Gibson allows nine runs in blowout loss to Mariners

Well, that certainly was not the way Baltimore hoped to kick off a road trip. Seattle roughed up Kyle Gibson to the tune of nine earned, and the Mariners defeated the Orioles 9-2 during the first of nine games out west.

The Mariners got to Gibson early and often. Julio Rodriguez immediately tested Cedric Mullins in center with a hard hit ball to start the first. Mullins made a jumping catch at the wall, and Rodriguez lifted his helmet to pay his respects. Unfortunately, the vibes plummeted after the first out.

Eugenio Suarez ripped a single 107 MPH off the bat, and Cal Raleigh launched his 20th homer of the season to make it 2-0. Raleigh’s homer traveled 403 feet and left the yard at 112 MPH.

Gibson walked the next batter but generated an inning-ending double play from a 100-MPH grounder by Ty France. The Mariners tallied four balls 100 MPH or higher in the first inning alone.

Gibson recovered with a pair of scoreless frames, but things fell apart in the fourth. Anthony Santander trimmed the lead in half with a solo homer, but the Mariners tagged Gibson for five more in the bottom half of the inning.

France kicked things off with an infield single. Dominic Canzone followed with a base hit to left, and Cade Marlowe loaded the bases with a hard hit ball to right. Jose Caballero plated the first run of the inning with a sacrifice fly to deep center.

Josh Rojas began to break the game open with a base hit to right. Rodriguez stepped in with a three-run lead and made sure not to be robbed again by Mullins. The 22-year-old phenom muscled a ball over the right field fence for a three-run homer.

The blast provided Seattle a six-run lead and essentially ended the game. Several televisions clicked off at the very moment back home in Baltimore. Thanks for giving it a shot with us after dark, folks!

Brandon Hyde and the Orioles required Gibson to keep at it. France launched a solo homer to extend the lead to seven in the fifth inning, and Rodriguez punished the veteran once again with an RBI-double in the sixth. Gibson finally exited with a line of 5.1 IP, 12 H, 9 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 3 HR.

Jacob Webb entered and made another encouraging appearance for the Birds. Webb recorded four outs with two coming via strikeout. Fresh arm Nick Vespi followed and recorded the final four outs for the Orioles.

Baltimore scratched out its second run with a two-out single by Jordan Westburg. The Orioles struck out 13 times and finished with only four hits.

Ryan Mountcastle worked a pair of walks but did not extend his 12-game hit streak.

Tampa Bay scraped out a victory over Cleveland, so the Orioles lost a game in the AL East. Baltimore fell to 71-45 on the year. The O’s will look to avoid losing the series tomorrow night with Cole Irvin facing George Kirby.