Got a strand-aid?
Veterans Davis, Villar both leave the bases loaded as Orioles lose another series
PHOENIX — John Means might be the rookie in the Orioles’ rotation, but by now, they know what they’re getting from him every fifth day on the mound.
On a day when he didn’t live up to that, their two most experienced players — first baseman Chris Davis and second baseman Jonathan Villar — illustrated that even the modest standards they’ve set can’t be consistently met. Each left the bases loaded late in Wednesday’s 5-2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks to complete miserable series for each and put another series loss on the Orioles’ resume.
“I’m not expecting guys to come through all the time,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “We’re just looking for guys to take good at-bats. I don’t know. It’s just one of those games where we put the pressure on them, and let them off the hook.”
Villar, who went 0-for-5 in the leadoff spot in the first two games of the series, was hitless in his first three at-bats before leaving the bases loaded with a chopper back to the mound trailing 4-2 in the seventh inning.
In the eighth, with the deficit at 5-2, the Orioles loaded the bases with two outs for Davis, who struck out. Villar capped the frustrating day for the Orioles veterans by flying out on the first pitch he saw after back-to-back walks to open the ninth inning. The Orioles didn’t score.
Davis went 0-for-9 with eight strikeouts in the series, while Villar was 0-for-15, striking out seven times. Together, they stranded 11 of the Orioles’ 18 runners left on base.
While Hyde said Villar took good at-bats and was just pitched well by the Diamondbacks staff, he had no such allowances for Davis.
“You’ve got to make an adjustment,” Hyde said. “You’ve got to put the ball in play.”
The team’s young outfielders, however, produced well. Dwight Smith Jr. and Anthony Santander had two hits apiece, with Santander and Trey Mancini chipping in solo home runs to account for the Orioles’ offense.
Tough day for Means
Rare are the days when Means doesn’t deliver the ball to the Orioles bullpen deep in the game with a chance to win, but Wednesday’s loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field was one of them.
Means battled without his best stuff for three scoreless innings, and even collected his first major league hit on an infield single in that span. He finally broke when catcher Carson Kelly hit a three-run home run in the fourth inning, and after allowing a single to his counterpart Taylor Clarke and walking the next batter, Means was removed mid-inning for the first time this year by Hyde.
In every other start this year, Means made it back into the dugout with his own inning finished. He was living primarily on his fastball, and his vaunted changeup was what Kelly hit for a home run.
Hyde said he thought something changed in Means after a 10-pitch at-bat against Clarke to open the third inning. He got out of that inning clean, but the Orioles had to keep a close eye on him.
“I just thought he wasn’t as crisp as he normally is,” Hyde said. “He didn’t have as good of command as he normally had. He’s been so good for us all year. He’s going to have tough games over the course of the season. We don’t expect him to give up two runs a game the entire year, but his pitch count obviously was driven up really high early in the game.”
“I felt good in the beginning and then that fourth inning, I was overthrowing pitches,” Means said. “I got out of my motion. There was a lot that went wrong. So, I’ll come back after that one and work on some things and constantly develop that motion.”
Before Kelly’s home run, Santander homered for the eighth time this season and fourth time in six games to give the Orioles an early lead. Mancini added his 22nd home run of the season in the sixth inning to cut the deficit to 3-2.
But after two games of zeros from the Orioles’ bullpen, Richard Bleier and Miguel Castro each yielded runs to consign the Orioles (32-69) to a series loss against former star outfielder Adam Jones’ new team.
Clarke earns stripes
For the second straight game, the Diamondbacks starter had a local connection. Tuesday’s starter, Merrill Kelly, was an unsigned Orioles draftee in 2007, while Clarke pitched two seasons at Towson University and transferred to College of Charleston in 2013 when the school threatened to cut the baseball team.
Clarke allowed just three hits in six innings of two-run ball, his best start since early May.
Ruiz optioned after game
Third baseman Rio Ruiz had one of his best stretches of the season entering this week in Arizona, with a .349 average and a .918 OPS in 15 games. He was hitless in three pinch-hit appearances here, though, and was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk after the game.
Ruiz is batting .238 with standout defense at third base, but was mostly playing against right-handed pitching at this point. The move allows him to be closer to his expecting wife in Baltimore with the Orioles out west for another week.
The Orioles have a rested, eight-man bullpen, leading to the possibility they might add a position player in his place. Jace Peterson could add versatility all over the field and is hitting well at Norfolk.