Adley Rutschman and Ryan Mountcastle hit back-to-back home runs and the Baltimore Orioles held on to nip the visiting Athletics 3-2 in a series opener Friday night.
They rode seven innings of solid pitching from Tomoyuki Sugano to pull out a victory despite registering only three hits.
Nick Kurtz and Tyler Soderstrom each had two hits for the Athletics, who were coming off a series victory at Washington.
Losing pitcher J.T Ginn (2-4) lasted five innings, allowing three runs on three hits with two walks and nine strikeouts.
Baltimore went ahead in the first inning when Gunnar Henderson walked and scored on Rutschman’s ninth homer of the season. Mountcastle, who was playing in his first big-league game in more than two months, followed with his third long ball of the season.
The only other hit for the Orioles came on Henderson’s third-inning infield single. Baltimore threatened so seldom that it stranded only two runners on base.
But Sugano (9-5) had things in control, limiting the Athletics to five hits and two walks with four strikeouts. He has gone more than a month without a loss, posting a 3-0 mark during that span.
Yennier Cano and Keegan Akin, who picked up his second save, each pitched an inning in relief.
The Athletics got a run in the fifth inning on Luis Urias’ sacrifice fly. Soderstrom’s eighth-inning, two-out single cut the gap to 3-2.
The Athletics left seven runners on base.
The Orioles, who are 28-27 at home, were playing in their first home game since the trade deadline, when several of their core players were dealt away.
–Field Level Media
