A horrible third inning in which starter Foster Griffin surrendered eight runs was too much for the Cleveland Guardians to overcome, as they lost 9-5 to the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards on Wednesday, thus dropping the series two games to one. Their record is now 74-73, but they still hold the third and final Wild Card spot in the American League.
Griffin quickly solved the first two innings, but ran into endless problems in the third. In the end, he wound up pitching just 2.1 frames and conceding eight runs in total, on seven hits and two walks. His ERA for the season increased to 3.66.
Much needed off day tomorrow.#GuardsBall pic.twitter.com/XCUFv01hwb
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) September 10, 2026
The Guardians, however, were the first ones to score. Chase DeLauter, fresh off returning to the lineup after missing a few games with a wrist issue, belted a two-run homer, his 14th of the year, in the first frame.
Griffin suffered some tough luck, as he didn’t really give up that much hard contact in that fateful third frame. Dylan Beavers hit a two-run double that tied the game, and it left his bat at 53.4 mph.
He also became his own worst enemy, and that needs to be said. He hit Christian Encarnacion-Strand with a pitch with the bases loaded to gift the Orioles the go-ahead run, and allowed a Jackson Holliday single to make it a 4-2 ballgame.
In the same inning, Rece Hinds brought home the fifth run, scored by Coby Mayo, with a sac fly. Jeremiah Jackson’s and Leody Taveras’ consecutive RBI singles finally knocked Griffin out of the game, but reliever Matt Festa allowed one of the inherited runners, Jackson, to score the eighth run of the inning on a new Beavers’ single.
Cleveland scored three times in the sixth to cut the Orioles’ lead to 8-5. First, Nathaniel Lowe belted a two-run shot, and then Patrick Bailey doubled in Angel Genao.
Mayo’s solo home run in the bottom of the sixth would extend Baltimore’s lead to four runs, though. The run, charged to Franco Aleman, was unearned because Jose Ramirez committed one of two Guardians errors with two outs.
The Guardians’ bullpen was actually magnificent after Griffin. Festa threw 2.1 scoreless frames, and Aleman followed with 2.1 of his own, in which he only conceded the unearned run. Daniel Espino also tossed a shutout inning.
The Guardians’ offense wasn’t bad at all, with five runs and nine hits, three of which went for extra bases: DeLauter and Lowe’s home runs and Bailey’s double. That forgettable third inning, however, was too big of a hurdle.
The Guardians will have Thursday off before traveling to Minnesota to play a three-game series vs. the Twins on the weekend.
NEXT: Stephen Vogt Hints At Potential Changes To Guardians Rotation
