Grayson Rodriguez pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing only two hits, while Anthony Santander drove in the go-ahead run with an RBI single in the fourth inning, helping the Baltimore Orioles defeat the Seattle Mariners 2-0 on Tuesday night.
Rodriguez (10-3) was in command against Seattle’s struggling offense, starting strong by retiring the first eight batters and holding them to just one hit through five innings. The Orioles have now won five of their last six games after a previous five-game losing streak.
Seattle had a couple of scoring opportunities, but Rodriguez managed to induce an inning-ending double play from Jorge Polanco in the fourth inning and struck out Cal Raleigh in the sixth to escape both situations without allowing a run.
“I thought he pitched really well,” commented manager Brandon Hyde. “His changeup was particularly effective tonight. He had a tough outing in Houston, but he’s had several strong starts recently, and tonight was another one of those. He did a great job changing speeds.”
Josh Rojas accounted for both of Seattle’s hits with a pair of singles.
In the fourth inning, Gunnar Henderson led off with a single against Mariners starter George Kirby and scored the first run on Santander’s single to right field, giving the Orioles a 1-0 lead.
“They have a solid pitching staff,” noted Santander. “There are games where we don’t rely on home runs to win. As hitters, we need to focus on making good contact, especially with runners in scoring position.”
Despite leading MLB in home runs with 139, the Orioles secured this victory without hitting a single long ball for the first time since May 31 against Tampa Bay.
Cedric Mullins added an insurance run with an RBI single in the seventh inning, which ended Kirby’s outing after 6 1/3 innings. Kirby (7-6) gave up two earned runs on seven hits with five strikeouts and one walk.
Rodriguez’s impressive outing included 6 1/3 innings pitched, four walks, eight strikeouts, and he induced 19 swings and misses from the Seattle lineup, with nine of them coming off his changeup.
