Orioles rally to stun Guardians, 6-4, as Jeremiah Jackson does it again

CLEVELAND — The Orioles were nearly no-hit on Thursday. Somehow, the offense looked just as bad on Friday.

Through seven innings, it appeared the Orioles had left their bats back in Baltimore and were still waiting on them to be shipped to Cleveland. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, they came alive in the eighth inning, scoring three runs to pull within one.

Up at the plate with two outs and the game on the line was precisely the hitter the Orioles wanted. No, it wasn’t Taylor Ward or Gunnar Henderson or Pete Alonso. It was Jeremiah Jackson, the ballclub’s hottest hitter, and he came through once again.

Jackson hit a three-run homer over the tall left-field wall at Progressive Field to stamp an exclamation point on Baltimore’s six-run inning and propel the Orioles to a 6-4 comeback win over the Guardians.

The second baseman has homered five times over the past seven games as he’s become an everyday player for the Orioles. His clutch streak began Monday when he homered twice late in the game, including a grand slam, to spearhead the Orioles’ come-from-behind win over the Diamondbacks — all of which followed Jackson hitting a foul line drive that struck manager Craig Albernaz in the face.

Since Jackson’s foul ball hit Albernaz in the face, he is 8 for 18 at the plate with four home runs and 11 RBIs. Jackson gave the ball that struck Albernaz and signed it, “Sorry, homie.”

Jackson, who was one of the Orioles’ best hitters to end last season, fought to earn a spot on the team during spring training and has now earned his way into Baltimore’s everyday second baseman with Jackson Holliday injured. The 26-year-old is hitting .317 with a .923 OPS and five home runs. His 17 RBIs rank tied for third in the American League.

Baltimore (10-10) ended its three-game losing streak with the win to move back to .500.

Orioles starting pitcher Chris Bassitt was shaky to open the game, allowing three of the first four batters he faced to reach base on two walks and a single. Bassitt, the 37-year-old veteran Baltimore signed on the first day of spring training to buttress the rotation, has been shaky to begin his Orioles career.