Mike Yastrzemski hit a home run on the very first pitch of the game, and Michael Conforto added another solo shot as the San Francisco Giants defeated the struggling Baltimore Orioles 5-3 on Wednesday night.
The Orioles have lost eight out of their last ten games, falling five games behind the first-place New York Yankees in the AL East with just ten games left to play. Before this losing streak, the Orioles had a half-game lead in the division.
For the second night in a row, Yastrzemski started the game strong with a leadoff homer. On Tuesday, he hit one on the second pitch, but this time he sent Dean Kremer’s first pitch into the right-field stands.
“That was pretty cool,” said Giants manager Bob Melvin. “He came in the dugout and said he had the same approach as he did last night, so I guess you stick with it, right? You don’t see that often, two leadoff homers like that.”
The Orioles took a 2-1 lead in the third inning, but the Giants responded with a three-run fourth inning. This inning showed some of the issues the Orioles have faced recently.
With the bases loaded and no outs, Grant McCray hit a slow grounder in front of the plate. Kremer (7-10) fielded the ball and tossed it to catcher James McCann in time for the force out, but McCann’s foot was off the plate.
“That hurt,” said Orioles manager Brandon Hyde. “The catcher is wearing spikes and he’s not really feeling the plate. He came out a half-inch too far.” Casey Schmitt then followed with a two-run single, putting San Francisco ahead for good.
“In the big inning, I didn’t do a good job limiting damage,” Kremer said. “Balls got put in play and a little out of the reach of fielders. It’s on me.”
Conforto hit his 17th home run leading off the sixth inning, extending the lead to 5-2. This proved too much for the Orioles, who haven’t scored more than five runs since September 3.
In the seventh inning, down by two, Baltimore loaded the bases with two outs for Colton Cowser, but he flew out to end the inning. The Orioles stranded eight runners and went 2 for 10 with runners in scoring position.
