The 2026 Orioles have played plenty of dumb, bad baseball. But the 10th inning of this 7-6 loss to the Angels on Wednesday afternoon in Anaheim may take the **** le for the absolute worst moment of the entire season. It also completely changed the tone of the now-concluded west coast road trip, which saw the Orioles lose five of nine and go home on a supremely sour note.
Let’s get right into that 10th inning because that ended up being the whole ballgame.
The two teams were knotted at five runs apiece after regulation. The Orioles began the 10th with Blaze Alexander as the Manfred runner at second base. Taylor Ward opened the frame with a single to put runners on a corners. A Gunnar Henderson swinging bunt sent Alexander towards home, but he would be tagged out, a call which was upheld after review. After Leody Taveras flew out for the second out of the inning it seemed like the Birds might not score at all. But Pete Alonso came through with a clutch single to score the one crucial run and give the bullpen a lead to work with in the bottom of the inning.
Keegan Akin was called on for the 10th in a game that saw the Orioles empty their bullpen. The only reliever that did not pitch in this loss was Albert Suárez. And while Akin would carry some blame for the loss, it wasn’t his pitching that was at fault.
Akin struck out Zach Neto to open the frame, and then got a fly out of Vaughn Grissom for the second out. Things were going well! All that stood between the Orioles and a winning road trip was Nolan Schanuel.
Let’s get right into that 10th inning because that ended up being the whole ballgame.
The two teams were knotted at five runs apiece after regulation. The Orioles began the 10th with Blaze Alexander as the Manfred runner at second base. Taylor Ward opened the frame with a single to put runners on a corners. A Gunnar Henderson swinging bunt sent Alexander towards home, but he would be tagged out, a call which was upheld after review. After Leody Taveras flew out for the second out of the inning it seemed like the Birds might not score at all. But Pete Alonso came through with a clutch single to score the one crucial run and give the bullpen a lead to work with in the bottom of the inning.
Keegan Akin was called on for the 10th in a game that saw the Orioles empty their bullpen. The only reliever that did not pitch in this loss was Albert Suárez. And while Akin would carry some blame for the loss, it wasn’t his pitching that was at fault.
Akin struck out Zach Neto to open the frame, and then got a fly out of Vaughn Grissom for the second out. Things were going well! All that stood between the Orioles and a winning road trip was Nolan Schanuel.
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