Baltimore Orioles Daily: Spirits sag as bullpen loses game in 8th

(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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The Baltimore Orioles were well on their way to a second consecutive win at Guaranteed Rate Field, but their bullpen couldn’t get the job done.

The Baltimore Orioles bullpen delivered one of their best performances of the year on Monday night, but they couldn’t keep it going in the second act of their four-game slate against the Chicago White Sox. The Birds held a 2-0 lead heading into the eighth inning, but by the end of the night, they were on the wrong side of a 3-2 final score.

The Orioles got their offense in the second inning, when Mark Trumbo and Jace Peterson rallied to bring home Jonathan Schoop and Pedro Alvarez in consecutive at bats. Throw in 6.1 strong innings from Kevin Gausman, and the O’s looked well on their way to securing a narrow win for the second consecutive night.

The trouble began in the eighth, when righty Mychal Givens gave up a leadoff triple to Daniel Palka, who scored on the next at bat. Givens faced three more hitters and promptly loaded the bases. His replacement, Richard Bleier, allowed two of them to score; the inning didn’t end until Miguel Castro struck out Jose Abreu on four pitches. In the ninth, the Birds put two men on base but ran out of gas, ending the ballgame.

It was a demoralizing loss for a team that remains desperate for a good week. We’ll see if the Orioles can gain the advantage in the series tonight at 8:10 p.m. Until then, here’s what you might have missed yesterday.

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Will the Orioles bounce back tonight? Let us know on social media, and keep it here at Birds Watcher for more Baltimore Orioles news and analysis.