MIAMI — Disaster struck for the Orioles on Tuesday night in the third inning of their series opener against the Miami Marlins when second baseman Jorge Mateo and starting pitcher Albert Suarez were called for consecutive outs.
With no outs and a runner on first base, Mateo injured his left elbow in a collision with shortstop Gunnar Henderson. The two infielders collided while trying to catch a ground ball to center field, with Henderson’s foot pinning Mateo’s arm awkwardly to the ground. Mateo immediately collapsed in pain and left the game after speaking with head trainer Brian Ebel. Jordan Westberg replaced Mateo at second base and Ramon Urias replaced Westberg at third base.
X-rays on Mateo’s elbow were negative, manager Brandon Hyde said after Baltimore’s 6-3 loss. Mateo is undergoing further testing to determine the severity of the injury, but the Orioles plan to fly second base prospect Connor Norby to Miami if necessary, a source with direct knowledge of the decision told The Baltimore Sun.
“He’s currently undergoing further tests and an MRI,” Hyde said of Mateo. “At the moment he’s taking it day by day but we don’t know the extent of the injury.”
After Mateo was injured, the next batter in the third inning, second baseman Otto Lopez, hit a 102 mph liner that bounced off Suarez’s right leg and into the foul zone along the third base line near the Marlins dugout. Hyde and assistant athletic trainer Patrick Wesley met with the 34-year-old right-hander on the mound and pulled him from the game after a brief conversation.
Suarez also got good news after an X-ray was done and was diagnosed with a bruised shin. Hyde was optimistic the injury was not serious and said the game situation was also a factor in his decision to bring him into the bullpen.
“It hurts more now than when I got hit,” Suarez said. “Right now it hurts because of the lack of adrenaline, but the X-rays were negative, so it’s just swelling and pain, nothing else.”
Suarez’s poor start brought in Keegan Akin, who had already warmed up in the bullpen, to pitch with the bases loaded and no outs. The left-hander allowed two runners to score and the Orioles lost the game, 6 to 3. Suarez’s final tally was six earned runs on eight hits in two innings.
The 29-year-old Mateo played second base for the Orioles for most of this season, batting .229 with a .668 OPS and 13 stolen bases while playing well in center field. This is the second time Mateo has been placed on the injured list this season after being hit by a swinging error from Cedric Mullins in the on-deck circle. I hit him in the head On June 2, he was placed on the IL due to a concussion.
Suarez, meanwhile, has been one of the hottest names in baseball this season, entering Tuesday with a 2.82 ERA in his first major league season since 2017. The veteran pitcher has been an invaluable addition to the Orioles’ starting rotation with Kyle Bradish, Tyler Wells and John Means all suffering season-ending elbow injuries, compiling a 5-4 record in 13 starts.
Even before Suarez’s injury, the Orioles had been adding to their starting lineup. Manager Hyde said after the game that promising pitcher Chase McDermott was the right choice. He will make his MLB debut on Wednesday.The team moved four-time All-Star Corbin Burnes to Thursday to give him an extra day of rest. McDermott, a 25-year-old right-hander who was added to the taxi squad on Tuesday, has a 3.96 ERA this season with Triple-A Norfolk.
While the pitching staff has been ravaged by injuries, the Orioles’ starters have remained mostly healthy this season. Mateo’s previous stint on the disabled list gave Norby his first major league experience. Center fielder Jaxon Holliday (No. 2 in Baseball America’s Top 100) and corner infielder Coby Mayo (No. 12) have also performed well for Norfolk.
The bullpen contained both lineups.
After the starting pitcher left the game, neither batting line-up was able to score another run.
Miami came out aggressively against Suarez, scoring four runs in the second inning on a first-pitch solo homer by Jesus Sanchez, two stolen bases (one of which came on a throwing error by catcher Adley Rutschman) and a two-run double by Jazz Chisholm Jr. on a slow grounder to right field.
The Orioles struggled early against Marlins starter Kyle Tyler, scoring Rutschman on Westburg’s RBI single to take a 1-0 lead. Then, in the third inning, in response to Miami’s four-run inning, Ryan O’Hearn and Colton Cowser each hit RBI singles to put the Orioles within three. But base running outs stifled the early offense. In the second inning, Mullins was called out while trying to steal second, and in the next inning, Cowser was called out at third base for the final out.
“We tried to fight back a couple of times, but they blocked it,” Mullins said. “I got out at second base. Cowser got out at third base, but it was blocked. We were totally shut down and they took advantage.”
But the Orioles never got any closer than the third inning. Despite five scoreless innings from relievers Aiken, Birch Smith, Vinny Nittoli and Brian Baker, the Marlins’ relief corps led by former Orioles reliever Tanner Scott dominated in the ninth to earn the shutout win. It was the 17th save of the season for the All-Star left-hander, who turned 30 on Monday and is a trade candidate ahead of next week’s trade deadline.
“We didn’t play well,” Hyde said. “We haven’t played our best for a while. We made a lot of mistakes early in the game, we lost a couple of innings. We need to play better.”
The loss dropped the Orioles to 23-21 since June 1 and 60-40 overall, but with the New York Yankees also losing, Baltimore maintained a 1.5-game lead in the American League East.
Baltimore Sun reporter Jacob Calvin Meyer contributed to this report.
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