Categories: 2024 Postgame Recaps

Taijuan Walker battles, Phillies offense relatively quiet in loss to Orioles

Taijuan Walker allowed three earned runs on Saturday. (Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire)

Final Score: Orioles 6, Phillies 2

After an exciting, 11-inning win on Friday, the Phillies took the field at Camden Yards Saturday afternoon looking to secure a series win over the Orioles. The pitching matchup was Taijaun Walker versus Grayson Rodriguez — a struggling veteran and an up-and-coming right-hander.

Walker entered play with a 5.40 ERA on the year. He turned in one of his better performances so far, as he allowed three runs on six hits, one of which was a solo home run to Anthony Santander. The veteran worked around a third-inning jam by allowing just one run. Three innings later, Walker was pulled from the game with two outs in the sixth after nearly getting himself out of another jam.

The Phillies’ No. 5 starter is continuing to redevelop his pitch mix. Walker’s best pitch a season ago was his splitter, an offering he hasn’t utilized or had much success with this year. Of his 92 pitches on Saturday, only eight were splitters. The solo home run he gave up came on a splitter that caught too much of the plate. Walker continued to rely mostly on his sinker and sweeper against the Orioles

The offense responsible for backing up Walker wasn’t able to come through when it mattered most. After the Phillies scored two early runs off Rodriguez, they didn’t have much more success against the 24-year-old. Between the second and fifth innings, 10 straight Phillies hitters were retired without reaching base.

Between the sixth and seventh innings, Rob Thomson’s lineup had a bit more success, getting multiple runners into scoring position. But the Phillies didn’t come through in those spots, leaving their run total at two.

The Phillies’ one-run deficit through seven innings would go on to fade in the bottom of the eighth as the Orioles plated three runs. It didn’t matter much, though, as the club’s offense remained quiet against Baltimore’s bullpen in the eighth and ninth innings.

Highlights

After Bryce Harper lined a two-out single into right field in the first inning, Alec Bohm drove a 1-2, down-and-out slider into the right-center field gap for a double. Harper hustled around the bases and scored, giving the Phillies an early 1-0 lead.

Like Bohm in the first, Edmundo Sosa drove an outside slider to the opposite field in the second inning, but this one left the yard for a leadoff home run, extending the Phillies lead to 2-0.

In the bottom of the second, the Phillies made a pair of strong defensive plays. Johan Rojas dove to catch a sinking liner in center field for the second out of the inning.

And Walker gloved a comeback liner to end the frame.

The Orioles scored a run in the third to cut the Phillies’ lead in half. After a leadoff double and single, Adley Rutschman drove a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Ramón Urías from third. Walker then worked his way out of the inning from that point, inducing back-to-back ground outs to shortstop.
An inning later, Santander launched his solo home run to begin the fourth, tying the game at two runs apiece.
In the top of the sixth, Bohm and Bryson Stott recorded a pair of two-out hits — a single and a double — to put runners on second and third for Sosa, who struck out to end the threat, keeping the game tied.
The game didn’t remain tied for long. The Orioles took a one-run lead in the bottom of the sixth after a sequence of back-to-back singles and a sac fly from Santander resulted in a run and a 3-2 lead.
Gregory Soto replaced Walker in the sixth with two runners on and two outs. Soto quickly got out of the frame without allowing any more damage by striking out the right-handed pincher-hitter Austin Hays.
After Garrett Stubbs was nearly picked off and stole second base with one out in the top of the seventh, the Phillies threatened with another runner in scoring position, this time with one out. But Rojas popped out and Kyle Schwarber grounded out to end the inning and run-scoring threat.

Santander drove in two more runs on his second home run of the day, and third of the series, in the bottom of the eighth, launching a hanging José Ruiz curveball well beyond the right-field wall.
Gunnar Henderson drove in another insurance run on a single to give the Orioles a four-run lead.
After walking Stott to start the inning, Craig Kimbrel struck out the next three hitters he faced to end the game.

Notes

On Rutschman’s third-inning sacrifice fly, Nick Castellanos was charged with a throwing error — his first in error 414 games. The last time Castellanos was charged with an error was exactly three years ago today on June 15, 2021.
Before Saturday’s game, the Phillies activated Brandon Marsh from the injured list and optioned Weston Wilson to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Marsh played left field and batted seventh. He went 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.

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