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Orioles second baseman Blaze Alexander throws to first baseman Pete Alonso for a forceout in the eighth inning. (Justin Berl\/Getty Images)<\/p>\nPITTSBURGH \u2014 Those routine, boring defensive drills are hammered home in spring training so these moments don\u2019t occur in the regular season. But the Orioles failed to make the routine and boring play twice Saturday, and it cost them a win.<\/p>\n
In the fourth and eighth innings, Shane Baz and Anthony Nunez didn\u2019t make the plays they should have made. Baz fumbled his grip and couldn\u2019t make a throw to first, and that runner eventually scored.<\/p>\n
And, with two outs in the eighth and a runner on third, Nunez whiffed on a chopper between the pitcher, first baseman and second baseman, which allowed the game-tying run to cross the plate.<\/p>\n
There were more circumstances that led to this frustrating 3-2 loss at PNC Park against the Pirates, but when boiled down, it essentially was a pair of PFPs \u2014 the pitcher\u2019s fielding practice drills that are a daily occurrence during the spring.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust kind of got stuck in my glove,\u201d Baz said of his error.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just got too excited,\u201d said Nunez, whose misplay was ruled a single. \u201cTrying to make the play quick instead of just taking my time. Just it was sped up out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the PFP portion could be better,\u201d manager Craig Albernaz concluded.<\/p>\n
The final letdown occurred in the ninth inning, when right-hander Ryan Helsley allowed the game-winning run on Nick Yorke\u2019s line drive that carried over left fielder Dylan Beavers\u2019 head and reached the wall.<\/p>\n
Neither of those pitcher-fielding plays would have mattered had the Orioles\u2019 mustered more than two runs, both of which came in the fourth inning against right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski. They threatened to produce more but fell short of the breakthrough, and that left a precarious lead for Baz and the bullpen.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fourth inning, we did a great job grinding out at-bats,\u201d Albernaz said. \u201cThen after that we just couldn\u2019t get anything going. Credit to the pitching staff over there. They did a great job keeping us off balance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nunez, making only his third major league appearance, was charged with handling the eighth. Marcell Ozuna reached on an infield single when Coby Mayo couldn\u2019t cleanly field it, but Mayo responded with a strong throw to retire Konnor Griffin on the next weak chopper.<\/p>\n
Orioles second baseman Blaze Alexander throws to first baseman Pete Alonso for a forceout in the eighth inning. (Justin Berl\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Still, a groundout moved a runner to third and a walk created a pressure two-out situation. Jake Mangum tapped a lightly hit bouncer with tricky spin that wound up tying the game.<\/p>\n
And, in the ninth, Bryan Reynolds\u2019 double against Helsley allowed Yorke to play hero with his own drive to left. A pitch earlier, though, Helsley may have struck out Yorke. The pitch, which appeared to be in the zone, was ruled a ball. Helsley wanted to challenge the call, but the Orioles were out of challenges.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would\u2019ve been great to have a challenge right there,\u201d Albernaz said. But both were used earlier when Gunnar Henderson and Mayo attempted to overturn strike three calls.<\/p>\n
Helsley\u2019s next pitch won the game for the Pirates. Beavers, playing shallowly in left because of the runner on second and potential play at the plate, couldn\u2019t reach Yorke\u2019s drive.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re tough plays, but I would like to make both of them,\u201d Beavers said of the pair of liners that landed behind him in left. \u201cIt\u2019s just frustrating.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before the late-inning collapse, Baltimore could afford to be encouraged by how Baz looked. There was a time in Baz\u2019s life when he might have thought pitching at PNC Park would be a regular occurrence. The Pirates selected him in the first round of the 2017 draft, and even then the right-hander seemed destined for the big leagues.<\/p>\n
And yet, when Baz left the mound in the sixth inning for the Orioles, it concluded his first appearance in Pittsburgh. <\/p>\n
His career path was diverted quickly. He made only 20 appearances in the Pirates organization before he was included in the blockbuster trade with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2018 that sent Chris Archer to Pittsburgh. A few years later, another trade changed Baz\u2019s locale again: The Orioles acquired him over the winter.<\/p>\n
All of that led him to Pittsburgh, where he produced the sort of start many talent evaluators felt would become commonplace when Baz was drafted 12th overall. He held the Pirates to one unearned run in 5 2\/3 innings.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe threw really well,\u201d Beavers said. \u201cHe\u2019s got really good stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Orioles did not need Saturday\u2019s outing from Baz to reinforce why they recently sealed his future for the club with a $68 million contract extension. The next five years of Baz in Baltimore won\u2019t be shaped by this one start.<\/p>\n
But, in putting together an improved showing in his second appearance for the Orioles, the right-hander showcased much of what Baltimore\u2019s decision-makers like. <\/p>\n
The 26-year-old pumped high-90s fastballs and spun more curveballs than usual. He maintained that velocity throughout his appearance and finished with 11 swings and misses. Still, Baz walked three batters and hit another, and his error in the fourth when fielding a weak comebacker led to Pittsburgh\u2019s first run.<\/p>\n
It could\u2019ve been a larger inning for the Pirates, who loaded the bases with one out. But a sacrifice fly and a lineout to Henderson avoided additional damage. That was a direct improvement over Baz\u2019s first start, when he allowed four runs in a lengthy second inning.<\/p>\n
\u201cDefinitely a lot more in tune,\u201d Baz said. \u201cI was able to make the little adjustments pitch to pitch. Fall behind, get back in the count, stuff like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
By preventing a big inning, Baz held on to a narrow lead built in the top half of the fourth. Singles from Henderson and Adley Rutschman set the table for Beavers\u2019 RBI single, and Leody Taveras drove in a second run with another base hit.<\/p>\n
But, with bases loaded and one out, the rally ended there. Colton Cowser struck out on three pitches \u2014 his second punchout of the game \u2014 and Blaze Alexander grounded out and was held hitless for the first time in his short Orioles career.<\/p>\n
The lack of run support put pressure on the bullpen behind Baz, and that bullpen collapsed. The defense was a main culprit.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot winning games,\u201d Nunez said. \u201cIt\u2019s just little things that can\u2019t happen, focusing on details.\u201d<\/p>\n
This article has been updated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PITTSBURGH \u2014 Those routine, boring defensive drills are hammered home in spring training so these moments don\u2019t occur…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":664262,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2374],"tags":[152,143,47,2538,5,4,505,125],"class_list":{"0":"post-664261","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-baltimore-orioles","8":"tag-american-league","9":"tag-baltimore","10":"tag-baltimore-orioles","11":"tag-baltimoreorioles","12":"tag-baseball","13":"tag-mlb","14":"tag-national-league","15":"tag-orioles"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116350941854581745","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/664261","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=664261"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/664261\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/664262"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=664261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=664261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=664261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}