Cole Irvin had another strong outing, pitching well into the sixth inning for the Orioles in their 4-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night.
Craig Kimbrel, who has been struggling, didn’t close the game but pitched a perfect seventh inning. Jacob Webb handled the eighth inning but ran into some trouble, while Cionel Pérez got the Orioles out of a jam in the eighth.
Yennier Cano handled the ninth inning, securing his second save of the season. Arizona’s four-game winning streak came to an end, while the Orioles, leading the AL East, have won six of their last seven games.
Irvin gave up two runs and five hits in 5 2/3 innings, snapping his streak of three consecutive scoreless starts. Despite this, he felt it was one of his best performances.
Brandon Pfaadt, on the other hand, allowed three runs, five hits, and two walks in six innings, making it the longest outing this season without a single strikeout.
The Orioles got on the scoreboard first with two runs in the second inning, just after new owner David Rubenstein took over the role of spraying fans in left field at Camden Yards. Jordan Westburg doubled to bring home a run, followed by Cedric Mullins adding an RBI on a grounder.
Ketel Marte kept his hitting streak alive with a solo home run in the third inning, extending it to 11 games.
Ryan O’Hearn’s RBI single in the fifth extended the Orioles’ lead to 3-1, but the Diamondbacks quickly responded with Eugenio Suárez hitting a run-scoring single in the sixth. The Orioles regained their two-run lead in the seventh when Gunnar Henderson doubled in a run.
Craig Kimbrel had struggled in his previous five outings, allowing six earned runs in 2 1/3 innings. However, in Friday’s game, he bounced back, allowing only a sharp lineout and retiring the next two hitters with a strikeout and a flyout.
