If Orioles starter Dylan Bundy was incredulous about what appeared to be a Tommy Pham popup leaving Camden Yards for a home run two batters into Friday’s second-half opener against the Tampa Bay Rays, imagine how the rest of the Rays’ seven-run inning must have felt.
That was how the Orioles’ ignominious return to action began after a respectable end to the first half: always trailing, and always by a lot, in a 16-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays before 22,422 fans at Camden Yards.
“Really disappointed with how we played,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “We did not play the game well. So, it’s a lot of things to clean up and get back to work, because that was really sloppy defensively and just poor. Poor baseball.”
Seemingly everything Bundy (4-11) threw in that first inning went for a hit, and he didn’t return for a second inning after allowing eight hits in a marathon inning that also included a balk, a stolen base and a wild pitch.
Hyde said Bundy came in with a sore knee, though he couldn’t tell by watching him.
“I just felt like they were on everything,” Hyde said.
“Knee’s a little sore, but I just wasn’t locating,” Bundy said. "I didn’t really have any good movement on pitches. They came out aggressive and hitting the ball where there was plenty of grass, and I couldn’t really slow ’em down.”
He certainly had the worst day, but few Orioles could say they had a good one. Renato Núñez hit his 21st home run of the season in the fourth inning and doubled home another in a two-run ninth. The Orioles also scored with a Jonathan Villar single to score Rio Ruiz, who tripled, in the third.
But Villar also made two errors as part of a forgettable night for the Orioles (27-63) in the field. For example: Tampa Bay’s 11th run scored when Kevin Kiermaier singled to right field, took second when Trey Mancini bit on his big turn around first and threw to the base, then scored when Villar tried to turn a grounder to short into an out at third base, throwing it past Ruiz to the Rays’ dugout.
Everybody pitches
Right-hander Gabriel Ynoa was summoned for the second inning and got the Orioles to the seventh, allowing nine runs (seven earned) before giving way to Asher Wojciechowski. Hyde commended Ynoa for eating the innings he did under less-than-ideal circumstances.
Miguel Castro pitched the eighth before utility man Stevie Wilkerson became the fourth Orioles position player to pitch this season.
Wilkerson tossed a 1-2-3 ninth inning.
The Orioles allowed 20 hits, 18 of which came against Bundy and Ynoa.