Orioles drop finale vs. Diamondbacks, 8-5, for first extra-inning loss of season

BALTIMORE — The Baltimore Orioles kept finding ways to rally. Arizona just wouldn’t let up.

Baltimore dropped its series finale with the Diamondbacks, 8-5, on Sunday as Tyler Wells allowed three runs in the 10th inning. The loss clinched the series for the Diamondbacks and dropped the Orioles (9-9) back to .500.

Arizona catcher Adrian Del Castillo provided the decisive swing, a two-run home run that cleared the right-center field wall at 420 feet. The first run was unearned because of the automatic runner, but a pair of two-out hits by infielders Ildemaro Vargas and Nolan Arenado widened the gap further to cement the win.

Kyle Bradish got the start for Baltimore and received a no-decision, allowing four runs in six innings for his longest outing in four starts. Though the right-hander did allow eight hits and a walk, the first two of the runs charged against him came on a triple by Del Castillo that bounced off left fielder Weston Wilson’s glove in the third.

Arizona added another with back-to-back doubles from outfielders Alek Thomas and Jorge Barrosa in the fourth and an RBI groundout by Thomas in the sixth. Bradish’s 5.49 ERA falls well short of expectations, but his efficiency has gradually improved from start to start, and he set a new career high in pitch velocity with a 98.9 mph sinker in the first inning.

The Orioles provided him some run support early, though not before some ABS controversy. Coby Mayo took a 3-1 pitch for a strike with two outs in the second and threw his hand up in frustration. Home plate umpire John Tumpane mistook the gesture for a pitch challenge and sent it for review, which showed the pitch caught the outer half of the zone. Mayo argued his case for a moment, but it was too late to walk back.

It didn’t affect the outcome of the at-bat, though. Mayo clobbered the next pitch for a double and catcher Sam Huff, making his Orioles debut, brought him around with a double of his own. Jeremiah Jackson then tacked on a run in the third with an RBI single off Diamondbacks starter Eduardo Rodriguez to score Pete Alonso.

Rodriguez, who had a 0.50 ERA over his first three outings, was the first left-handed starter the Orioles had faced in 18 games to begin the year, and manager Craig Albernaz stacked his lineup with eight right-handed hitters to make things difficult on him. It paid off as the Orioles knocked him out of the game after the fifth when Jackson launched a two-run home run — his third long ball in as many games — to give Baltimore the lead.

Jackson finished 2 for 4 on the day to extend his active hitting streak to six games. The Orioles’ former minor league free agent signing has entrenched himself as the club’s starting second baseman in the absence of Jackson Holliday (hamate fracture) and played stellar defense to match, including a diving play he made to his left in the third that took a single away from Marte.

The game continued to see-saw from there. After the Diamondbacks tied it back up in the sixth off Bradish, second baseman Ketel Marte led off the seventh against Grant Wolfram with a bunt single, moved to third on right fielder Corbin Carroll’s double, and put Arizona in front again when he scored on a groundout by Del Castillo. Baltimore then punched right back in the seventh with a pinch-hit RBI single by Leody Taveras, scoring Gunnar Henderson to tie the score at 5 after he singled and swiped his fourth base of the season.

That score held into extra innings as Yennier Cano, Anthony Nunez and Ryan Helsley combined for 2 1/3 hitless frames, but Wells couldn’t keep the game within reach. The right-hander owns a 5.06 ERA in eight appearances after converting to a full-time reliever in spring training.

Right-hander Juan Morillo secured the save for Arizona in the bottom of the 10th, retiring Taveras and Colton Cowser before Jackson popped out for the final out.

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