BALTIMORE — Before opening a series with the worst team in the American League, Orioles manager Brandon Hyde was faced with a series of questions about his lineup. It featured neither Cedric Mullins nor Adley Rutschman, typically the top two hitters in his starting nine, partly for rest and partly because the Oakland Athletics were starting a left-hander.
“We have a lot of options right now,” Hyde said before the game. “Never had this many guys on the bench that I want to play. That’s what good teams have. They have depth, and it’s nice to have depth. It’s nice to have really good players on your bench being able to put them in in maybe the biggest spot of the game.”
That’s exactly what he was able to do Friday night. As the Orioles threatened in the eighth inning of a tie game, Hyde called on both Mullins and Rutschman as pinch-hitters. The A’s intentionally walked Mullins to load the bases, then Rutschman worked the count full to draw his own free pass. That delivered a lead that Jorge Mateo extended with a two-run single, providing the difference in Baltimore’s 5-2 victory to keep pace in the AL wild-card race.
