BALTIMORE- What’s happened? After Heston Kjerstad had to leave the game with a bruised right elbow, Ramón Laureano stepped in and hit two homers and made a leaping game-ending catch in left field to lead the Orioles to a 9-5 win over the Cincinnati Reds before 28,534 at Camden Yards on Saturday.
Kjerstad was hit by a pitch in the first inning by Hunter Greene and was replaced by Laureano. X-rays on Kjerstad’s elbow were negative.
Laureano said in his postgame interview on MASN that he had worked on his biceps before the game. It definitely showed.
Oriole starter Brandon Young, the first homegrown pitcher signed under executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias, allowed seven of the first 10 batters to reach base in his major league debut. Three scored, but Young didn’t allow another hit.
In four-plus innings, he allowed three runs on seven hits, three walks and strikeouts.
Cedric Mullins and Gunnar Henderson began the first with home runs against Greene, whose ERA was 0.98 and had a consecutive inning scoreless streak of 18 2/3. It was the first time the Orioles began a game with back-to-back home runs since June 7th, 2022 when Mullins and Trey Mancini did it.
Greene, who lasted three innings, also hit Ryan O’Hearn and Kjerstad with pitches in the first.
Laureano homered in the third to give the Orioles a 5-3 lead.
Bryan Baker walked two batters after he replaced Young, but Cincinnati didn’t score. The Reds did score in the sixth when Keegan Akin allowed three of his four batters to reach. TJ Friedl’s bunt scored Jake Fraley to make it 5-4.
Fraley hit the first Eutaw Street home run of the season in the second.
Matt McLain ended the sixth against Seranthony Domínguez by hitting into a double play that was started on a nifty backhad pickup by Ramón Urias.
Elly De La Cruz singled against Domínguez, who struck out Austin Hays as De La Cruz stole second. Gregory Soto walked Gavin Lux and De La Cruz stole third. Lux stole second. Santiago Espinal flied to short left. Fraley walked, and Jeimer Candelario hit into a force play.
Laureano homered in the seventh for a 6-4 lead and Jordan Westburg, who had been 0-for-30, followed with his fourth home run to give the Orioles back-to-back homers for the second time in the game.
“I feel like I put together some pretty good at-bats today,” Westburg said. “Just didn’t get lucky. But, yeah, my swing feels a little bit better. I’ve been grinding away at the cage trying to get this figured out, so it’s going to be a good steppingstone for these next couple of games and next couple days, just to build on.”
It’s the first time the Orioles had two sets of back-to-back home runs since June 27th, 2022 with Adley Rutschman, Ryan Mountcastle, Anthony Santander and Hays hitting them.
O’Hearn and Tyler O’Neill had RBI singles in the eighth to stretch the lead to 9-4.
Yennier Cano pitched a scoreless eighth. Matt Bowman allowed Hays’ third home run in the ninth. After Lux doubled and Espinal walked, Félix Bautista recorded three outs for his second save.
The Orioles won despite walking nine batters.
“It’s never easy when you’re walking nine,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “Our bullpen’s had a pretty heavy load so far. When we’re getting four-inning starts, it’s going to take its toll. Come on Charlie Morton, need you. That’s the bottom line. We need to give some of these guys a break.”
How important was Laureano? Hyde emphasized how important Laureano was to the Orioles.
“Definitely the player of the game. Ramón stays ready,” Hyde said. “He’s had a tough time getting opportunities so far this year. I’ve talked to him about it. I’m going to try to play him as much as I possibly can when I can get him in there. He’s a pro. He stays ready.
“He works his butt off every single day so really happy to have him have the success. It was tough. It was tough to leave spring training and go to Toronto and never play, so you don’t see AB’s for a week. All of a sudden, I’m playing him against lefties, sporadic. So for him to do what he did today, pretty impressive.”
It hasn’t been easy for Laureano to wait his turn.
“I think you just trick your mind, don’t get caught up in none of that stuff,” Laureano said. “Just show up, be ready, load early and don’t think about that you’re not getting a chance or timing or none of that stuff. Think about none of that. Just think about how I can play the game and swing the bat. Trust your instincts, your eyes, your swing and that’s it.”
Before the game, Laureano lifted weights, and it paid off.
“I was like, ‘today’s Saturday. I’m kind of bored,’” he said. “What am I going to do? I’ll do some biceps I saw on Instagram. Let me do that.’ And that’s it,” he said.
What’s the outlook for Kjerstad? Hyde didn’t know how serious Kjerstad’s injury was.
“He tried to stay in the game, went out for defense,” he said. “We weren’t sure if he could throw or not. Felt OK doing that. He came back in after to swing the bat. It was pretty tight.”
If the Orioles need to put Kjerstad on the 10-day injured list, it’s likely that Dylan Carlson will be recalled from Norfolk. He was briefly up with the team after Colton Cowser went on the IL with a fractured left thumb, but was sent down after Gunnar Henderson was activated.
How was Young’s day? Young enjoyed his first big league experience.
“Pretty unreal. I had the expectations coming in, but blew them out of the water,” he said. “Still hard to breathe. Can’t feel my legs. But that was awesome. Everything I’ve dreamed of.”
Young seemed to relax as the game progressed.
“Wasn’t too nervous until I heard the ‘O’s during the anthem, and I was like, ‘Wow, that’s a lot of people.’ Most people I’ve ever played in front of. Step on the mound, after the first inning kind of settled down a little bit and could feel my legs again.”
Young was the Orioles’ minor league pitcher of the year in 2024, and wasn’t thrilled with the numbers in his first game.
“I mean, wasn’t what I intended for, but it was the first time out there, big league stadium, big league mound. So I think just continue to grow from here,” he said. “Not overwhelming, just very grateful. Just awesome looking around and taking it all in and enjoying it. Honestly, same game. Home plate’s right there, same batter, 60 feet, 6 inches. But a lot more people and a lot cooler crowd. That was really fun.”
What does it mean? The Orioles were fortunate to get through the game with their relievers walking six batters in five innings. They need to get longer starts quickly.
What’s the word? “I think that people can get impatient a little bit early. It’s a six-month season and those guys were signed by the front office to handle certain things because of track record and they’re going to get opportunities to play and everybody’s going to get an opportunity to play. So today was an example of that.”-Hyde on Laureano
What’s the stat of the game? Laureano became the fifth Oriole to hit two home runs in a game after not starting since Mancini on June 7th, 2017.
What’s going on in the minor leagues? Kyle Gibson will start for High-A Aberdeen against Brooklyn on Sunday. He started twice for Triple-A Norfolk, and was sent to Aberdeen because of a poor weather forecast in Omaha.
Centerfielder Dylan Carlson drove in three runs and second baseman Terrin Vavra drove in two as Norfolk beat Omaha, 11-1. Cameron Weston allowed three hits in four scoreless innings, and Roansy Contreras threw three hitless innings.
Right-hander Patrick Reilly was removed from Double-A Chesapeake’s game with right elbow discomfort
What’s next? Charlie Morton (0-4, 8.84) will face a pitcher to be determined for Cincinnati on Sunday at 1:35 p.m.