Jack Flaherty came to the Orioles at the trade deadline with the reputation of a competitor. Shintaro Fujinami arrived known for a dynamic repertoire but an inability to harness it consistently.
Both of Baltimore’s pitching acquisitions showcased those traits in Wednesday’s 8-2 loss to the Houston Astros. In his Camden Yards debut, Flaherty battled through five innings, twice leaving the bases loaded after doing the same in the final frame of his team debut last week in Toronto. Fujinami, meanwhile, displayed the same erratic pitching that has plagued him in an up-and-down tenure with Baltimore, issuing three straight two-out walks in the eighth as the Astros broke open what had been a one-run game.
Although Flaherty’s second straight eight-strikeout outing left him with an Orioles record for strikeouts in a pitcher’s first two appearances with the team, he bemoaned that his pitch count kept him from getting deeper in the game, finishing with three runs allowed in five innings.
“Getting through five isn’t gonna get it done,” Flaherty said. “It’s great to limit damage and whatnot and make some big pitches in big spots, but I had a chance there to find a way to get through six, and my job’s to find a way to get through six.”
A 27-year-old pending free agent that Baltimore acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals for three prospects, Flaherty did appreciate the announced crowd of 25,479 in his first start at Camden Yards, saying they brought “great” energy and quipping, “I haven’t had to turn my PitchCom [volume] up while pitching at home in a while.”
Manager Brandon Hyde was pleased with what he got from his new starter.
“He makes big pitches in spots, and obviously, a lot of experience helps,” Hyde said. “He kept it right there for us.”
But the Orioles (70-44) were unable to capitalize offensively, going 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position. Left fielder Austin Hays provided Baltimore’s lone jolts with a home run — his first since starting last month’s All-Star Game — for two runs in the fourth inning and by robbing Houston’s Chas McCormick of one off Fujinami in the eighth. Hyde described the home run, an opposite-field drive, as “his best swing I’ve seen out of him in a while,” with Hays entering the day batting .181/.225/.229 in the second half. The catch prompted Hyde to declare Hays a “Gold Glove candidate.”
There was no catching Kyle Tucker’s first-inning blast to right, with Houston’s right fielder taking Flaherty deep in his first at-bat after his go-ahead grand slam in Tuesday night’s Orioles loss. Flaherty allowed another run in the second on Jose Altuve’s single, but he left the bases loaded in that frame and did the same in the fifth.
Hyde asked Mike Baumann to repeat the task in the eighth after Fujinami’s three straight walks, leaving him with eight free passes and two hit batters in 9 1/3 innings since being traded from Oakland. Baumann allowed consecutive two-run singles to Altuve and Alex Bregman, scoring all of Fujinami’s runners and one of his own before surrendering another run in the ninth after also pitching Tuesday.
Baumann has inherited 43 runners this season, a total that would’ve led the majors entering Wednesday, and allowed 18 to score, a rate that entered Wednesday as the ninth highest among relievers who have entered with at least 20 runners on base. While Baltimore’s late-inning trio of Félix Bautista, Yennier Cano and Danny Coulombe have allowed only 21.6% of inherited runners to score, the rest of the Orioles’ bullpen is at 45.7%.
“Unfortunately, I just extend Mike Baumann there, and that’s really not his fault, honestly,” Hyde said. “Just there was nobody else to pitch in that kind of situation.
“Mike’s been doing a great job for us all year. Been an absolute workhorse for us, takes the ball, doesn’t complain. I thought he just really, really competed. He pitched last night, and then he got extended tonight.”
The Orioles entered the series ranked third in the majors in bullpen ERA, but the group surrendered 10 runs in seven innings in the first two games of the series. Newcomer Jacob Webb, making his first appearance for Baltimore after being claimed on waivers from Los Angeles, provided a highlight by striking out the side in the sixth inning.
The Astros (66-49) head into Thursday’s series finale with a chance to end Baltimore’s streak of 75 straight multigame series without being swept, the longest streak in the majors since 1944.
Astros at Orioles
Thursday, 12:35 p.m.
TV: MASN, MLB Network (out of market only)
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
Orioles at Mariners
Friday, 10:10 p.m.
TV: MASN2, MLB Network (out of market only)
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
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