In San Francisco, a collection win, pitching order restored and Lester arrived with large hit
SAN FRANCISCO — When the series began Friday, the Orioles had lost back-to-back series for the first time this year. Their pitching team had 12 runs against Cleveland Wednesday while the bullpen gave up 11 runs.
But on a weekend when they faced a San Francisco Giants team that had won four of their last five series and was 11-5 in their previous 16 games, the Orioles won two out of three games against the Giants.
Their pitching team restored order despite playing three more games without Cedric Mullins and the final 15 innings of the series without Gunnar Henderson, who left Saturday’s game with lower back problems. The good news is that manager Brandon Hyde said Sunday he was doing better and seemed confident Henderson could play in the Milwaukee series, which begins tomorrow night.
O’s pitching gave up runs two, four, and three in the series at Oracle Park, allowing for nine runs with 21 hits in the 10-walk, 34-strikeout games.
Right-hander Tyler Wells peaked in his career with nine strikeouts on Sunday, but all the Ks also helped his pitch count increase and he left the game after 5 1/3 innings with 102 pitches. Mike Baumann, Yennier Cano, and Austin Voth covered the last 3 2/3, allowing for a hit and a run.
The O’s’ Pen gave up two runs in 10 2/3 against San Francisco after ending the Cleveland series badly at home.
“I think it’s great for them,” Wells said. “It’s a season of ups and downs for many of us. We will experience ups and downs. But overall they have recovered well and hopefully that keeps us on track.”
Of his nine days of strikeouts, Wells said, “I think it was a combination of different things. I think me and (catcher James) McCann agreed most of the time. Every time he pitched and got to the spot where he wanted the pitch, I would try to find him there every time. I didn’t try to knock out a lot of people today. I was just trying to achieve my goals and luckily it worked out that way.”
The Orioles are now 37-22 overall and 20-10 away. They are 8-2 away in the away series and after that latest win, Hyde said he wasn’t sure why his club were playing so well away from home this season.
“I do not know the answer. I think we have a lot of professionals who are ready to play. Come prepared to the park and like I said I’ve come here many times and this is not an easy place to play. So to get two out of three here, that’s a good series for us,” Hyde said.
Lester’s big hit, Lester’s big day: Henderson’s failure yesterday opened the door for the Orioles to start Josh Lester at third base. And Lester, who went 5-0 in his first two major league games for Detroit last September, scored his first MLB goal in the O’s jersey.
During Baltimore’s third inning with six runs, he hit a 3-2 pitch, loading the bases into midfield for a two-run single. A third run was counted due to a game error and a 3-0 lead became 6-0.
Lester, 28, a 13th-round draft pick for the Tigers in 2015, waited 795 minor league games and 2,988 at-bats for his first base hit in the big league. And it was big for the Orioles.
“Someone who’s never been on the top prospect list,” said Hyde, clearly touched by Lester’s background and history. “Someone who gets drafted in the 13th round. Look around the big leagues, there are a lot of guys like that. His story is great, he grew up in a baseball family. I’m grinding at Triple-A right now. Gunnar cannot go today. He gets a start. Huge success, great success for us. One that we honestly didn’t understand. I got a big hit that gave us some breathing room, and it did.”
Lester said of his particular achievement and moment: “Obviously, I’ve looked forward to this my entire life, ever since I was five years old and playing baseball. Even better, it came at an important point in the game with a couple of guys.
“I think I might have passed out a bit. Obviously just a surreal moment. I spent a lot of time in the minor leagues and a little bit in the big leagues last year. But getting that first hit is just a huge moment. I’m confident in my ability and in my chance to come back and take a hit, but it’s a huge load off your shoulders and a big smile on your face when it does.”
He definitely made his contribution.
“Absolutely. No matter how much you travel in the minor leagues, fast or slow, scoring the first goal and moving up to the big leagues is everyone’s dream. But to spend so much time in the minor leagues and kind of Fighting through it definitely means a lot to me,” said Lester, who is now 1-8 in MLB.
He said he would give the ball to his parents or maybe send it to his fiancee.
He also discussed how we’ve seen in an O’s organization full of prospects that this year also saw some older players like Ryan O’Hearn and Lester get their chances. Both have since celebrated great successes for the club.
“I think it’s a testament to the organization. Obviously player development is intense. The Triple A team is full and the Double A team also has some people and the player development is really good. But when we bring in people who they think can contribute to the win – and I think when you talk to O’Hearn – we’re both just here to help the big league team do as much as we can to win,” added Lester.
Kjerstad moves up: The Orioles promote Heston Kjerstad from Double-A Bowie to Triple-A Norfolk. He earned a 3-4 win with an RBI in Bowie’s 14-10 loss to Harrisburg on Sunday.
In 46 games this season with the Baysox, 2022 Arizona Fall League MVP Kjerstad hit .310/.383/.576/.959 with 10 doubles, three triples, 11 homers and 23 RBIs.
Norfolk have today off and will open their next series Tuesday night at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
