BOSTON -- Ahead of the series finale at Fenway Park on Tuesday, interim manager Tony Mansolino fielded a question from a reporter about his rotation’s recent success.
“Pitching wins [games],” Mansolino said.
So, too, can a chopper in front of the plate.
The Orioles’ game-winner came off the bat of pinch-hitter Samuel Basallo in the 11th inning of a 4-3 victory over the Red Sox as Baltimore won its third straight series.
It was the latest feat for the O’s top prospect in what has been a jam-packed few days.
On Saturday morning, MLB Pipeline’s No. 8 overall prospect found out over breakfast he was getting called up to the big leagues. The following day, Basallo made his Major League debut as the designated hitter in Houston. And on Monday night, he made his first big league start behind the dish at Fenway Park.
Mansolino left Basallo out of the lineup for Tuesday night’s finale against the Red Sox to allow the 21-year-old to catch his breath and review his previous game.
But there was another big moment waiting for Basallo.
Tied in the 11th, Basallo made contact with a changeup six inches off the plate and used some swift footwork to avoid stepping on the ball to allow Jeremiah Jackson to score the go-ahead run.
“Contact’s king in this game,” Mansolino said. “We're talking about batting average, everything the other day, and to me, it's indicative of contact quality. Contact being an important piece of the game. For a long time in this game, it was the three true outcomes, and contact was overlooked. But when you’ve got runners in scoring position, contact wins.”
The scouting report on Basallo suggests the Orioles are getting a major power boost in adding the young catcher to their roster. Basallo had a .966 OPS and 23 homers in 76 games this year in his first full Triple-A season, claiming the best xSLG (.625) and barrel rate (21%) in Triple-A (minimum 250 plate appearances).
While the power is sure to follow Basallo in his transition to the bigs, he showed on Tuesday that he’s capable of getting it done in more than one way.
“I just tried to put the ball in play,” Basallo said through interpreter Brandon Quinones. “I think in that situation, you can't try to do too much and be the hero, so to speak. Can't really focus on trying to hit the ball out of the ballpark. So my goal was to put the ball in play and try to make something happen in that moment.”
Under the lights in extra innings at Fenway Park with a sellout crowd on their feet is no small moment. But Basallo stayed true to his approach, fouling off and then swinging at the first two pitches of the at-bat before connecting on the third.
“It's funny,” Mansolino said. “We kind of got him up right there to pinch-hit, I'm paying attention to see, like, ‘Is he nervous? This is a really big moment he's going up for.’ And, for me, if he was nervous, he probably would have taken the first pitch, because that would have been abnormal, because he swings the bat. And he came out of the gate swinging it, he was himself.”
Basallo’s swing won this one, but Mansolino’s sentiment on pitching still rings true. The Orioles’ rotation entered Tuesday with the lowest ERA (3.06) in the Majors since July 19. For contrast, O’s starters held the second-highest ERA (5.24) behind only the Rockies in games prior to July 19.
On Tuesday, it was Tomoyuki Sugano who set Baltimore up for success, holding Boston to one unearned run over five innings to mark 17 straight road games in which an Orioles starter has allowed four earned runs or fewer.
A strong end to a successful road trip for the O’s, who took series from three playoff hopefuls in the Mariners, Astros and Red Sox. Sitting 8 1/2 games back of the third AL Wild Card spot, Baltimore isn’t necessarily circling October on the calendar. But the last few weeks have indicated that the club is headed in the right direction.
“We’re just trying to play good baseball,” Mansolino said. “We dug ourselves a really deep hole. I think we're really proud that over the last three months of the season, we have one of the better records in the game. So we'll keep playing good. We'll kind of see where this thing goes. And who knows.”