Orioles lose 14-8 to the Angels, extend losing streak to 19 games

The losing streak continues. It was a slugfest at Camden Yards that took three hours and 50 minutes to complete and it wasn’t even close. The Orioles did most of their scoring from behind, but were never able to catch up to the Angels.

The Orioles needed starter Spenser Watkins to reverse his recent trends, but he was unable to do so. His night peaked early with a quick first inning that was highlighted by AL home leader Shohei Ohtani’s strikeout. The Angels went down in order, and Watkins only needed 10 pitches to do it.

On the other side of the ball, the O’s wasted no time getting to the Angels’ starter. Dylan Bundy surrendered his first and only home run of the game to Baltimore’s no. 2 hitter. Ryan Mountcastle went down in the zone and muscled a Bundy slider into the left-field stands, giving the O’s a 1-0 advantage.

Angels first baseman Jared Walsh struck out to start the second inning, but things got ugly after that. Jose Iglesias struck out too, but he reached first base when strike three got past Pedro Severino. Watkins was charged with a wild pitch. Four consecutive hits followed and the result was five runs. Max Stassi singled, Brandon Marsh hit an RBI single, Jo Adell hit a two-run triple, and Juan Lagares blasted a two-run home run. 5-1, Angels.

Ramon Urias started the home half of the second with a walk. In his first at-bat with the O’s, Jahmai Jones was hit by a pitch. After falling behind in the count 0-2, he took a Bundy fastball — in the high 80’s — to the left upper arm/shoulder area. Then Jorge Mateo walked and Angels manager Joe Maddon removed Bundy with one out. Reliever Junior Guerra retired Cedric Mullins and Trey Mancini to end the threat.

The Angels jumped on Watkins again in the third. Phil Gosselin and Walsh singled before an RBI double by Iglesias. Then Max Stassi was hit by a pitch to load the bases. At that point, Konner Wade was summoned from the bullpen by O’s manager Brandon Hyde. Jo Adell greeted Wade a two-run double. 8-1, Angels.

Even though Wade gave up a run-scoring hit, those last two runs were charged to Watkins, bringing his final pitching line to seven hits, three walks, eight runs, and three strikeouts in two innings. After tonight’s performance, Watkins’ ERA stands at 7.07.

At least the O’s made a little noise in the third. They pushed a run across the plate with a pair of doubles, courtesy of Anthony Santander and Urias. 8-2, Angels.

But Konner Wade gave up five runs in the fourth. Gosselin led off with a single and Walsh followed with a walk. Here’s how the scoring went after that: two-run single Iglesias, RBI double Stassi, and an RBI single each for Marsh, Lagares, and David Fletcher. O’s lefty Fernando Abad secured the final two outs of the inning.

In Jahmai Jones’ second at-bat of the game, he worked the count to 2-2 but struck out looking on a splitter.

Let’s talk about Jahmai Jones’ defense at second base really quick. He made a couple solid plays coming in on ground balls, and he made a smooth back-handed glove flip to Urias too. But he also bobbled a ball in shallow right field for an error.

In the outfield, Cedric Mullins had a couple of rare miscues. He misread a hard line drive that got over his head, and the ball got under his glove on run-scoring play late in the game.

The O’s were able to scratch three runs onto the board in the fifth against Angels reliever Junior Guerra. Mancini led off with a single and Santander hit an RBI double off the wall in right. After a double by Austin Hays, Urias hit a two-run single. 13-5, Angels. In his third at-bat, Jones struck out looking on a four-seam fastball.

It was deja vu in the sixth, as Baltimore collected three more runs. Mountcastle led off with an opposite field home run that landed just over the out of town scoreboard. That gives him 23 home runs, which is good for second-most among MLB rookies this year. Texas Rangers center fielder Adolis Garcia is first with 27.

The next batter in the sixth was Mancini, who reached on a dropped third strike throwing error. Then Santander smoked a changeup deep to right — onto Eutaw Street — for a two-run homer. At 443 feet, it’s the longest home run of Santander’s career to date. 13-8, Angels. In Jahmai Jones’ fourth at-bat, he struck out looking on a 3-2 fastball.

Jorge Mateo was pulled from the game after the sixth, but not because of the score. It was due to injury.

On the plus side, Fernando Abad did an excellent job in relief. He tossed three scoreless innings with three hits, one walk, and the strikeouts.

With two outs in the seventh, rookie Marcos Diplan entered the game. He gave up a run in the eighth to make it 14-8, Angels.

The Angels used six different pitchers to get through this game. Raisel Iglesias pitched the last 1.1 innings and didn’t allow any hits or runs. In his fifth and final at-bat, Jahmai Jones popped out in foul territory to start the ninth and the O’s went down in order to end the game.

After tonight’s blowout, the Orioles will have a difficult matchup in game two of the series. Tomorrow’s starter for the Angels is Shohei Ohtani, who went 1-for-4 at the plate tonight with two walks and two strikeouts. If the O’s can drive him from the game relatively early, maybe they can end this streak. The Orioles starting pitcher hasn’t been announced yet.