Sunday afternoon in Baltimore. A pleasant breeze swirled around the baked brick of Camden Yards, carrying the warm tang of Old Bay seasoning. One would be forgiven if the pleasant atmosphere suggested a sedate affair, a leisurely stroll of a game.
The Giants had gone down in order at the top of the inning against Orioles starter Cade Povich, and after Pete Alonso swung heavily over a 1-1 change-up, their offense appeared about to do the same against Adrian Houser. And it’d carry on like that: quick at-bats, quick outs, quick innings… The two teams accumulating zeroes on the scoreboard with the competitive edge of an Easter egg hunt. One of those pleasant spring days in which nothing is expected, nothing needs to be fought for, or figured out quite yet. A day spent squinting up into the bright sun. A day in which a squirrel runs across the outfield. A day in which a leaf blower can be heard in the distance.
At least, it was supposed to be one of those days. Alonso whiffed at a 1-1 change-up, putting him in a 1-2 hole with two outs, and the inning felt over. One down. On to the next one.
Perhaps that sounds naive to say considering Alonso’ resume, but the slugger had moved down the coast for $155 million pocketed over 5 years and was off to the characteristically slow start for a player coming off free agency. He had been hitless in the first two games of the series, batting .167 with a .521 OPS so far on the season. He was getting settled, finding his footing, getting comfortable — he wasn’t yet a threat. Again, down in a 1-2 count, with the way Alonso has been struggling, the inning should’ve been over.
But then he took a pitch he wasn’t supposed to take.
Alonso had called time, found his breath and settled himself, and took a 1-2 sinker off the plate for a ball. No, the fastball wasn’t the most tantalizing offering, but the pitch’s location, paired with its back-door movement, was meant to tease. It was supposed to keep him in swing-mode, keep him defensive. Instead, Alonso let the pitch go, and it brought him back into the count. Maybe the players or fans weren’t completely cognizant of this the moment, but in retrospect, that was when the pastel-colored afternoon turned for the Giants.
Houser spun an excellent 2-2 curveball that dropped out of the zone, and Alonso just let it go. A great, disciplined take that brought the count full. He then fought off another breaking ball before spitting on another sinker that came ’round just off the plate. Ball 4.
Should catcher Daniel Susac have challenged that call? According to the MLB Gameday and Baseball Savant zone, the ball looks like it may be a hair’s width from the corner, but those might not line-up with the stadium’s ABS zone. Still those are not the kind of dicey decisions you want to have to make in the 1st inning…and on a Sunday no less!
Instead of a casual start to the game, Alonso’s walk made things stressful, and Houser didn’t handle it well. Two pitches later, Samuel Basallo (another scuffling big man) put the Orioles up for good.
Disciplined at-bats from Baltimore hitters and clutch contact extended innings when it mattered most. The third strike, the third out proved elusive for Giants arms. 5 of the Orioles’ 6 runs on the day came with San Francisco pitching an out away from shutting down a frame.
Another 2-run rally in the 5th against Houser similarly started with the bases empty and two outs already recorded. An innocuous single off the bat of Henderson kept the inning going. Down 0-2, Taylor Ward refused to bite at two pitches off the plate before flipping an inside fastball into right field for another single. And with runners on the corners, down 2-strikes again, Alonso dug out a curveball and pulled it into the left field corner for a two-run gut punch.
The Orioles offense refused to go with the casual flow seemingly promised. This was not a day of rest, but a day of work. Every at-bat became an opportunity to assert themself on their opponent. The line-up worked 5 walks to go along with their 11 hits and struck out only 7 times. Houser and subsequent relievers weren’t getting exposed on mistakes necessarily, either. Decent pitches were being spoiledby solid takes or contact-oriented swings.
(Synonyms for the verb spoil: thwart… ruin… upset… scupper… scotch… vitiate… muller… )
With a runner on second in the 6th, Coby Mayo thwarted a well-pocketed 2-2 slider from Ryan Walker. The spun bloop off a choked-up bat scored Baltimore’s fifth run, vitiating Walker’s chances of putting up a scoreless frame. In the 7th with two outs, Colton Cowser’s 2-out infield single off Erik Miller was hit just weakly enough to plate another run and scuppering the Giants chances of a comeback.
The stubborn Orioles order was in stark contrast to the Giants’ offensive exploits against southpaw starter Cade Povich. While the line-up has been somewhat decent against left-handed pitching (117 wRC+, 6th in MLB) their Kryptonite has been 4-seam fastballs. Their collective 88 wRC+ against the straight heater is the worst in the league — and unfortunately, it’s a pitch Povich, and frankly a lot of other pitchers — likes to throw. The optics didn’t look great from the outset, then the early hole from the Basallo homer really put the line-up on the back foot. Resilience would not be the word I’d use to describe the make-up of these hitters. A lead has proved definitive against these Giants so far. They’ve only won one game this season when scoring second and that was only because the Mets got to hit first in their 7-2 win back on April 2nd.
Povich retired the first 12 batters he faced in order, and he did it pretty fast. A lot of chased fastballs, flinched-at curves. A bushel of pop-ups. He fanned 5 with 0 walks over 6.2 innings pitched. 4 of the 5 knocks he allowed were singles. Heliot Ramos’s two out double in the 7th was the first extra base hit he allowed and ended up chasing him from the game.
Daniel Susac continued to be a bright spot in his third start of the season. He threw out Colton Cowser from his knees to complete a strike ‘em out, throw ‘em out double play in the 2nd. He’d record the only RBI against Povich with a 2-out punch up the middle in the 5th that at the time cut Baltimore’s lead in half. Batting clean-up and serving as the designated hitter for the fourth straight game, Casey Schmitt logged a 3-for-4 night of loud contact. His lead-off single in the 5th put Povich in the stretch for the first time and ultimately set-up the team’s first run, while his 9th inning solo shot gave him his fourth extra base hit of the series. Since the “catch the f***ing ball game” (7-1 loss to SD on 4/1), Schmitt has hit safely in each of his five starts, including three 3-hit games.
San Francisco had their chances to close-out at-bats, close-out innings, and ultimately, close out this Baltimore series but couldn’t find a way to firmly shut the door. Now they’re 6-10 with more road series coming this week in Cincinnati and Washington.