Burnes solid despite lack of support from bats on frustrating night

WASHINGTON -- A frustrating Tuesday night for the Orioles reached a boiling point with one out to go in the ninth inning, shortly before they took a 3-0 loss to the Nationals at Nationals Park.

Ryan O’Hearn wasn’t happy with a called third strike and voiced his displeasure to home-plate umpire Alex Tosi, who tossed Baltimore’s designated hitter from the game. O’s manager Brandon Hyde then came out to argue, and he, too, was sent back to the clubhouse early.

Moments later, Washington closer Kyle Finnegan got Ryan Mountcastle to ground out, and the game was over.

“I just lost my cool,” O’Hearn said. “First career ejection, I’m not proud of it, but it is what it is.”

The Orioles couldn’t muster much of a rally all night. They collected only three hits (all singles) and had a runner advance past first base only once -- in the first, when Adley Rutschman singled and stole second base before being stranded there.

Here are three key numbers to come out of Baltimore’s loss in the opener of a brief two-game Interleague set.

0: The amount of run support the O’s have given Corbin Burnes in his past 14 1/3 innings
The Orioles’ ace kept them within striking distance of the Nats, allowing three runs in 6 1/3 innings for his third consecutive quality start. On the other side, Washington starter Trevor Williams notched eight strikeouts over five innings of two-hit ball, then four relievers combined to work a scoreless frame apiece.

“The starter stayed around the edges, he was getting a lot of calls around the edges, kept us off-balance,” O’Hearn said. “Just one of those nights we couldn’t get anything going.”

Added Hyde: “They matched up well out of the bullpen. ... We just got beat tonight.”

Burnes hasn’t received much help from Baltimore’s bats of late. The O’s haven’t scored a run with the right-hander in the game since April 26 in the fourth inning of a 3-2 loss to the A’s. Their only previous shutout defeat came May 1 -- a 2-0 loss to the Yankees started by Burnes.

However, Burnes knows the potential of a lineup that ranks first in MLB in home runs (54) and second in the AL in runs (180).

“I’m not worried about it. I think we’ve got probably the best -- or if not, second or third -- offense in all of baseball,” Burnes said. “These guys came across a guy today [Williams] that had been throwing the ball well the last 40-something innings. When he’s locating and mixing speeds and keeping guys off-balance, it’s tough to hit. We’ll bounce back tomorrow; we’ll be all right.”

2.83: Burnes’ ERA through his first eight starts for the Orioles
Burnes has been as reliable as the O’s hoped he’d be when they swung a trade with the Brewers for the former National League Cy Young Award winner on Feb. 1. He hasn’t allowed more than three runs in any of his eight outings to open 2024.

Although Baltimore’s streak of 22 consecutive scoreless innings from its starting pitchers ended in the second -- when Joey Meneses knocked an RBI single -- Burnes settled in, retiring 15 of the next 17 batters to hold Washington’s lead to 1-0 through six.

Burnes gave up two more runs prior to his departure in the seventh, yielding RBI singles to Eddie Rosario and Trey Lipscomb. But Burnes was solid again, putting together an outing strong enough to help his team win on many occasions.

“I thought I did pretty well, I thought I executed the ball well for six innings,” Burnes said. “Came out in the seventh and made a couple of mistakes, and they hit them. Overall, I was pretty happy with how the first six innings went and attacking the zone.”

8: The number of consecutive games the Orioles have allowed three or fewer runs
This was the first time Baltimore allowed more than two runs in a game since a 7-6 loss to Oakland on April 28. It ended the club’s streak of seven consecutive contests with two or fewer runs allowed.

However, the O’s still haven’t allowed more than three runs in any of their past eight games, their longest such streak to occur in the same season since a 10-game run from May 20-30, 1989.

It’s started with the Orioles starters, who have combined to post a 1.47 ERA over that span.

“Everyone has a good plan going up there of what they want to do,” Burnes said. “Really, the last two, three turns through the rotation, guys have been out there with a good plan, executing pitches well, attacking the zone from pitch one.”