Diamondbacks Blow Late Lead, Drop Extra Inning Game to Orioles

From that point forward, the Diamondbacks hitters did an excellent job of grinding down Means before taking the lead on him in the fifth. Loading the bases with one out, Corbin Carroll lined a sacrifice fly to left to break a tie. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. then lined a single to left, extending the lead to two and knocking out the Orioles starter. Gurriel has hit safely in four straight games, going 6-for-18 at the plate with two RBI. The Diamondbacks left fielder had been mired in a deep slump the past three weeks, but has heated up of late.

Ryne Nelson was hit hard in this start, allowing three runs on 10 hits in 4 1/3 innings. Nine of the 19 balls put into play against him had an exit velocity of at least 100 MPH. He was only able to generate six swings and misses and three strikeouts. The one positive was he made the Orioles earn it with zero walks in his start. He struggled to execute pitches, leaving a lot of hittable strikes when ahead of the count. His inability to put up a zero after the offense put runs on the board kept the Orioles in the game.

Handed a one-run lead with 13 outs to get, the bullpen had their work cut out. Ryan Thompson and Joe Mantiply retired all seven hitters they faced to hand the ball to the back end of the bullpen. Kevin Ginkel retired the first two hitters then surrendered a game-tying home run to Anthony Santander with two outs in the eighth.

The score remained tied at 4-4 going into extra innings. With Blaze Alexander stationed at second to begin the inning, the Diamondbacks left him on base without advancing further. That put Bryce Jarvis in a tough situation in the 10th, but he got an inning-ending double play to navigate through a bases-loaded jam. With Corbin Carroll on third with one out in the 11th, they failed to score again. Jake McCarthy was rung up on a fastball with runners at the corners and Eugenio Suárez grounded out. Arizona’s offense collected just one hit after the fifth inning, which was erased by a double play. The poor situational hitting in extra innings set the stage for Westburg, who blooped the first pitch of the bottom the 11th down the right field line to score Colton Cowser from second.

The Diamondbacks seek to salvage the series finale, sending their ace Zac Gallen to the mound. He’ll be opposed by Orioles right-hander Dean Kremer. First pitch at Camden Yards is scheduled for 10:35 AM MST.