Orioles’ catching tandem stars in 5-3 win over Astros

BALTIMORE — Adley Rutschman is looking a lot like his old self again. Samuel Basallo is showing more and more signs of living up to the lofty potential he had as a prospect. Together, they have formed the most prolific catching tandem in the American League this season, and never was that more evident than Tuesday night.

Rutschman (2 RBI, 2 R) and Basallo (RBI) were each 2 for 4 in the Orioles’ 5-3 win over the Houston Astros to open their midweek series. The two catchers, batting third and fifth, respectively, formed the engine that powered Baltimore’s offense, converting on all three of their chances with runners in scoring position.

Orioles catchers have posted a collective .870 OPS this season, best of any team in the AL and second in MLB behind only the Los Angeles Dodgers. Rutschman, despite missing 10 games with a sprained ankle, is off to his best start in years, slashing .345/.400/.618 with three home runs and 13 RBIs. Basallo’s batting average is up to .247, and his OPS is at .801 as he’s shaken off a trying first few weeks of the season.

Pete Alonso accounted for the other two runs of the evening with an opposite-field blast off Astros right-hander Ryan Weiss in the fifth, his fourth homer of the season. The offense was more than enough for Shane Baz, who put together his best start of the campaign by allowing one run on six hits and a walk with six strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings. The lone damage against him was a solo home run by Astros’ No. 9 hitter Brice Matthews in the fifth.

After an eventful seventh for Andrew Kittredge in which he put two runners in scoring position with no outs but struck out the side to escape the jam, the Astros cut the Orioles’ lead down to two by plating a pair of runs in the eighth against . They stalled there, as took over and converted his seventh save with a 1-2-3 ninth inning.