Suárez and Orioles roster shakeup can’t keep Astros from losing

HOUSTON — Almost exactly a month after being swept for the first time in two years, the Orioles found themselves on the wrong side this weekend.

Baltimore (49-28) lost 8-1 to the Houston Astros on Sunday, dropping a third straight game against the rising American League West club. The Astros pounced on Albert Suárez with a four-run first inning and the Orioles offense, which had a new look on the lineup card, never got going.

“It wasn’t our best,” manager Brandon Hyde said of the series. “The first night was weird, and then we just got beat the last two by two starters who were throwing the ball really well.”

Hyde featured a lineup in which Adley Rutschman made his first leadoff start this season and Ryan Mountcastle reached second for just the second time in 2024. The decision came on the heels of the Orioles not scoring only one point in their 5-1. loss on Saturday, although they had put up a combined 28 runs in their previous two games and entered Sunday with the most runs in MLB.

The roster shakeup didn’t help their cause against Framber Valdez. The Astros ace and two-time All-Star dominated the Orioles, limiting them to one run on six hits and two walks with seven strikeouts in seven innings. He only allowed two base runners to reach scoring position.

Baltimore’s only injuries against him came on a Jordan Westburg solo homer in the sixth. The second baseman’s blast, his second in as many games, extended the Orioles’ streak of consecutive games with at least one home run to 22. The Texas native now has 13 this season, which ranks third among AL third basemen – his main competition for an All-Star selection.

“He’s the same guy every day,” fellow player Ryan Mountcastle said of Westburg. “Great teammate, great person, works really hard and is really excited for him. He’s having a great year.

With a walk in the first inning, Gunnar Henderson extended his streak to 30 games. The Orioles shortstop tied Corey Seager of the Texas Rangers for third-longest streak this season, behind Aaron Judge (37) and Anthony Volpe (34) of the New York Yankees. Henderson, who turns 23 on Saturday, is the youngest player in Orioles history to record a streak of 30 or more games on base.

Even though the Orioles needed more offense, their pitching staff continued its sudden struggles. Suárez, coming off his shortest start of the season, gave up a home run to Jose Altuve on his first pitch of the afternoon and three more runs before the end of the inning. Houston recorded four batted balls with exit velocities of 98 mph or more in the first, including doubles by Alex Bregman and Jeremy Peña.

“The plan was to attack the area,” Suárez said. “This team was aggressive and they were swinging and I stuck to my plan and attacked the zone and that first inning. They took advantage of it. »

Suárez then fought his way through five innings, allowing another run in the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Yainer Diaz. With Dean Kremer (triceps strain) set to return from the injured list after making his second rehab start Saturday, Suárez could be a candidate to join the Orioles bullpen. Hyde said after the game that Kremer’s start Saturday, in which he lasted only 2/3 of the inning and threw 39 pitches, was “not ideal” and did not rule him out. another start in the minors before joining the rotation.