickets didn't have the balls to do so today.
I tried to do it. The Orioles kicked Liles out of Game 1 in hopes that extra time would allow him to recover. He puts on his gloves and throws the ball.
Anything that could go wrong for the Orioles played a part in their doubleheading.
Left-handed Keegan Akin started and held 2 1/3 innings and 42 innings. Nick Vespi landed with two runners and Beau Bichette shot to the left.
Bichette finished the last six innings with two more home runs to left-handed Bruce Zimmerman as the Orioles lost 8-4 to the Blue Jays at Camden Yards.
That effort left the Orioles 71-64 and 4 1/2 games behind Toronto in the last wild card. They did not allow seven or more runs in consecutive games between July 17 and 22 during the All-Star break.
Adley Rutchman hit a solo home run with two strikeouts in his ninth, his 10th of the season. It comes down to the trio cycle.
José Berríos filled base without a strikeout in the seventh and Cedric Mullins chased the dough to cut the lead to 8-2. Trevor Richards replaced Berrios and Kyle Stowers scored from winger Rutchman.
The Orioles are the last real threat, they need to regroup quickly.
According to manager Brandon Hyde, Liles was showing flu-like symptoms and Akin offered to take his place.
"Late shift," Hyde said.
“I didn't have enough time to prepare Zimmerman. It was before the rally so when I got there I ran and packed as fast as I could.”
Kyle Bradish remains in Tuesday night's starting lineup, with Lyles' next move to be determined at a later date.
"Fortunately we had Zimmerman and he was able to give us six innings and only (Sionel) Perez, Felix (Bautista) and (Dillon) Tate," said Heide. “Actually I don't want to ride a Vespa, but that's how it is. There are not many of us and things are not going well."
Akin beat four of his first six hitters before beating Theoscar Hernandez by one in his second. After the Blue Jays played an impressive 5-4-3 game against Ramon Urias to beat the Orioles 1-0, Randy Odor scored a 412-foot home run in the bottom half.
The Odor ball landed near the back of the base of the flag, marking his 12th home run. He dropped the bat and lowered his head upon contact.
Gunnar Henderson and Stowers picked one in the inning, but the Orioles settled for a round.
The Bichette itself measures 412 feet by three and has an exit speed of 109.4 mph. Vespi issued Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on the track in midfield, closing the slider and hitting the glove as Bichette turned base.
Vespi was the first Oriole pitcher to throw three days in a row. He wasn't the last person Bishé burned.
Akin was charged with two points and two strokes. The night ends after Jackie Bradley Jr. doubled with a strikeout and George Springer was out.
Hyde turned down Akin because the pitcher did two innings two days ago.
"I was at 42 fields after the holidays," Hyde said.
Hyde tried to avoid being left-handed against the Blue Jays, but scored three goals in the first four innings. Zimmermann, included in the active line-up between doubleheader games, missed four attempts in games six and seven as the Blue Jays led 8-1.
Zimmerman was signed after his last start with the Orioles on June 15 in Toronto, when he lost six times on 11 strokes in 4 2/3 innings. The Blue Jays have hit three home runs.
They did it again tonight.
The Baltimore native led the Blue Jays goalless in the fourth and fifth rounds but scored five wins in the sixth, including solo homers by Bichette and Cavan Biggio and two goals by Bradley. Bradley went 3-for-3 with a double in sixth.
Bichette put the Orioles bullpen in seventh place and gave him the opportunity to run in three different places in the stadium. Hernandez doubled with two strikeouts and the rain grew heavier.
Hyde needed a chance from Zimmerman as there are two games left in the series. He stayed with former Loyola-Blackfield until ninth, throwing 92 innings to keep more hitters in the paddock.
"I think the first thing to do is go out there and give the team a chance to win, and part of that is eating the rounds because of how many people we had to use in the first game," said Zimmerman. "Doing that, A and B, that's the goal, and since I managed to get six, I've been a part of the job."
The Orioles agreed that Zimmerman would join them this morning as he headed for Memphis. He had connections in Atlanta and his travel plans were changed.
"There was a couple who left me, but other than that, I think I did well with time and struggle," he said. "Obviously I wanted to do better in those two areas, but overall I did my best."
Zimmermann is expected to be picked up and replaced by another pitcher. Mike Baumann, today the 29th, returns to Triple-A Norfolk. Hyde said "perhaps" Jake Reid could join the Orioles on Tuesday.
"We played really well," Hyde said. "In the first game, I thought (Mike) Baumann did a good job and our defenders did a good job. The second game was tight. We didn't have many girlfriends and Zimmerman was the only one who could, but when Perez, Batista and Tate came back: “Obviously I didn't want to use them. There are still two games left before the break."
"Give credit to Zim for coming back, scoring almost 100 points and saving all three for us."
Rutchman selects and duplicates his first two bars. In the third set, he had chances to score from two outs, but Bichette hit the left flank and brought down Ryan Mountcastle.
The Orioles are close and the Jays are moving away from them.
You can't let the same thing happen in a wild card race.
"It was a tough day and we have two more games ahead of us. These guys are great," Hyde said, "and we have to be ready for tomorrow's game again."
Notes. In Game 1, Anthony Santander became the first Orioles player since Roberto Alomar in 1996 to score back-to-back home runs in as many games in a season.
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