Realmuto homers twice, drives in 4
Orioles drop season-high ninth straight
During a horrid stretch in which the Baltimore Orioles keep finding ways to lose, J.T. Realmuto did his part to extend the downward spiral.
Realmuto homered twice and had four RBIs off Alex Cobb, and the Miami Marlins beat the skidding Orioles 5-4 on Saturday.
Realmuto singled in a run in the first inning, hit a two-run shot in the third and led off the sixth with his ninth home run on a 3-1 pitch. It was his fourth career multihomer game, the second this season.
Baltimore has lost nine straight, its longest skid since an identical run in July 2011. The Orioles tied a club record with their 11th consecutive home loss and fell to 19-50 overall, the worst record in the majors.
“Nobody’s going to feel sorry for you,” manager Buck Showalter said. “They step on your neck when you’re down, and we did the same to other clubs. We’ve got to figure out a way to get back into that mode. We’ve just had a little trouble keeping the ball in the park.”
Cobb could only blame himself for letting Realmuto outdo the Baltimore offense.
“When you have a good hitter up there, you can’t fall behind
and then give them a cookie down the middle,” Cobb lamented.
Former Oriole Wei-Yin Chen (2-3) limited Baltimore to three runs over six innings to earn his first victory since April 28.
Drew Steckenrider worked the ninth for his first save, putting Miami in position to complete its initial series sweep of the season on Sunday.
“We’ve got a lot of young guys on this team who are gaining a lot of momentum, getting a lot of confidence,” Realmuto said. “They’re starting to swing the bats really well. We’ve got young guys producing for us every night. When that happens, you just gain confidence, and over a period of time you get better and better.”
Cobb (2-9) allowed five runs on seven hits over seven innings. He’s given up a total of 14 runs in his last two starts.
Miami hit leadoff doubles in the first and second innings, with both runners coming around to score. Realmuto followed a walk with a home run in the third to make it 4-0.
“It was one of those games that starts so good,” manager Don Mattingly said. “First couple innings are kind of what you’re looking for from your club.”