LOS ANGELES — The first two games of the series between the Baltimore Orioles and Los Angeles Dodgers featured fireworks in the ninth inning— and raised heart rates for fans back in Baltimore.
The Orioles lost the first in walk-off fashion after Ryan Helsley‘s blown save but won the second after nearly squandering another lead because of poor defense.
Sunday’s contest featured none of the above.
The offense put runs up early, smacked 15 hits and blasted four homers; Brandon Young delivered yet another solid start; and the beleaguered bullpen buckled down for an easy-peasy 12-1 win over the two-time defending World Series champions.
The Orioles scored at least one run in each of the first five innings, bouncing starter Emmet Sheehan early to get to the Dodgers’ bullpen. Colton Cowser led the way with three RBI hits, including a solo homer to continue his turnaround. Pete Alonso and Blaze Alexander put the nail in the coffin with homers in the seventh and eighth innings, respectively.
Sunday marked the first time the Orioles have scored in double digits since June 5. Baltimore had lost five of its past seven games entering Sunday, mostly a result of lackluster offense, scoring only 2.7 runs per game. But the bats came alive Sunday to deliver one of the most complete wins of the season.
Young didn’t need nearly as much run support as he received. The steady right-hander continued with his impressive sophomore season, navigating through five innings of one-run ball against a powerful lineup that includes future Hall of Famers Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts. Young scattered five hits and two walks while striking out five.
The right-hander has allowed three or fewer runs in 11-of-12 starts this season. The Orioles are 10-2 in games started by Young. Since the start of May, Young has been the club’s best starter, posting a 2.73 ERA and 1.18 WHIP.
The back-to-back wins over the Dodgers after the nightmare that was Friday’s loss could put the Orioles (37-42) back on track as they look to get back to .500.
When players arrived at Dodger Stadium on Sunday morning, they were greeted by a cloud of smoke caused by a nearby warehouse fire. The smoke cleared by first pitch, though, and the game started on time.
The Orioles jumped out to an early 2-0 lead.
Taylor Ward led off the game with a single, advanced to third on Gunnar Henderson‘s double and scored on a Samuel Basallo single. Cowser then drove in Henderson on a bloop single down the left-field line. After Max Muncy‘s RBI single off Young in the bottom half of the first, Ward put his recent slump behind him with a solo homer to right-center field. Cowser then one-upped his outfieldmate by blasting a 406-foot big fly to straightaway center field. An inning later, the center fielder put Baltimore up 6-1 with a two-run, left-on-left single — his second hit off a southpaw this weekend after he entered the series 1 for 14 against them.
The Orioles put up four more runs in the seventh inning on a Jeremiah Jackson RBI double and Alonso’s three-run, opposite-field homer, his 18th of the year. Alexander then put an exclamation point on the win with a two-run homer off former Orioles prospect Chayce McDermott in the eighth. The utilityman is hitting an eye-popping .446 with a 1.194 OPS since May 25.
After Young finished the fifth inning, manager Craig Albernaz needed only two relievers to get through the final four frames. Left-handers Grant Wolfram and Keegan Akin combined to toss four scoreless innings without allowing a hit.
The Orioles now have an opportunity to end the West Coast road trip on a high note as they head to Anaheim for a three-game series against the American League-worst Angels.
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