Zach Eflin allowed two runs over 6 1/3 innings and Adley Rutschman delivered a pinch-hit, two-run triple during a breakout eighth inning for the visiting Baltimore Orioles, who snapped the Cleveland Guardians’ five-game winning streak with Saturday’s 7-4 victory.
Gunnar Henderson had three hits with an RBI while Eloy Jimenez and Jackson Holliday each had two hits and an RBI for the Orioles, who recorded 15 hits after totaling nine hits and seven runs in losing the first two of this four-game set.
Eflin (7-7) yielded just a third-inning, two-run homer to rookie Angel Martinez, plus four other hits, to win his second straight start since being acquired from Tampa Bay as Baltimore won for the second time in seven road games.
Yennier Cano tossed a 1-2-3 ninth to record his fifth save of the season.
The Orioles, tied with the New York Yankees atop the American League East, led 3-2 entering the eighth when with two on, Rutschman lined a drive to right field that went to the wall after Cleveland’s Jhonkensy Noel slipped. It scored both runners to highlight a four-run inning, with Ryan O’Hearn adding an RBI double and Holliday a run-scoring single.
Jose Ramirez clubbed a two-run homer, his 29th, in the eighth for the AL Central-leading Guardians, who had won eight of their previous 10. Making his second career start for Cleveland, Joey Cantillo (0-1) yielded three runs and six hits in four-plus innings.
Cleveland opened the scoring in the third. Eflin issued a one-out walk to Steven Kwan, then Martinez just cleared the right field wall for his third home run.
The Orioles tied it in the fourth. Three straight singles from Henderson, Anthony Santander (two hits) and Jimenez made it 2-1. Santander then scored from third on an infield single by Colton Cowser, who extended his hitting streak to 16 games.
Baltimore took the lead in the fifth. Holliday’s double off the 19-foot-high left field wall to open the inning chased Cantillo. He then went to third on Austin Slater’s bunt single and scored on Henderson’s hit to left off Pedro Avila.
Cleveland had won four of the first five season meetings between the AL pennant contenders.
–Field Level Media
