Orioles rally after squandering lead to beat Marlins, 9-7, end 5-game skid

MIAMI — Samuel Basallo was a home run away from the cycle. Craig Albernaz wanted the matchup.

The Orioles manager pinch hit Adley Rutschman for the red-hot Basallo with two outs in the ninth inning on Tuesday, and the move paid off. Rutschman hit the go-ahead single to help Baltimore beat the Miami Marlins, 9-7, and break up its five-game losing streak.

Basallo set a career high with four RBIs and recorded his first major league triple, but he struck out in the seventh with the chance to complete his cycle. He wouldn’t get another at-bat as Albernaz pulled the lefty-hitting backstop in favor of the switch-hitting Rutschman with Marlins left-hander Andrew Nardi on the mound.

The Orioles (16-20) were coming off a disastrous four-game sweep at the hands of the New York Yankees and they nearly let their losing skid extend to six when Miami mounted a late comeback. Back-to-back home runs by Liam Hicks and Otto Lopez off Miami native Anthony Nunez pulled the Marlins to within one in the seventh before a throwing error by Basallo in the eighth allowed pinch runner Esteury Ruiz to tie the game.

However, the Orioles’ bullpen kept the score where it was, and Baltimore plated two runs in the ninth, highlighted by RBI singles from Rutschman and Leody Taveras, to punch right back.

Pete Alonso also recorded a pair of doubles and scored four times, extending his active hitting streak to six games. Despite former Cy Young Award winner starting for the Marlins, the Orioles scored more than five runs for just the second time in their past 10 games. They knocked Alcantara out of the game after just 4 1/3 innings for the right-hander’s shortest outing of the season so far.