BALTIMORE — The Orioles had been riding high.
They ended the first half on a five-game winning streak, were well-represented at the Home Run Derby and All-Star Game and opened the second half with another victory. However, the start of Saturday’s game popped that bubble. The Miami Marlins scored four runs in the top of the second and Orioles star center fielder Cedric Mullins exited with a right quadriceps injury in the bottom half.
The deflating feeling of trailing early and losing a key player would have been more than enough of an excuse had the Orioles lost. But they didn’t. Baltimore topped Miami, 6-5, at Camden Yards for another comeback victory — a common theme throughout the Orioles’ stellar season.
The win was the Orioles’ 56th of the season, including seventh in a row. Thirty-three of them have been in come-from-behind fashion.
After trailing by four early, Baltimore had cut that down to one by the seventh inning. One night after the surprise power of Adam Frazier propelled the Orioles to victory, their two home run leaders — Anthony Santander and Gunnar Henderson — came up clutch. Henderson tied the game with a leadoff home run and Santander roped a single to drive in what held up as the winning run.
The long ball was Henderson’s 14th of the season, a total that only trails Santander’s 16. The 22-year-old hit a towering fly on the first pitch of the at-bat, a hanging cutter from reliever Huascar Brazobán.
Austin Hays and Adley Rutschman followed with one-out singles to give Santander, the Orioles’ RBI leader with 52, a chance to put the Orioles ahead. The switch-hitter delivered with an RBI single to right field to give Baltimore’s bullpen a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
After starter Kyle Gibson allowed five runs across a shaky 5 1/3 innings, Mike Baumann, Yennier Cano and Félix Bautista followed with 3 2/3 scoreless frames. Bautista, who saved Friday night’s win, retired the side in order to slam the door for the 25th time this year.
The Orioles, who own the American League’s second-best record at 56-35, will go for their sixth series sweep of the season Sunday against a Marlins team that entered the second half with the second-best record in the National League. The seven-game winning streak ties their season-best stretch from April 16-24.
Around the horn
— Manager Brandon Hyde said the Orioles don’t have a timetable for when left-hander John Means could begin a minor league rehabilitation assignment. Means, who is on the 60-day injured list recovering from Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery, threw a bullpen in Baltimore on Friday, with Hyde saying he’s “progressing extremely well.” Hyde also said the club hasn’t decided what role Means could be used in if he does return to the majors this year. “We haven’t really even discussed that yet,” Hyde said. “We just want to see him get healthy and then we’ll kind of figure out where we are roster-wise — where we are in the rotation, where we are in the bullpen. … I don’t know what our roster’s going to look like, but by the time he’s ready, it’s still a ways away.”
— Left-hander Cionel Pérez began his rehab assignment Saturday with Double-A Bowie. Pérez, who is on the 15-day IL with left forearm soreness, pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings without allowing a hit and striking out three.
