BALTIMORE — When the ball nestled in Cedric Mullins’ glove in center field, right-hander Jorge López finally let out his emotion. The closer entered with two outs in the eighth inning Saturday, because there are times the biggest moments don’t occur in the final inning.
This was one such moment. Faced with the bases loaded in a one-run game against the Cleveland Guardians, López held the game there. Then he came back out for the ninth and shut the door.
The Orioles’ bullpen had creaked to that point, with left-hander Keegan Akin allowing two runs and right-hander Dillon Tate allowing two runners. Even López hit the first batter he faced in the eighth. But those blips didn’t lead to a full-on collapse, as the relievers held on long enough to secure the bounce-back 5-4 victory at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
