Orioles fall to Cardinals, 3-1, to complete suspended game; sweepless streak in immediate danger

ST. LOUIS — After picking up their rain-suspended game from Tuesday night, the Orioles lost to the St. Louis Cardinals, 3-1, on Wednesday morning as they mustered only three hits.

The two teams are set to play their series finale approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the suspended contest.

Play resumed in the bottom of the sixth inning, just over 15 hours after a thunderstorm halted the 1-1 game with Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado due up to lead off the frame. The storm spoiled Kyle Bradish’s chance to pitch into the sixth inning for the first time since he partially tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow this offseason. He needed only 74 pitches to scatter four hits and a walk with six strikeouts over five innings of one-run baseball.

“I think it’s right where I needed to be,” Bradish said Wednesday morning of his command. “I was ahead of a lot of hitters, felt like I was 0-2, 1-2 on most of the guys, which kept the pitch count down, created early contact. So, it was a lot better than the previous three.”

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde turned to Jacob Webb to take the ball for the sixth and he retired the first two batters he faced before Iván Herrera drew a two-out walk. Hyde then went back to the bullpen for Keegan Akin to get a left-on-left matchup with Nolan Gorman, but the second baseman took Akin deep on a 1-2 fastball at the bottom of the strike zone for a go-ahead home run. Gorman had previously hit just five of his 48 career home runs against left-handed pitchers, including only one this season.

The Cardinals felt the effects of the rain delay as well, forcing to cut right-hander Lance Lynn’s start short after he held the Orioles to one run on two hits over six innings. They turned to Andrew Kittredge for the top of the seventh and he retired four of five batters before JoJo Romero and Ryan Helsley combined to close things out.

Baltimore’s lone run of the contest was an RBI double by Jorge Mateo in the fifth before the rain delay. The hit ensured the game was tied in time for it to be considered an official contest once the rain began, but the Orioles were unable to solve the Cardinals’ bullpen any better than they did Lynn.

After dropping the series opener as well, the Orioles’ historic streak of 106 consecutive series of at least two decisions without being swept is in danger of being ended by St. Louis, the team that holds the record for the longest such streak. Baltimore began its run, which stands as the American League record, in May 2022. The only teams in MLB history to go longer without a sweep are the 1906-1909 Chicago Cubs (115) and the 1942-44 Cardinals (124).

Baltimore plans to start John Means opposite former teammate Kyle Gibson, who contributed to that streak with 33 starts for Baltimore last season. The two teams are granted a 27th roster spot for the second game; the Orioles called up reliever Nick Vespi from Triple-A Norfolk to fill that spot.

This story will be updated.