Kyle Bradish lasts only 3 innings as Orioles lose to Blue Jays, 7-3

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TORONTO — Kyle Bradish may need a breather. He wouldn’t go along with that idea. The Orioles aren’t likely to admit it, either. The right-handed starting pitcher appears to have hit a wall, however, and that wall arrived early in Saturday’s 7-3 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.

Bradish, who has pitched more than he has since 2023 due to past injuries, surrendered two homers as part of the five runs Toronto plated in three innings. Since late July, Bradish has fallen from the early-season heights that prompted a contract extension.

Bradish finished his July 22 start with a 3.49 ERA. Including Saturday’s loss, he holds a 5.83 ERA across his next nine starts.

“Terrible,” Bradish said of his Saturday start. “Giving up way too much damage, walking guys, putting our team in a big hole to start the game more times than not. So, not good.”

About his overall performances the last six weeks, Bradish felt the same way: “It’s been a tough six weeks. Don’t really have answers for it. Just gotta keep going out there and throwing the baseball.”

When asked whether fatigue from his innings load is playing a part, Bradish demurred.

“No,” Bradish said. “Arm feels great.”

The trickle-down of that short start — the seventh time in nine outings that Bradish didn’t complete six innings — is it forced Baltimore’s bullpen to carry the bulk of the load Saturday. And, although those relievers did well, with two runs among them in five innings, the Orioles (72-77) were behind immediately when the Blue Jays began teeing off on Bradish.

Leadoff walks in the first and second innings didn’t help. Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s double and Alejandro Kirk’s single plated a pair of runs in the first inning, and then Toronto found the long ball. Brett Bateman homered for a second straight game, and Kirk lifted a two-run shot.

“We talk through everything. Everything is on the table,” manager Craig Albernaz said when asked whether the Orioles would consider shortening Bradish’s starts or skipping a turn. “But, with K.B., he’s such a competitor and he’s been our guy all year, so we feel comfortable giving him the ball every time he pitches.”

Bradish’s day was done after three innings, and the Orioles’ offensive approach during the Blue Jays’ bullpen game wasn’t strong.

One sequence in the third inning proved emblematic of the poor at-bats that creep into the Orioles’ game at times this year. Left-hander Joe Mantiply threw eight pitches. None was in the strike zone. And yet, despite all those would-be balls, Mantiply got out of the inning in no time.

Dylan Beavers, Pete Alonso and Jackson Holliday were all ahead in the count. They all swung at balls, although Beavers’ was a check swing and he didn’t mean to make contact. The three routine groundouts let Mantiply off the hook.

“It’s a funky slot, and it comes in and looks like a strike, but it’s not,” Albernaz said. “It’s a tough look. That’s why [Mantiply is] an All-Star.”

Expanding the zone is not an across-the-board issue for Baltimore. The Orioles entered with a 9.8% walk rate, which is the fourth best in baseball, and their 15.3% chase rate as a team is about league average. But, as the offense struggled to create pressure against the Blue Jays’ bullpen, it was as maddening as the inning prior.

In the second inning, the bottom of Baltimore’s order came to the plate against right-hander Spencer Miles, who barely escaped a bases-loaded jam in the first because Christian Encarnacion-Strand’s fly ball lost steam at the warning track. Miles struck out Heston Kjerstad, Colton Cowser and Carlos Narváez.

This has been a particularly poor season for Narváez, the catcher acquired with several prospects from the Red Sox in exchange for Adley Rutschman. Narváez’s OPS dropped to .476 on Saturday, and for as well as he does behind the plate as a catcher, he realizes he needs to bring more on offense.

“In the blink of an eye, I’m two strikes right now. Battling. It’s not a fun spot to be, and I’ve kind of been in that spot the whole year,” Narváez said. “It’s very frustrating, because I hate that version of me, that I’ve been hitting. I know that’s not me, but I’ve got to show that. On my end, I’ve got to keep working. It’s very frustrating, believe me. But this game is for tough people. We’re tough mentally, and I think I learned that this year more than anything.”

Alonso found a semblance of revenge later, and it leaves him on the doorstep of history with a return to Citi Field — his longtime home with the Mets — arriving Monday. He belted a two-run home run off the left-field foul pole, and with it the slugger has 299 long balls in his career.

That also marks Alonso’s 35th home run this year, which is 18 more than any Orioles player managed last season.

Little else went Baltimore’s way except a twist of nostalgia at third base, when Encarnacion-Strand fielded a chopper and faked a throw to first base before turning to third. He threw to Gunnar Henderson, covering the bag, and Henderson tagged out Andrés Giménez. It was eerily similar to a play Manny Machado made in 2012 and, upon inspection, it’s even more amazing.

Machado’s fake-to-first, throw-to-third play came Sept. 12, 2012 — exactly 14 years ago.

Two standout defensive plays on the same date. Baseball has that way about it.

Apart from that, the Orioles will want to forget this one quickly. As right-hander Chris Bassitt said Friday night, Baltimore must treat every game as a must-win situation, even if there is slightly more wiggle room than that. The Orioles have a chance to win the series Sunday, but with Bradish scuffling immediately, they were out of this game early.

“We can’t dwell on it, and they won’t dwell on it,” Albernaz said. “We’ve got to turn the page fast.”

This article has been updated.