Orioles bounced by Indians in series finale

CLEVELAND -- There they sat, the battery from one of the Orioles' best feel-good wins in weeks, Alex Cobb and Austin Wynns, together in the visiting dugout for the better portion of the series finale. If Sunday's performance at Progressive Field is any indication, the Orioles (37-87) may have to reach back for that one for a while.
Rookie starter Yefry Ramirez allowed seven earned runs before recording an out in the fourth inning and the O's were held scoreless on the afternoon in an 8-0 series-clinching loss that couldn't get Baltimore out of Cleveland fast enough.
As the O's transition into a team rebuilding, games like Saturday -- when Cobb tossed a complete game gem -- are an anomaly. Contests like Sunday, which highlighted Ramirez's inexperience, the O's woeful bullpen and an infield in flux, have become commonplace. The Orioles are evaluating for the future, which very often means young players taking their lumps and trying to figure things out on baseball's biggest stage.

"You've got to self-correct sometimes, but the game speeds up up here," manager Buck Showalter said, likening Ramirez's struggles to the rise of rookie catcher Austin Wynns.
"The game's kind of slowed down for [Wynns], like the emotion of coming into those situations into a game and being able to keep that in check and not rush and be faster and try to do more and try to throw harder. You look at guys' walk totals in the Minor Leagues and you watch how they jump up up here. There's a reason for that."
Such was the case for Ramirez on Sunday. The 24-year-old -- making his ninth career start -- surrendered a career high in runs (seven) and allowed seven hits and five walks (one intentional) to the first-place Tribe. The righty, who exited after walking in a run in the fourth, watched Melky Cabrera take reliever Sean Gilmartin deep for a grand slam that pushed his line even further into the red.
"Truly, I wasn't able to attack the zone today, attack the hitters and execute quality pitches," Ramirez said through an interpreter.
The young righty, who owns a 6.49 ERA in nine starts, is still looking for his first quality outing. And while no one can deny his struggles, Ramirez wasn't the only reason the Orioles lost the rubber match.
Indians righty Mike Clevinger struck out seven over six innings, breezing through the O's lineup and helping pave the way for their 11th shutout loss this season. The Orioles have been held to three or fewer runs in 70 of their 124 games this season. On Sunday, only Chris Davis and rookie Cedric Mullins recorded multiple hits as the O's were no match for Clevinger or the Tribe's bullpen -- which allowed just two hits in the final three innings.
"They've got some really good examples, guys that know what they're trying to do and are able to execute," designated hitter Mark Trumbo said of what guys can take away from the weekend set against the Indians. "Their offense is top tier, they have great starting pitching, and they play great defense. There's a number of things to say about them. They've got it going on."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
The Slam: Facing a four-run deficit, the Indians put things out of reach with Cabrera's grand slam off Gilmartin. Three of the runs were charged to Ramirez, while Gilmartin went on to record four outs after that.

TRUMBO LIKELY TO DL
Trumbo had a flareup with his right knee and will fly back to Baltimore to get an MRI while the team goes to Toronto. He is likely headed to the disabled list.
"I just really worry about my teammates and how it might cost them," Trumbo said. "If I can get this right, sooner or later, I think everyone's better off."
UP NEXT
The Orioles will travel to Toronto where Andrew Cashner will get the ball opposite Marco Estrada on Monday. Cashner is 4-10 with a 4.71 ERA on the year. First pitch is slated for 7:07 p.m. ET at Rogers Centre.