O’s survive Royals’ wild 8-run rally for ‘character win’

KANSAS CITY — Thursday’s thriller proved to be a problem the Orioles may deal with. Now, it’s time for them to face some even more durable assessments the remainder of May.

With an inconceivable 13-10 victory over the Royals at Kauffman Stadium, Baltimore secured its seventh consecutive collection win. The O’s have received 17 of twenty-two video games over that span, which has featured matchups towards the A’s, White Sox, Nationals, Tigers, Red Sox and Royals — all opponents with a sub-.500 document, besides Boston.

The ultimate win of that stretch didn’t come straightforward. Baltimore had an 8-1 lead over Kansas City within the third inning, then blew it, because the Royals scrapped again and went forward, 9-8, with a two-run seventh. But the Orioles instantly responded, rallying for a pair of runs within the eighth, with Ramón Urías‘ pinch-hit two-run single pushing them forward. He then helped pad the lead with a two-run double in a three-run ninth.

According to Baseball Savant, Baltimore had a 96% win likelihood after Gunnar Henderson’s two-run homer pushed its result in 8-1 within the third. That later flipped closely in favor of Kansas City, which had an 85% likelihood at a victory heading to the eighth. Urías’ go-ahead knock pushed it again to 79% for the O’s, who made it 100% when Félix Bautista struck out Hunter Dozier and stranded two Royals baserunners in scoring place to finish it.

“It’s like going to the dentist, a little bit,” supervisor Brandon Hyde stated. “Unfortunately, we let them back into the game. But give our guys a ton of credit for not getting down, staying with it and really grinding those last two innings to put some runs up on the board. Character win, definitely.”

Baltimore (21-10) may have extra of these kind of wins, as its subsequent 22 video games can be towards groups with a successful document — the Braves (22-10), Rays (26-6), Pirates (20-12), Angels (18-14), Blue Jays (18-13 getting into Thursday), Yankees (17-15) and Rangers (18-12).

The O’s imagine they’ve confirmed they will cling with the top-level competitors.

“We’ve shown that we’re a good baseball team,” stated second baseman Adam Frazier earlier than the sport Thursday, wherein he reached base 4 instances and scored 4 runs. “It doesn’t matter who you’re playing — if you’re winning games every night, you’ve got a pretty good team. Everybody knows we can hit the ball and we can pitch the ball. So I don’t think anybody’s taking us lightly from a talent standpoint.”

Nor ought to they. Not when Baltimore additionally has the kind of resiliency it simply confirmed.

The Orioles constructed their 8-1 lead towards Royals starter Jordan Lyles (who pitched for Baltimore in 2022) through Anthony Santander’s two-run homer within the first, Cedric Mullins’ three-run double within the second, Jorge Mateo’s RBI single within the third and Henderson’s ensuing two-run blast. But Baltimore right-hander Grayson Rodriguez couldn’t hold Kansas City from rallying again.

Rodriguez (the O’s No. 1 prospect per MLB Pipeline) made his sixth massive league begin, permitting six runs over 3 2/3 innings. The Royals chipped away at their deficit, scoring at the least one run in each body from the second by the fifth. Kyle Isbel’s RBI bunt single tied the sport at 8 within the seventh, with Bobby Witt Jr. placing Ok.C. forward, 9-8, with an RBI knock off Yennier Cano.

“We were a little upset, because we had an early lead, but it’s part of the game,” Urías stated. “Sometimes, we’re going to struggle like that, and we’ve got to fight all the way to the end.”

The O’s stayed calm — which is rarely an issue for the mild-mannered Urías — and trusted they’d the offensive capability to reply. It’s straightforward for them to have that kind of confidence, contemplating they’ve come from behind in 11 of their first 21 wins.

Now, Baltimore’s season-long 10-game street journey wraps up this weekend in Atlanta, the place the Orioles will face the mighty Braves. But the O’s aren’t backing down from a formidable problem. They by no means do nowadays.

That confidence stems from the success of Baltimore’s 83-win 2022 season, which has steadily been cited within the clubhouse as a purpose for the quick begin to ‘23. The Orioles have learned how to win — even if it’s not at all times within the prettiest trend — so that they’re not intimidated by the tough schedule forward.

“We’re looking forward to that. I think we’ll find out what we’re made of,” Frazier stated. “You want to play the best teams — it’s more fun, there’s usually more people in the stands. That’s what you’re playing for, is to be the best. So in order to do that, you’ve got to beat the best.”