López 'competitive' despite early struggles
ANAHEIM -- Getting through the fifth inning has been an issue for Jorge López this season.
Entering Saturday, López had a 15.30 ERA with opposing batters hitting .451 in the fifth. López again struggled in that frame against the Angels as his night came to an end after 4 2/3 innings in the Orioles' 4-1 loss at Angel Stadium.
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said López’s struggles in the first -- when he loaded the bases with no outs and gave up two runs -- played a factor in his early exit.
After David Fletcher singled to lead off the first inning, López walked Shohei Ohtani and Anthony Rendon to load the bases with no outs. He managed to limit the damage to just two runs before getting Max Stassi to ground into an inning-ending double play.
“Well, I think it stems from having that long first inning,” Hyde said. “I was pleased with him only giving up two runs during the first inning. I thought he wiggled his way out of that. The wheels could've fallen off there early and he didn't allow that, so that was a positive. I thought he was competitive all night.”
It looked like López would get through the fifth with ease this time around, as he got Ohtani to ground out and followed that up with his second strikeout of Rendon. But his outing came to a close after the Halos put together some two-out hits.
López gave up a double off the left-field wall to Jared Walsh, which was followed by back-to-back singles from Phil Gosselin and Stassi, prompting Hyde to pull the righty from the game.
“I thought he didn't get a few calls on breaking balls in that first inning too that kind of hurt, but I thought he competed tonight,” Hyde said. “Like I said, the first inning kind of ended his night early.”
López was charged with four runs on seven hits and four walks for his 11th loss of the season, which is the most in MLB. Entering Saturday, he had allowed a .300 batting average to hitters when behind in counts -- that was an issue again against the Angels.
“We always talk about when I get ahead. … When I get behind that's where I get hurt,” López said. “And there were some pitches that were strikes and some I didn't get. But that doesn't mean I have to give a pitch to the hitters. I have to go do the best I can to just fight and battle through those things. No umpire is perfect. I'm not perfect. Nobody is perfect.”
López's struggles also came on a night in which the Orioles' lineup had a tough time figuring out Angels hurler Alex Cobb.
Baltimore was limited to just four hits and one run in Cobb’s 7 2/3 innings. The lone run scored against the former Oriole came on a forceout in the third inning off the bat of Pat Valaika that allowed Domingo Leyba to come across.
"I thought Cobb threw an outstanding game,” Hyde said. “I thought he had everything going. He had a two-seamer working on both sides of the plate. A really good split. Threw some curveballs. Command was excellent. He pitched ahead in the count against us in the entire game. Hats off to him because he was really good tonight."
Daniel Guerrero is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @TheDanGuerrero.