The Orioles botch two plays in a row, a breakdown
What Happened
In the bottom of the third inning, the Baltimore Orioles hold a slim lead, but their defense quickly falls apart in a frustrating sequence of plays. With two runners on base and no outs, Orioles manager Brandon Hyde had just emphasized the importance of strong defense, saying "the defense has to be good otherwise we're screwed." The Orioles' struggles begin with a single that allows the runner on second base to score. On the play, third baseman Ramón Urías decides to fake cutting off the throw to the plate instead of simply fielding it, leading to the catcher having to dive for the ball. This results in runners advancing to second and third base with no outs. The very next pitch, Cleveland Guardians outfielder José Ramírez hits a fly ball to right field. Ramírez rounds first base aggressively, hoping the Orioles will try to throw him out at second, which would guarantee the go-ahead run scores at home. The Orioles oblige, but their defense completely breaks down. No Orioles player anticipates the ensuing rundown, leading to a sloppy "shovel pass" attempt that allows Ramírez to reach second base safely. The Orioles' defensive woes continue as the next batter singles past the third baseman, scoring another run. Orioles manager Brandon Hyde can only shake his head, realizing his team is once again struggling with the fundamentals of defense and execution. "I guess we're not gonna do the good defense thing," Hyde laments. "We're just gonna do the bad pitching, bad defense, and bad offense altogether thing." The sequence exemplifies the Orioles' season-long struggles, as they have lost 26 of their last 32 games. Despite Hyde's pregame emphasis on solid defense, his team fails to make the simple plays, allowing the Guardians to capitalize and take the lead. It's a frustrating moment that encapsulates the Orioles' larger woes as they continue to search for answers during a difficult campaign.
Full Transcript
Click timestamps to jump to that momentwell the orioles botched to play again
so we got to talk about it the orioles
have been really bad guys they've lost
26 out of their last 32 games
they have the lead in this one in the
third inning but now there's two base
runners on
and brandon hyde just the night before
in his post game addressed the media and
said
right now the defense has to be good
otherwise we're screwed
we let him down defensively
unfortunately we have to play really
good defensive
scoring a ton of runs so defensively
he said that right before this game so
let's see if the defense picks him up
we got a 1-1 count two on no out slider
fouled off catcher says oh i like that
one let's throw that one again so they
throw that one again
but now it's a single and the run on
second is he gonna score he's rounding
home the throw comes
and he's safe and third baseman
he decides that instead of cutting this
ball off
which he can he could have just taken a
step to the left it's not really out of
reach
he decides instead of cutting it off
he's going to fake cut it off
and keep the runner at second when the
runner
is just at is staying at i don't
understand what that fake like what he
thought could have been happening
and then the catcher thought he was
gonna cut he faked his catcher ketchup
thought he's gonna cut it off
he doesn't so the catcher's gotta dive
for the ball and now
instead of first and second with a
double playing order they go second and
third the very next pitch
ramirez shoots it to right field and now
they're coming home with it and this is
an interesting play
because this is the go ahead run running
home so ramirez rounds first pretty big
and you see this in baseball a lot where
there's no outs
so jose ramirez right now is thinking
that's the go-ahead run
if i break for second the worst thing
that happens is
he cuts it off which guarantees that the
go-ahead run scores
and you're kind of trading and out for
the go-ahead run there
you know so you just they say they're
going to bait them like baited them to
cutting it off so they cut it off they
have ramirez dead to rights but
guarantees that the go-ahead runs scores
at home
now let's see if jram can just work some
magic and what happens is
nobody anywhere on the orioles
anticipates a rundown the center fielder
didn't start running
to cover second right fielder didn't
start running to the infield the third
baseman
hasn't broke to cover uh second base on
the rundown the catcher hasn't broke for
third in anticipation of the
third baseman breaking for second and
and the pitcher you know he would go to
home
so it's just all around a bad time and
then
they do this shovel pass which is maybe
the worst thing ever there's no one at
second
so instead of just eating the ball
they do that shovel pass doesn't work
jram's in at second
here it is a little shovel pass he's in
at second base
and now the third baseman broke really
late
and the catcher broke to first base
which i don't know i don't think they
teach that i think the catcher should go
to third who cares if he goes back to
first base at least she's back at first
base you just don't want him to be able
to get to third base
but the catcher goes to first base which
i think is the biggest miss of the whole
thing besides everyone else just not
doing anything
even the third base coach for the
indians doesn't realize he's just
clapping
and head down he doesn't realize he's
not screaming come to third come to
third but jram is
and the catcher realizes it and now it's
a a race
and he's in safe because i mean just bad
defense by the orioles
all around and everyone's kind of
laughing and saying like wow that was
that was funny on our end not funny on
brandon hyden's
hides and and the next batter
he's gonna shoot that one past the third
baseman and that scores
another run and hyde's thinking man
i guess i guess we're not gonna do the
good defense thing we're just gonna do
the bad pitching bad defense and bad
offense altogether thing
it's a bomber a real bomber