Delayed the Finale: Phillies 5 Orioles 3

Delayed the Finale: Phillies 5 Orioles 3

A World Series preview with a World Series pitching matchup came down in Camden Yards for the first of a three-game series between two of the best teams in the sport.

Ranger Suárez got the ball against Kyle Bradish and the third-best offense in baseball with the Phillies battered with injuries.

However, a certain leadoff hitter wanted to take some of the fun out of tonight’s pitching matchup. Kyle Schwarber saw a curveball right down the middle and he doesn’t miss those this month.

Suárez struggled with his command early, throwing just two first-pitch strikes in the first two innings. He missed his spots but missed them outside of the zone and was able to force weak contact.

That wouldn’t be the case in the third, Cedric Mullins took a first-pitch sinker to right-center for a leadoff double. After a Jordan Westburg lineout, Adley Rutschman pulled a cutter past the diving Alec Bohm down the left-field line to tie the game. Suárez kept it at one run with Ryan Mountcastle and Gunner Henderson strikeouts.

He allowed back-to-back singles to open up the bottom of the fourth. Jorge Mateo tried to bunt the runners over but bunted it right over home plate. Catcher Rafael Marchán grabbed the baseball before it spun foul and fired a dart to third for the force out.

James McCann couldn’t reward his teammate and hit into a six-four-three double play on the very next pitch.

That came back to haunt the Orioles, Marchán caught a first-pitch fastball from Bradish and took an aggressive hack.

The Orioles couldn’t get to Suárez afterward. He settled in with a quick fifth inning and a pair of strikeouts in the sixth. He came back out for the seventh with the bottom of Baltimore’s lineup due up.

After a Mateo groundout, a McCann single, and a Mullins flyout to center, Rob Thomson went to Jeff Hoffman against the top of the order.

A Westburg double that was played well by David Dahl in left field kept McCann at third. Hoffman couldn’t get Rutschman to swing through multiple two-strike splitters so Marchán made the brilliant choice to call a freeze fastball down and away for the punch-out.

Matt Strahm came in for the eighth inning with a 26.2-inning scoreless streak.

Sometimes streaks are meant to end, even when you make a good pitch. With the count one-and-two to Anthony Santander, Marchán calls a high fastball out of the zone, Strahm hits him right in the mitt but it didn’t matter.

After an uneventful ninth besides Craig Kimbrel working a clean inning, it was onto extra innings.

Yennier Cano came in for the top of the tenth against the bottom of the Phillies order. Edmundo Sosa hit a classic Baltimore chopper to reach base safely and put runners on first and third.

With the infield in and the count in Dahl’s favor, he rolled over on a well-executed changeup, and Bryson Stott, the ghost runner, gets caught in a run down after going on contact.

Johan Rojas came in for Dahl over at first and Cristian Pache was at the plate. After fouling off multiple sinkers, Pache was able to work a seven-pitch walk to load the bases.

Marchán looked hungry to swing against Cano and was greeted with back-to-back changeups before biting on a high fastball.

Brandon Hyde then went to his bullpen for lefty Cionel Pérez to face Schwarber. With the count one-one, Schwarber lined a single into right field to make it three-two. Rojas was sent home with two outs and was thrown out at home by Santander.

In the bottom of the tenth, it was Orion Kerkering’s turn to try and finish the ballgame against the top of Baltimore’s order.

His first pitch plunked Westburg to put runners on first and second. He recorded back-to-back strikeouts on fastballs to face Gunner Henderson with the game on the line.

He fell behind three and zero before dropping a sweeper in to steal a strike. Kerkering then challenged Henderson with a fastball but Henderson barely missed it. Kerkering went after him with another but with the same result.

With everyone in the building likely thinking a sweeper was coming, Kerkering tried another fastball but missed it high and outside for a walk.

After a first-pitch foul to Santander, it looked like Marchán and Kerkering got crossed up with Marchán not expecting a high fastball. It went after through his glove and Mullins was able to score from third.

After a flyout from Santander, fans had to wait for a rain delay that lasted for over an hour.

Nick Castellanos led off the eleventh with a pop-out. After an intentional walk to Bryce Harper to put runners on first and second, Alec Bohm caught a fastball up and in and scorched it out to the wall to bring home two.

Thomson trusted Seranthony Domínguez for the save opportunity in the bottom half against Austin Hayes and a plethora of left-handed pinch-hitters.

Hayes hit a first-pitch fastball out to right field to move Santander over to third. Colton Cowser came off the bench first and forced a three-one count.

Domínguez challenged him with a 99 mph fastball down the middle but Cowser didn’t swing. Domínguez then trusted it again and painted it on the outside corner for a backward K.

Kyle Stowers then came off the bench and fouled off a couple of hanging sliders. Domínguez then painted one down and away and Stowers swung out in front to seal a Phillies win.

Taijuan Walker faces Grayson Rodriguez tomorrow at 4:05. Hopefully there is no weird delay in the middle of extra innings again.