Coulombe completes high-wire act to nearly save Orioles

PITTSBURGH -- Danny Coulombe unleashed a nasty sweeper that made Joey Bart swing and miss, and the Orioles left-hander triple-jumped off the pitcher’s mound. He was amped up with a few extra springs in his steps. For good reason, too.

In that moment, Coulombe appeared to have potentially helped Baltimore win a hard-fought, extra-inning game.

That didn’t end up being the case. The O’s went on to lose, 5-4, to the Pirates in 11 innings at PNC Park on Saturday evening. But Coulombe was nearly the hero of the night because of an incredible escape act in the 10th.

Coulombe inherited a bases-loaded, no-out jam in a tie game, which he sent to the 11th by getting Rowdy Tellez to pop out, forcing Jared Triolo to hit into a fielder’s choice groundout to third base and striking out Bart. It was an impressive moment for the 34-year-old southpaw, who has been an integral part of Baltimore’s bullpen since the beginning of the 2023 season.

“I got pretty excited about that one,” Coulombe said.

“He’s just got so much grit, and he’s so competitive,” manager Brandon Hyde noted.

The Orioles had taken a 4-3 lead in the top of the 10th on an Adley Rutschman sacrifice fly. They had already used closer Craig Kimbrel, who worked a 1-2-3 ninth to force extras. And they wanted to stay away from All-Star right-hander Yennier Cano, who pitched Friday for his fourth appearance over the first seven games of the 2024 campaign.

Last year, Baltimore would have used All-Star closer Félix Bautista for both the ninth and 10th, but he’s out for the season while recovering from Tommy John surgery.

So Hyde turned to Mike Baumann to try to protect a one-run lead in the 10th, as the right-hander eyed his first big league save. Instead, he gave up a single to Connor Joe and issued consecutive walks to Jack Suwinski and Edward Olivares, the latter knotting the game at 4 and ending Baumann’s tough outing.

But Coulombe saved the day and swung the momentum back in the O’s favor.

“You just really want to pick up your teammate, and I was just really excited that I could do that for ‘Big Mike,’” said Coulombe, who has pitched four scoreless innings over his first four appearances of the season. “If you’re thinking about the big picture, it’s really hard. So one pitch at a time, execute one pitch at a time, and that’s how you get out of something like that.”

Baltimore couldn’t reclaim the lead in the 11th, going down in order and leaving Rutschman (the automatic runner) standing on second. Yet, the hope was still alive.

Right-hander Jonathan Heasley took the mound for the Orioles and was immediately helped by center fielder Cedric Mullins, who made a tremendous diving catch on a liner by Ke’Bryan Hayes for the first out of the bottom of the 11th. But then, Heasley gave up a single to Oneil Cruz, Henry Davis came around to score from second and the Bucs were walk-off winners.

“You always feel like we can pull it out,” said right-hander Tyler Wells, who allowed three runs in 5 1/3 innings during his start. “Those guys are out there grinding, battling. Even after the catch with Ced there, I thought that there was a chance. ...

“It’s the cruel world of baseball -- it builds you up, tears you down. Losses like this today, I guess the best way of putting it is a good loss. We battled, and we battled hard and came back. I’m very proud of the guys, and I think that they did a great job.”

It was the first time this year the Orioles gave up more than four runs in a game. Their streak of seven consecutive contests with four or fewer runs allowed to open the season tied a team record, previously set in 2002.

Baltimore’s bats had plenty of opportunities to build a bigger lead. The O’s had only four hits, and their first -- a Jorge Mateo double in the sixth -- came on a high pop-up that fell between three Pirates defenders. (It had an expected batting average of .020, per Statcast.)

The Orioles went 0-for-14 with runners in scoring position, left seven men on base and continued their inconsistent offensive start to the year. After plating 24 over their first two games, they’ve averaged 4.2 runs a contest over their past five.

“That’s a tough situation [in extras]. You’re trying to get more than one. If you don’t score any, you’re putting yourself in a really tough spot,” Hyde said. “So we didn’t make it really easy on ourselves.”