After tough loss, O's will 'turn the page' with big series ahead

ST. PETERSBURG -- Jorge Mateo had already applauded himself before he stepped foot on second base. After cleat met canvas, he mimed a fist bump to his teammates in the third-base dugout, most of whom were relieved to stand on their feet having mostly cringed at what was unfolding in front of them.

Mateo not connecting on the hit might have meant possibly bearing witness to history -- in the most painstaking way possible.

Rays starter Drew Rasmussen nearly threw the 24th perfect game in AL/NL history during Baltimore’s 4-1 defeat at Tropicana Field on Sunday, Mateo’s first-pitch double in the ninth keeping the 18,093 on hand from living through history, and the Orioles from loathing it.

"Thank God I was able to get that hit in the last inning,” Mateo said through team interpreter Brandon Quinones. “It was definitely a relief. No team ever wants to have that on them."

In the micro, the 86.9 mph cutter sent down the left-field line was an exhale amid a setback weekend. In the macro, it was no consolation for how Sunday still resulted.

Baltimore’s lineup, bitten by an injury to first baseman Ryan Mountcastle, had nothing working off Rasmussen. The former college batterymate of Adley Rutschman needed just 79 pitches to make it through eight perfect frames (and 63 for seven). When Mateo laced the 80th past the reach of third baseman Yandy Díaz -- and later scored on a wild pitch -- the O’s relief was palpable. But the disappointment still seeped.

Sunday was a two-fold rubber match, for both the season and weekend series. By dropping it, Baltimore fell a game further back in Wild Card contention. And should the Orioles finish the year tied with the Rays in the standings, they would lose the head-to-head tiebreaker with Game 163 no longer in play.

Among teams on their radar, the O’s have now lost the season series to Tampa Bay, Minnesota and Seattle. The score needs to still be settled with the White Sox, the Guardians and the Blue Jays.

Baltimore set off for Canada on Sunday night 1 1/2 games back of the third Wild Card spot, after being in sole possession of it following Friday’s victory.

“We're disappointed in today's game,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “We faced a guy that threw really well against us, and we scored one run on a wild pitch and that was it. We have a lot of games, a lot of season left. You got to turn the page on this one.”

It’ll require resolve to do so. Sunday might have been the club’s single biggest game in the last six seasons, the chance to have a firmer hand on their destiny to try to put a cap on an immaculate breakout season. That their names won’t be associated with one of the least flattering of records is hardly a reassurance.

At the very least, they’ve endured Tampa Bay taking a perfect game into the ninth inning against them before.

“I barely had time to sit down,” said starter Jordan Lyles, bitten himself by a Randy Arozarena three-run homer in the third. “... Outings like that are special. You need some luck on your side, you need to have your better stuff. Luckily, Mateo came through in the ninth, and we avoided that situation.”

Rasmussen did expose some of the Orioles’ offensive flaws, if anything the one part of their game that has been tepid through this juncture of the season. On the heels of a season-high 19-hit output with 10 runs in Friday’s win, Baltimore followed it up with just three runs across the final two games at Tropicana Field this season.

On Sunday, only two times did Rasmussen throw a pitch in a three-ball count. Mateo and Ramón Urías each saw only five pitches in their three at-bats against him. Rougned Odor worked him for a game-high eight-pitch at-bat only to see it end in a strikeout.

A short memory has suited the Orioles to this juncture.

“We got everything we want in front of us, starting tomorrow,” Lyles said. “I think we're in a good spot. I feel like we're very confident. … It's up to us how we react and handle ourselves.”