Grayson's struggles give O's no margin for error

BALTIMORE -- The Orioles needed the second-half version of Grayson Rodriguez on Sunday. They needed the rookie right-hander to show the same poise and composure he did while helping pitch the team into the postseason. They needed length, and they needed a rising star to step up to even the American League Division Series vs. the Rangers. It was a lot to ask of the 23-year-old, but this is the postseason.

Rodriguez was not up to the task in his brief playoff debut, setting the tone early in Game 2 and giving Baltimore too much of a hole to climb out of -- even though, in trademark fashion, it came close to doing so.

Now, the O’s incredible 2023 season is on the brink.

The Orioles are facing a 2-0 deficit in the ALDS after a late comeback attempt fell short in an 11-8 loss to the Rangers at Camden Yards. For Baltimore to extend its season, it will need to win Tuesday’s Game 3 at Globe Life Field to force a Game 4 there Wednesday -- which it will also need to win to force a winner-take-all Game 5 back home Friday.

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“There’s really no quit in this team,” said Rodriguez, who went only 1 2/3 innings and allowed five runs, all of which came during a five-hit, two-walk rally by Texas in the second.

Rodriguez’s outing was the third shortest by a starter in Orioles postseason history. The only shorter starts were by Jim Palmer (Game 4 of the 1973 AL Championship Series) and Dennis Martinez (Game 4 of the 1979 World Series), who each went only 1 1/3 innings.

“He was getting ahead of quite a few hitters there, especially in that big inning, just had a tough time putting guys away,” manager Brandon Hyde said of Rodriguez. “Just a young starter that just didn't have his best stuff from the get-go."

Earlier this year, Rodriguez had a similarly tough showing vs. the Rangers at Camden Yards. On May 26, he allowed nine runs (eight earned) in 3 1/3 innings, and he was optioned back to Triple-A Norfolk the next day. He was much improved upon his return to the big leagues, posting a 2.58 ERA in 13 second-half outings, a performance that earned him the ALDS Game 2 start.

Since rejoining Baltimore’s rotation, Rodriguez hadn’t allowed more than four earned runs -- which happened only once, in his return outing vs. the Dodgers on July 17 -- until Sunday, when he yielded six hits and four walks in his abbreviated 59-pitch start.

“He’s been phenomenal for us. This is kind of something you don’t expect,” outfielder Aaron Hicks said. “He’s such a good pitcher, he’s been good for us down the stretch. It’s just unfortunate.”

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It was then a long night for a Baltimore bullpen that has shown it doesn’t quite have the depth to navigate the bulk of a tense, high-stakes postseason contest. The Rangers busted the game open on Mitch Garver’s third-inning grand slam off right-hander Jacob Webb, putting the O’s in a 9-2 hole that was too much to overcome.

Still, there was a valiant effort by the Orioles, owners of an AL-high 48 comeback wins during the regular season. They pushed across a pair of runs in the fourth, then Gunnar Henderson swatted a solo homer (the rookie’s first in the postseason) in the fifth.

Baltimore made things much more interesting in the bottom of the ninth, when Henderson drew a one-out walk and moved to second on an Austin Hays single. That prompted Texas manager Bruce Bochy to pull left-hander Brock Burke for righty José Leclerc (who earned the save in Saturday’s Game 1).

Hicks greeted Leclerc by launching a three-run homer to right-center field, giving the 46,475 at Camden Yards a sliver of renewed optimism.

“We’re out there scoring runs,” Hicks said. “We’re doing everything possible to try to win these games.”

But Leclerc regrouped, as he got pinch-hitter Ryan O’Hearn to fly out to left field and struck out Cedric Mullins to again send a raucous Baltimore crowd -- hungry for postseason success -- home unhappy, despite the O’s last-ditch efforts.

“Even when we were down 9-2, we kept fighting and brought it back pretty close,” Henderson said. “It just goes to show you that no matter what the situation is, we’re going to keep fighting and never count us out.”

The 101-win, AL East champion Orioles have been resilient all season. But they now face their toughest task yet.

In all best-of-five postseason series, teams that have taken a 2-0 lead have gone on to win 78 of 88 times (89 percent). In Division Series with the current 2-2-1 format, 14 of the 16 clubs (88 percent) to win Games 1 and 2 on the road have advanced, 10 via sweep.

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The most recent team to win Games 1 and 2 on the road and not win? The Rangers, who blew a 2-0 lead in the 2015 ALDS to the Blue Jays.

Before looking too far ahead, though, Baltimore must first focus on not getting swept, something that hasn’t happened to the club since May 13-15, 2022, a span of 91 multigame series. The O’s will look to notch their first postseason win since the ‘14 ALDS -- and stave off elimination -- on Tuesday.

“We’ve got to keep scoring runs. We’ve got to keep putting pressure on them, getting into the bullpen deep. We’ve got to keep doing what we do,” Hicks said. “We’ve just got to keep pushing forward, because we can’t lose again.”