CLEVELAND — Coming off a seven-run outing that had shades of his disastrous start to the season, Charlie Morton pitched into the seventh inning Thursday to help the Orioles salvage their series finale against the Cleveland Guardians with a 4-3 win.
With the trade deadline just a week away, Morton is shaping up to be one of the Orioles’ top candidates to find a new home before the end of the month. Since May 10, the 41-year-old has a 3.53 ERA over 13 appearances (10 starts), including his performance Thursday.
“I think in any business, whether it’s baseball or the real world, the real business world, I think stability is kind of king,” interim manager Tony Mansolino said. “Charlie brought a lot of stability to us over this time. I don’t know how much longer we’re going to get that stability out of him. Hopefully, he stays. If he doesn’t, then somebody else will have to step up and continue the stability that he’s brought us.”
The Orioles’ win put a stop to their three-game losing streak and ensured that they wouldn’t be swept in a four-game series for the first time since 2021.
Morton allowed three runs on five hits and four walks over 6 2/3 frames against the Guardians, throwing a season-high 107 pitches. Most of the damage against him came on a pair of home runs from All-Star outfielder Steven Kwan, who is typically more of a slap hitter. It was the first multi-homer game of Kwan’s career and improved his line to 4-for-8 with three homers against Morton.
Despite Kwan’s performance, Mansolino pushed Morton deep enough for the veteran to get the win. He talked to the right-hander after the sixth inning with his pitch count in the mid-90s to see if he wanted to go back out for the seventh. It was a hot day and Morton had worked out of a few jams his past few innings, but he asked for the ball back.
“I think as a starting pitcher, that’s an opportunity when a manager does that,” Morton said. “I have a lot of respect for Tony and managers that do that, that have those conversations. They want to give you the chance to plead your case or they genuinely just want you to go back out there and try to do it for yourself and the team. And I love that.”
Gunnar Henderson provided the go-ahead run with an RBI single in the seventh, lining a left-on-left line drive to right field off Guardians reliever Erik Sabrowski to score Alex Jackson from third.
Ramón Laureano also homered for the third time in four games, with all three coming against the team that released him after he got off to a slow start last season. He moved back into a tie with Jackson Holliday for the team lead with 13 home runs on the year.
The Orioles’ offense jumped on Guardians lefty Logan Allen early by sending eight men to the plate in the top of the first. Laureano’s homer brought two runs in and Ramón Urías scored another with a line drive that center fielder Angel Martínez misjudged, allowing it to sail over his head as Tyler O’Neill scored all the way from first.
O’Neill returned to the Orioles’ lineup Thursday after missing the previous two games with “general soreness” and went 2-for-4 with a pair of singles. Coby Mayo also got the start — just his fifth this month — and finished 0-for-2 before being lifted for pinch hitter Ryan O’Hearn in the eighth.
After the Orioles placed closer Félix Bautista on the 15-day injured list with shoulder discomfort before the game, Mansolino used Corbin Martin to get through the seventh before turning to Seranthony Domínguez in the eighth and Gregory Soto for the save situation in the ninth. Andrew Kittredge and Yennier Cano were both unavailable after pitching the previous two games.
“Ser is the best guy right now down in the bullpen,” Mansolino said. “I think we can all agree on that. He’s been really good for a while minus a couple of outings surrounding the All-Star break. So, you’re going through the 3-4-5 [hitters] in the eighth inning. That’s the best part of the order. We’re going to throw our best guy right there.”
Domínguez put two runners on but struck out first baseman Carlos Santana to escape the jam, and Soto retired the side with a pair of strikeouts for his first save of the season.
“Yeah, in reality, a lot,” Soto said through team interpreter Brandon Quinones of the confidence boost he got getting the ball in the ninth. “Especially after my outing here the other night. It gives me a lot of confidence to hear that and know that, especially after what happened to Bautista. So, I felt good going out there today and getting the job done.”
Postgame analysis
Morton’s trade value is looking pretty safe after he quelled any fears of regression with his strong performance Thursday.
The 41-year-old isn’t going to be atop any buyer’s wish list, but he should garner plenty of interest as a veteran, two-time World Series champion and capable innings eater. Every team needs pitching at the deadline, and with very few clubs expected to be full-fledged sellers this year, Morton might end up bringing back the biggest return of any player the Orioles trade.
What they’re saying
Morton on the possibility of being traded and the responsibility he feels for the Orioles being in a position where they’re likely to sell at the deadline:
“I look back, and knowing what I’m capable of doing, and knowing that I failed for a decent stretch in the beginning of the season, and I know I let a lot of people down, and I know that it was difficult and it caused, I’m sure in large part, a lot of the difficulty that has happened with the team. We had a manager fired. We had stretches that were really difficult in terms of losing, personally, as a group. And through that, I think you do create a deeper bond with the guys in the room, if you let yourself.
“Because the failures and the difficulties, when you actually start to have those conversations and you start to look people in the face and look them in the eye and you figure out who you are as a group, you start to realize, ‘Wow, this is a really good group, and we’re capable of so much more.’ And to look back and think we’re a week away from the room changing — to what degree, I don’t know — but it’s sad. Because we are a good team. We are a good group of guys. We are capable of a lot more. And to know that this is where we are right now in this moment in time, it’s tough.”
By the numbers
O’Neill collected both of his hits Thursday against left-handed starter Allen, something the Orioles signed the right-handed slugger to do to help balance out their lefty-heavy lineup. However, because of injuries and extended slumps, O’Neill entered the game with only three hits against left-handers all season.
On deck
The Orioles (45-57) return to Baltimore this weekend and turn their attention to the lowly Colorado Rockies, who own the worst record in the majors at 26-76. Dean Kremer will start the opener opposite Kyle Freeland.
Around the horn
• Left-hander Keegan Akin is scheduled to make his next rehabilitation appearance with Triple-A Norfolk on Saturday and “my guess is he’d be an option after that,” Mansolino said Thursday. Out since June 30 with shoulder inflammation, Akin has made two appearances thus far and allowed one run over 2 1/3 innings.
• The Orioles laid out their pitching plans for their upcoming series against Colorado. After Kremer on Friday, Trevor Rogers will take the ball Saturday and Tomoyuki Sugano is scheduled to pitch Sunday in what could be his final start with Baltimore if he’s moved at the trade deadline.
• Maryland men’s basketball coach Buzz Williams will throw out the first pitch for the Orioles’ series opener Friday, the team announced. Williams, who replaced Kevin Willard at the helm of the program in the spring, will be accompanied by several of his new players on the field.
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