Athletics vs Baltimore Orioles

The game was scoreless through two innings before the Orioles scratched across a run in the third. Leody Taveras delivered a ground-rule double to right field, scoring Coby Mayo from first to make it 1-0 Baltimore.

Colton Cowser extended the lead in the fifth with a solo home run to center field on a 1-2 count, his 13th of the season, making it 2-0.

The Orioles broke the game open in the sixth. Dylan Beavers singled and Coby Mayo walked before Taveras struck again, lining a two-run double to left field that scored both runners and pushed the lead to 4-0.

The Athletics answered in the bottom half. Jonah Heim singled, Jeff McNeil singled, and with the bases loaded after a Zack Gelof single, Lawrence Butler drew a four-pitch walk to force in Heim for Sacramento's first run. Donovan Walton was then hit by a pitch, scoring McNeil, cutting the deficit to 4-2.

Donovan Walton drove in another run in the eighth with a single to right, making it 4-3 and bringing the tying run into scoring position. But the Orioles' bullpen held firm.

Baltimore added a crucial insurance run in the ninth when Colton Cowser scored on a wild pitch from Elvis Alvarado, restoring the two-run lead at 5-3.

The top of the sixth was decisive. After Taveras's two-run double made it 4-0, the Orioles seized control of the game's momentum. The Athletics answered with two runs in the bottom half, but Baltimore's bullpen trio of Yennier Cano, Cam Sanders and Andrew Kittredge combined to retire 10 of the final 13 Athletics batters, preserving the lead.

Shane Baz (BAL) — W (5-14): 5.2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K. The right-hander battled through 84 pitches, leaving with the lead and earning his fifth win of the season despite a losing record. He induced seven ground-ball outs and kept the Athletics off the board through five innings. Player of the match.

Leody Taveras (BAL) — 2-for-3, 2 2B, 3 RBI, BB. The outfielder drove in three of Baltimore's five runs, delivering two-run double in the sixth after opening the scoring with an RBI double in the third.

Colton Cowser (BAL) — 1-for-4, HR (13), RBI, 2 R. His solo shot in the fifth gave the Orioles breathing room, and his aggressive baserunning led to the crucial ninth-inning insurance run.

Carlos Cortes (ATH) — 2-for-4, RBI. The left fielder collected two hits and drove in Walton in the eighth to pull the Athletics within one run.

The Athletics out-hit the Orioles 10-7 but committed three errors, including one from starting pitcher Jack Perkins that led to an unearned run. Baltimore's pitchers stranded nine Athletics baserunners, with the bullpen escaping bases-loaded jams in the sixth and seventh innings. The Orioles' 5.2 innings from Baz were exactly what the taxed Baltimore bullpen needed after Brandon Young's seven-inning gem in the series opener.

The Orioles improved to 67-69, keeping pace in the crowded AL Wild Card race. Baltimore has now won two of three in this series after dropping four of five overall. The Athletics fell to 53-83, last place in the AL West by a wide margin. Sacramento heads on the road to face the Houston Astros next, while the Orioles travel to face the Tampa Bay Rays.

Shane Baz gave Baltimore exactly what it needed — five-plus solid innings — and the bullpen held firm under pressure. The Athletics had chances but couldn't overcome their defensive miscues or the two-out hitting of Taveras, who was the difference in a game that was closer than the final score suggests.