Suárez, Mateo provide winning combo for O's in opener

BALTIMORE -- Here’s a sentence not many Baltimore fans likely would have believed if they had read it during Spring Training (or maybe even as recently as Opening Day):

By the end of May, Jorge Mateo will be the everyday second baseman, Albert Suárez will be a fixture on the pitching staff ... and the Orioles will also be on pace to finish with a better record than their American League-best 101-61 mark from last season.

Baseball is filled with surprise stories and unsung heroes, which both Mateo and Suárez have been during their team’s terrific start.

Both players continued to excel Friday night at Camden Yards, where the Orioles notched a 3-1 series-opening win against the AL East-rival Rays. Suárez pitched five innings of one-run ball, and Mateo delivered the key blow -- a go-ahead two-run double in a three-run sixth that pushed Baltimore (36-19) a season-high 17 games above .500 with its seventh win in eight contests.

The Orioles have faced some adversity, including Friday’s announcement by general manager Mike Elias that starters John Means and Tyler Wells will both undergo season-ending elbow surgeries. Yet, they enter June with the third-best record in the AL behind only the Yankees (39-19 entering Friday) and the Guardians (38-19).

“You have to move forward. The game doesn’t stop for anybody; it doesn’t slow down for anybody. We’ve really got to rally together as a team,” said Austin Hays, who hit a game-tying pinch-hit RBI single. “We have a lot of guys in this locker room that they’ve done a good job with that over the last couple of years -- stepping up when guys go down, moving into different roles. ... It’s a different hero every night.”

Suárez, a 34-year-old right-hander who spent the previous five seasons pitching in Japan and Korea, will do anything the team asks of him. He’s proved that by serving as a starter and a reliever over the first two months of the season.

With Dean Kremer (right triceps strain) on the injured list, Suárez has allowed one run in nine innings since rejoining the Orioles’ rotation. He has a 1.85 ERA in five starts this season and a 1.57 ERA in 12 total appearances.

After learning the tough news about Means and Wells, Suárez went out and delivered a gritty 95-pitch outing. He threw 44 pitches over the first two innings and allowed an RBI single to Ben Rortvedt in the second before settling in to retire nine of the final 11 Rays batters he faced.

“That’s not good -- for them, for the team. But I just hope for the best for them,” Suárez said of his injured teammates. “This is baseball. Things happen.”

Kremer should return before the end of June, and if that happens, Suárez could be heading back to the bullpen. Or -- considering five O’s starters have spent time on the injured list this year -- he could end up in the rotation for a while.

“That’s something I don’t control,” Suárez said. “For me, my mentality is just [to] go out there and do my job.”

Another player doing his job is Mateo, whose two-bagger to the left-center-field gap off Tampa Bay right-hander Phil Maton pushed Baltimore ahead for good.

Mateo’s 12th double of the season came off his bat at 105.6 mph, per Statcast.

“He hit that ball on a line in a deep part of the ballpark,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “Jorgie, when he stays on the baseball, really good things happen.”

Of Mateo’s 27 hits this season, 16 have gone for extra bases. The 28-year-old has recorded 10 stolen bases and frequently used his speed to test opposing outfielders.

“When I get out of the box, I am looking for those sorts of hits,” Mateo said via team interpreter Brandon Quinones. “But to be honest with you, I’m just trying to put the barrel on the ball and put the ball in play.”

Mateo is also playing exceptionally well at second base, where he’s made only 43 starts in five big league seasons (30 of which have come this year).

Like Suárez, Mateo is a total team player who is eager for any opportunity that gets him into the lineup as much as possible.

“When he’s on the field, he makes a difference. Whether it’s with his glove [or] his speed. He can hit the ball out of the ballpark at any point, too,” Hays said. “He can impact the game in so many different ways. When he’s firing on all cylinders, no matter where he’s at in the lineup, he can really make this team go.”