The Orioles treated Friday night like October, emptying the bullpen early and fighting back twice against the Brewers. It still ended as another damaging loss, with Milwaukee taking a 6-5, 10-inning decision at Camden Yards and Baltimore’s Wild Card margin growing no smaller.
Sal Frelick delivered the deciding run with an RBI single in the top of the 10th. Baltimore could not answer in its half, as a three-game winning streak came to an end against the National League Central leaders.
Quick facts
- Final: Brewers 6, Orioles 5 in 10 innings at Camden Yards.
- Baltimore stands at 75-79, three games behind the third American League Wild Card position.
- Pete Alonso hit his 38th homer, his third straight game with a long ball.
- The Orioles have eight regular-season games left.
Manager Craig Albernaz made the urgency clear in the fourth inning. Starter Cade Povich was removed after 3 2/3 innings, and Baltimore used seven relievers in an effort to protect every available opening in a tight game.
Milwaukee struck first when Jackson Chourio launched a three-run homer in the second inning. Alonso erased that deficit an inning later, tying the game with a three-run shot of his own.
For six innings after that exchange, neither club produced another run. The first four Baltimore relievers following Povich combined to cover four scoreless innings, keeping the game even into the late frames.
The Brewers finally broke through in the ninth. William Contreras lined an RBI double to put Milwaukee ahead, and Christian Yelich followed with an RBI single for a 5-3 advantage.
Rico Garcia was charged with the two runs in that rally. Grant Wolfram allowed Yelich’s hit, then later surrendered Frelick’s go-ahead knock in the 10th.
Baltimore refused to fold in the bottom of the ninth. Samuel Basallo and Christian Encarnacion-Strand each hit a sacrifice fly, bringing home the two runs needed to send the game into extras.
That push could not carry into the 10th, leaving the Orioles with a thinner path as the calendar closes. Their deficit remained three games after the White Sox lost 11-8 to the Tigers.
The Orioles will play two more games against Milwaukee this weekend. They then return home for three against the Blue Jays before finishing the season with a three-game trip to New York to face the Yankees.
