While the Baltimore Orioles gave enough trouble over the weekend, at times, the Athletics ended up in a pickle on their own. And that too, during late-inning clutch moments.
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The Athletics entered Saturday’s matchup aiming to level the series. Instead, they found themselves trailing 4-3 in the top of the ninth. Mark Kotsay tasked reliever Elvis Alvarado with holding the Orioles at bay when Colton Cowser came to the plate to lead off the inning. Cowser capitalized on the Athletics’ misplays—not just one or two, but three on a single play. As the Orioles extended their lead, the entire sequence gave fans at Sutter Health Park Little League flashbacks, and the chaotic play led to a comical moment.
“Five A’s players combined to gift the Orioles a two-pitch trip around the bases. So Baltimore’s broadcast started playing circus music,” Jomboy Media wrote on X.
At the top of the ninth, Colton Cowser began the inning with a ground ball to second baseman Zack Gelof. What should have been a routine play turned into a comedy of errors, leading the Baltimore broadcaster to start playing circus music.
The ball bounced away from Gelof, who was charged with a fielding error, to right field. RF Lawrence Butler could have saved the day; instead, he committed a throwing error. His throw flew past catcher Jonah Heim, landing near the dugout. And when you thought it just couldn’t get any worse, it totally did. Heim booted the ball into the dugout.
While the Athletics’ fielders completely unraveled, Cowser took the opportunity to reach third base. Alvarado added to the Athletics’ misery with a wild pitch next, prompting Cowser to score from third.
The Athletics reliever walked Leody Taveras in the following at-bat before retiring the next three batters to end the inning. But the Orioles had sealed their 5-3 victory by then.
Defensive miscues have been a concern for the Athletics this season. They surrendered multiple runs during routine plays early in the season. Against the San Francisco Giants in May, the Athletics faced similar trouble. Riding on three misplays in a one-run game, the Giants recorded a huge eight-run inning. In the eighth inning, Jeff McNeil missed a chance at a bases-loaded double play after he bobbled a routine ground ball off Daniel Susac.
Butler allowed a run after failing to properly field a bases-loaded single from Rafael Devers. On top of that, Gelof booted a Harrison Bader chopper and made it worse with a late throw wide of first base.
The Athletics reopened the chapter of their defensive blunders on Saturday. The series had already slipped from the Athletics during their middle game, but the Orioles defeated them (8-5) again in the series finale to complete a sweep.
Mark Kotsay discussed Jeffrey Springs’ tough outing
On Sunday, Jeffrey Springs took the 13th loss of his season as the Baltimore Orioles rallied past with an 8-5 win. During his 90-pitch outing, Springs surrendered 7 runs on 6 hits, including 3 homers. Manager Mark Kotsay addressed Springs’ troubles postgame.
“I think that’s kind of the story of the year for Jeffrey so far,” Kotsay said when asked about how homers dismantle Springs’ outings every time. “It seems like every mistake that he makes gets hit really hard. He can’t get away with that mistake in a game that he needs the pop-up or the rollover on. Today was an example, a couple balls up in the zone. The Henderson at bats, he’s got him with two strikes and trying to bury a slider, and makes a mistake in the middle and ends up being a three-run homer.”
Though Springs was down 1-0 when Gunnar Henderson launched his massive 413 m solo shot, he had Henderson at 2-2 in the fifth. Springs threw a slider to bury him but was awarded a three-run home run. In the case of Coby Mayo, Springs had fallen behind on the count, and the changeup did him no good. Mayo also launched a bases-loaded, three-run shot.
After Sunday, Springs’ ERA has now inflated to 6.37 with a 3-13 record across 25 outings this year.
What began as a routine late-inning situation quickly turned into a comedy of errors for the Athletics. For the club, however, there was nothing funny about it, as the costly mistakes helped the Orioles pull further ahead.