Anthony Santander’s homer and catch, Kyle Bradish’s stellar start lead Orioles past Mariners, 3-2, for series win

A day after predicting Ryan McKenna’s stunning walk-off homer, Anthony Santander had his own home run fun Sunday.

Santander robbed a home run in right field in the first inning and clobbered a two-run blast in the third to propel the Orioles to a 3-2 win over the visiting Seattle Mariners.

“It depends,” Santander said with a smile when asked whether he enjoys robbing home runs or hitting them more. “I would say the first one is good because I was able to keep the score at zero to my pitcher. And the homer is to tie the game … is also fun.”

The long ball continued Santander’s hot streak at the plate, as the switch-hitter has homered in five of Baltimore’s past six games to increase his season total to a team-leading 14. He wasn’t the only Oriole who maintained his recent strong performance, as starting pitcher Kyle Bradish turned in seven splendid innings of two-run ball to earn the win.

However, the winning run scored thanks to two players long removed from sustained big league success.

In the fifth inning, Jorge Mateo, who scored on Santander’s homer after reaching on a leadoff double, walked on six pitches, advanced to third on Anthony Bemboom’s bloop single down the right field line and scurried home after an error from Mariners second baseman José Caballero. Mateo has been in a debilitating slump the past eight weeks, while Bemboom’s hit was his first in the majors since May 2022.

Left-hander Danny Coulombe and closer Félix Bautista followed Bradish with scoreless innings. Coulombe retired the side in the eighth, and Bautista bounced back from his blown save Saturday by striking out the side for his 21st save

In the series opener, the Orioles lost 13-1 for their most-lopsided defeat of the year. But they bounced back with a 6-4 win in extra innings Saturday and a one-run victory Sunday against one of the teams that earned a wild-card spot over them last season.

“I think those nights happen,” manager Brandon Hyde said about Friday’s loss. “People don’t understand the way Major League Baseball works that it’s not how football works. … Things happen in a game, and sometimes, you get beat by a lot of runs. Our guys and major league players, in general, don’t really let that carry over, the good ones.

“I think our guys are playing so many close games now, the last two years, that we’re kind of used to it.”

The Orioles (47-29) are 8-4 in rubber games and have won or tied 18 of their 25 series. With 47 wins, Baltimore has as many wins in 76 games this year as its entire 2018 season.

Bradish deals

IBradish didn’t strike out more than six batters in any of his first 10 starts this season. In his past four starts, the second-year starter has recorded seven or more strikeouts three times.

In the past two months, Bradish (4-3) has been Baltimore’s second most consistent starter, allowing three or fewer runs in nine of his past 10 outings. He kept the Mariners off-balance all afternoon, allowing just two runs on two hits and two walks while striking out seven.

“I just thought he did a great job. Besides that Houston start, [this] was probably No. 2 on the list of how good of a start it was for him in his career,” Hyde said, referencing his 8 2/3 shutout innings against the Astros in September.

The Mariners (37-39) were able to square up only a few balls off Bradish. One of those came on the second batter of the game when Julio Rodríguez, Seattle’s young star who won the American League Rookie of the Year Award over Adley Rutschman last season, hit a high fly to right-center field. Santander ranged over to the warning track and timed his jump to rob Rodríguez, avenging Orioles first baseman Ryan O’Hearn, who was robbed by Rodríguez on Saturday.

Santander is rated as the Orioles’ worst defensive outfielder, but he’s made several highlight-reel catches at Camden Yards this season, including one earlier this month in the first inning for starter Cole Irvin.

“That was almost the highlight of my game right there,” Bradish said. “He had a great game. But just to have that in the first inning kind of fired me up.”

The only hit off Bradish with an exit velocity above 100 mph came in the second inning on Cal Raleigh’s two-run home run that gave Seattle an early lead. Raleigh demolished a Bradish slider 422 feet to right field for the 121st home run ever hit onto Eutaw Street, the fourth this season and the first since Gunnar Henderson’s mammoth blast, projected at 462 feet, earlier this month.

Santander tied the game the following inning by hammering a 2-2 curveball from Mariners starter George Kirby onto the flag court over the right field wall. Santander stumbled out of the gate with a .205 batting average and one home run in his first 22 games. In his past 50 contests, he’s is hitting .299 with 13 homers.

Mateo, who stole his 21st base earlier in the game, then displayed his blazing speed, scoring on a ball that was hit 198 feet down the right field line. The shortstop entered Sunday hitting .154 since May 2, but he reached in two of his three plate appearances Sunday, including a rare walk against Kirby, the best strike-thrower in the majors.

“Well, that’s what [Mateo] can do. We just gotta get him on base because you don’t see many guys scoring from first on [that ball],” Hyde said. “The ability to be able to score on that, it’s game-changing speed.”

Raleigh’s long ball was the final hit Bradish would allow, as the right-hander retired 15 of the next 17 batters, including 12 straight from the third to the seventh.

With two outs in the seventh, Bradish walked Jarred Kelenic on his 100th pitch — a marker Hyde rarely lets his starters go past. But Hyde kept Bradish in to face Eugenio Suárez, who doubled before Raleigh’s homer, and the 26-year-old rewarded his skipper by getting a soft lineout to end the inning.

“I think it showed some trust right there,” Bradish said. “Thanks for him to let me finish that seventh inning. I know our bullpen was a little taxed still, so being able to finish that seventh means a lot.”

Bautista then slammed the door shut with fastballs harder than any Orioles pitcher has thrown since the pitch-tracking era began in 2008. He fired nine pitches faster than 100 mph, opening the final at-bat of the game with a career-best 103.4 mph heater and ending it with a 102.5 mph one.

“I know that he was irritated how yesterday went and wanted to be back out there today,” Hyde said.

Around the horn

• For the third time in 76 games this season, Adley Rutschman didn’t play. Hyde said before the game that balancing the want to have Rutschman in every lineup and giving the backstop rest days is a “challenge.” “There’s only a handful of catchers in the big leagues where they’re also hitting 2 or 3 in the lineup and are a big part of your offense,” Hyde said. “You just try to pick spots. I feel like today he could use a break.”
• Cedric Mullins, who made his return from the injured list Saturday as the Orioles’ designated hitter, was back in his office in center field Sunday. Mullins was originally slated to play center Saturday before the wet conditions led Hyde to change his mind. He singled in the eighth for his first hit since his return.
• James McCann said his injured left ankle is “getting better” but said there isn’t a timetable for his return yet. The backup catcher was placed on the IL last weekend — his second stint this year — after spraining the ankle while sliding into first base.
• Right-hander Mychal Givens (right shoulder inflammation) was reevaluated Sunday in Baltimore rather than pitching for the Norfolk Tides as originally scheduled. Hyde said the reliever had some “discomfort” in his right shoulder that is a “low level of concern.” On his second IL stint this year, Givens has pitched just four innings this season after signing a $5 million contract with the Orioles this offseason.

Reds at Orioles

Monday, 7:05 p.m.

TV: MASN

Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM

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