HOUSTON – For most of Saturday evening, the Baltimore Orioles and Houston Astros, the two teams running in the American wild card race, did almost everything they could to not win the game.
But when the ballclubs were playing hot ball about the future of the game, the Orioles player stepped up and took the game into his own hands to win 4-2 in 11 innings.
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Tyler O’Neill, who struggled the most in his Orioles career after signing a three-year, $49.5 million contract, made one of the best defensive plays of the season – a miraculous throw to right field to save the game in the tenth inning. Then in the 11th, he walked down the first line to beat out an infield single, driving in a run and helping bring in a second.
The Astros had the bases loaded with no outs in the 10th inning, needing only one run to win the game, but O’Neill’s throw home to catch a runner trying to score on a fly ball turned the game on its head. Nurse Andrew Kittredge then made a great defensive play to send the game to 11, and the Orioles offense finally put up the lopsided number thanks to O’Neill’s infield single and a line drive knock from Leody Taveras.
Newcomer Cam Sanders, who was one of the heroes in Friday’s victory, then closed the door in the 11th with a scoreless frame.
The improbable victory marked the Orioles’ sixth straight victory after a four-game winning streak to end the first and fifth innings on Friday. Baltimore is 48-51 and only 1 1/2 games back of the third and final wild card spot in the AL Central.
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When Trevor Rogers was on the mound in the bottom of the first inning, the Orioles made a big announcement that one of Rogers’ rotations would be around for the long haul.
The Orioles and starting pitcher Kyle Bradish agreed to a five-year, $90 million contract extension, signaling that the right-hander is the franchise’s future ace. The deal is the largest for a pitcher in Orioles history — and the third-largest for any player behind only Chris Davis ($216 million) and Pete Alonso ($55 million).
Bradish did not start the Orioles’ opening day this season, however. That was Rogers after his stellar 2025 campaign. The lefty’s first two months were a roller coaster that included a mix of starts, flu, bad luck and poor performance. But over the past two months, Rogers has been on a roll, and he did so again on Saturday.
Rogers paced the Astros’ lineup through the first six frames without allowing a run and eight hits. He got into trouble a few times, but he struck out seven runners and got everything he needed. That is, until the seventh inning. Manager Craig Albernaz sent Rogers back down to face the bottom of Houston’s lineup, and two of the first three batters reached to give Astros runners on the corners with one out.
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Albernaz asked Rico Garcia, the Orioles’ firefighter, to put out the flames, and he accomplished that goal. He gave up a run on a game-tying safety bunt, but Garcia then got Isaac Paredes to end the threat.
Over Rogers’ last eight starts since early June, he has recorded a 1.69 ERA with a 1.04 WHIP. These are the same numbers he put up last season when he received the AL Cy Young vote.
Rogers didn’t get the win Saturday, however, thanks to the Orioles’ offense.
After allowing just three runs on five hits in Friday’s lucky win, Baltimore’s bats were even worse Saturday against Astros starter Spencer Arrighetti, who took a no-hitter bid into the fourth, and his bullpen. Dylan Beavers’ RBI single in the fourth, which gave the Orioles a lead that lasted into the seventh, was the only big hit they got — until extra innings.
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Arrighetti threw five innings of one-run ball with six strikeouts, and relievers AJ Blubaugh, Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader pitched the next four frames without allowing a run. Orioles relievers Yennier Cano and Tyler Wells pitched clean eighth and ninth innings, respectively, to send the game to extras.
In the top of the 10th, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, making his first start of the season after being sent back to Triple-A to start the second half, hit a single into the bag in the third. An unfortunate layup stole an RBI double from Encarnacion-Strand, but put runners on the corners with no outs. Albernaz then struck out right-handed hitter Jeremiah Jackson Holliday against Astros southpaw Steven Okert.
Jackson has been one of the Orioles’ top hitters this season, including multiple homers in his prime. But instead of fouling out, he made the right pitch to score Taveras, the automatic runner, and give Baltimore a 2-1 lead. But the offense stopped Encarnacion-Strand in the second, as Adley Rutschman grounded out and Gunnar Henderson struck out.
The game began to turn away from the Orioles in the bottom half, and an Astros win seemed inevitable. Nick Allen’s leadoff bunt to advance a zombie runner to third led to a hit due to a breakdown by the Orioles’ defense. Yordan Alvarez, the best hitter in the American League, then proved that with an RBI double to tie the game, and a throwing error from Henderson loaded the bases with no outs.
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All the Astros needed was one run to win the game, but O’Neill had different plans. The Orioles went with five infielders, removing center fielder Taveras from the dust and only going with two outfielders. Jose Altuve hit a shallow fly ball to center, and O’Neill moved to right, caught the ball, and in one motion fired the ball home while falling to the ground. The pitching was in time to catch Allen at the plate and keep the Orioles alive. LaMonte Wade Jr. The Baltimore native then nearly won the game for Houston with a two-out bunt, but Kittredge stayed calm, fielded the ball with his bare hand, and fired it to first to send the game to 11.
Taylor Ward led off the frame with a walk to give the Orioles runners on first and second with no outs, but Alonso and Samuel Basallo both struck out a hard-throwing Enyel De Los Santos. O’Neill then hit a grounder to second base, but the alignment of the Astros’ defense made it a tough game for Altuve. O’Neill reached nearly 29.3 feet per second to beat the throw, and Henderson, an automatic runner, raced all the way from second to score easily. Taveras then singled to score Ward and double Baltimore’s lead.
The Orioles will look to sweep Sunday with Bradish, their new $90 million shortstop, on the mound opposite Astros righty Hunter Brown.
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