The series against the Cardinals turned out to be trouble from the start for the Orioles in St. Louis.
In Game 1, the Orioles struggled at the plate, managing just three hits. Game 2 on Tuesday began similarly, but severe storms interrupted play. The game resumed Wednesday morning, but the Orioles could only muster one additional hit in the loss.
Game 3 seemed more promising as the Orioles took a 3-0 lead by the fourth inning. However, another weather delay halted the game. After an hour and 25 minutes, play resumed, and the Cardinals rallied to beat the Orioles 5-4, completing the sweep.
The streak of avoiding sweeps ends at 106 series for the Orioles.
“We’ve been playing really good baseball for two years,” manager Brandon Hyde commented. “I think we are disappointed in how we played this series. We are better than what we showed these three games. We wanted to keep the streak alive, of course, but we made mistakes today that we normally haven’t been making. We have to start putting some at-bats together to get some rallies.”
Starting pitcher John Means pitched three scoreless innings before leaving the game due to elbow discomfort during the storm delay. Cole Irvin took over, but defensive errors in the sixth inning gave the Cardinals the edge.
Despite a ninth-inning rally opportunity, with Cedric Mullins and Austin Hays on base and no outs, the Orioles fell short. A sacrifice fly by Kyle Stowers brought the Orioles within one run, but a double play ended their hopes of a comeback.
“It’s been a lot of fun to go that many series without having that feeling, losing all the games in a series,” Hays said. “It doesn’t happen very often. … It’s special to be a part of. I’m glad I was able to experience all of that. Now we’ll start a new streak next series.”
The Orioles, now 29-18 for the season, will look to rebound in their next series after the disappointing sweep in St. Louis.
