Orioles solve a lefty, beat Angels, 7-3, for 3rd series win of the season

Matt Weyrich, The Baltimore Sun on May 11, 2025

Published in Baseball

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ANAHEIM, Calif. — It was about as disrespectful a strategic move a team could make on a baseball field.

With two outs and a runner on third base in the fifth inning Sunday and left-hander Tyler Anderson on the mound, the Los Angeles Angels intentionally walked Tyler O’Neill to face Ryan Mountcastle instead. O’Neill and Mountcastle both hit from the right side and have long track records of crushing lefties, but Mountcastle entered the contest with a .581 OPS for the season, and the Angels decided to take their chances with the struggling first baseman.

Mountcastle made them pay, gliding an RBI single to right field for the go-ahead run in the Baltimore Orioles’ 7-3 win on Mother’s Day. On a tense afternoon when umpires’ calls were routinely not going in their favor, Mountcastle’s single was a turning point in the ballgame as the Orioles (15-24) strung together a four-run rally the next frame to back starter Zach Eflin in his return from a month-long absence on the injured list.

With the win, the Orioles clinched just their third series victory of the season.

Baltimore benefited from several Angels mistakes, including left fielder Taylor Ward losing an Adley Rutschman ball in the sun that landed for an RBI triple, designated hitter Jorge Soler running into an out with the bases loaded, and an errant pickoff attempt and a wild pitch combined to allow another run. But the Orioles manufactured offense, too.

Trailing 2-1 entering the fifth, Emmanuel Rivera reached on a fielding error by third baseman Yoán Moncada and motored around to third on a double by Cedric Mullins that broke up an 0 for 20 skid. Maverick Handley then tied the game with a sacrifice fly for the first RBI of his MLB career to set up Mountcastle’s go-ahead single.

An inning later, the Orioles broke the game open in a way they haven’t done often this season. They tacked on four more runs using small ball, the long ball and a little luck. Ramón Laureano walked and stole second base before Angels reliever Connor Brogdon started throwing the ball all over the diamond to gift him two free bases. Handley then picked up his second RBI with a squeeze bunt, and Gunnar Henderson made it 7-2 with a two-run home run, his second long ball of the series.

Eflin overcame a rough first inning. The Angels strung together three straight two-out hits against the right-hander, including an RBI double by Ward and a run-scoring single by catcher Logan O’Hoppe on consecutive pitches. While he still had to work out of a couple of jams — one of which was assisted by Soler’s base running mistake — Eflin grinded through five solid frames and finished with five hits allowed, two walks and five strikeouts on 83 pitches.

The Orioles’ bullpen enjoyed an even better afternoon, facing the minimum across three scoreless frames between Seranthony Domínguez, Bryan Baker and Yennier Cano before Félix Bautista gave up a solo home run to pinch hitter Mathew Lugo with two outs in the ninth.

Instant analysis

Left-handed pitching has been the Orioles’ biggest obstacle so far this season, but they put together perhaps their best performance against one this year with Anderson on the mound.

Anderson allowed four hits and two walks over five frames. Though two of his three runs allowed were unearned, the Orioles worked long at-bats to knock him out of the game after 94 pitches. Henderson and Mullins picked up left-on-left hits. Mountcastle came through in the biggest moment of the game. It was a performance the Orioles desperately needed.

The Angels aren’t a good team and provided plenty of evidence of that in the contest. But Anderson entered the game with a 2.68 ERA and a streak of four straight quality starts. The Orioles, for once, were finally the team to give the lefty some trouble.

On deck

The Orioles will get the day off Monday to travel back east before hosting the Minnesota Twins for a three-game series at Camden Yards that begins Tuesday. Cade Povich, bumped back a day to make room for Eflin in the rotation, will take the mound for Baltimore and look to outpitch the Twins’ Simeon Woods Richardson.

Around the horn

— Baltimore reinstated Trevor Rogers (knee subluxation) from the 15-day IL and optioned him to Norfolk. Rogers, 27, made four rehabilitation starts, ramping up to 4 1/3 innings and 70 pitches in his latest outing Saturday. The left-hander will represent one of the Orioles’ top depth options in Triple-A should the need for another starting pitcher arise.

— The Orioles announced their probable pitchers for their upcoming home series against the Minnesota Twins. Following Povich and Woods Richardson on Tuesday, Dean Kremer faces Bailey Ober on Wednesday and Tomoyuki Sugano takes on Chris Paddack on Thursday. Playing the Twins for the second time in as many weeks, the Orioles will miss their No. 1 starter, Joe Ryan, in both series.

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