James Outman and Max Muncy hit home runs but the Los Angeles Dodgers fell short in completing a sweep of the Baltimore Orioles with an 8-5 loss that snapped their modest two-game winning streak.
After first pitch was delayed 41 minutes due to field conditions because the Orioles did not cover the infield overnight, Will Smith’s RBI double and David Peralta’s blooper gave the Dodgers an early 2-0 lead.
But it was largely downhill from there as Julio Urías allowed a career-worst eight runs over five innings.
The Orioles immediately erased their deficit with a four-run first inning that included four consecutive batters reaching safely.
Baltimore extended their lead in the third inning when Ramón Urías improved to 2-for-2 on the day with a two-run double. The table had been set by Jordan Westburg’s double and a Gunnar Henderson walk, both of which came with two outs.
The Dodgers cut into their deficit on James Outman’s home run that cleared the high wall in left field. Outman became the first left-handed batter to hit an opposite-field home run since the dimensions at Oriole Park at Camden Yards were changed for the start of the 2022 season.
Moreover, Outman’s 414-foot blast was the longest opposite-field home run by a Dodgers player since Kristopher Negrón went the other way with a 416-foot homer on July 31, 2019.
The Orioles responded with a run in the bottom of the fourth inning, but Max Muncy pulled the Dodgers closer with a two-run homer in the fifth.
However, Urías continued to struggle as he allowed a solo home run to Gunnar Henderson in the bottom of the fifth inning. Urías entered with a 1.75 career ERA in the second half, which was the best mark all-time in MLB history (minimum 230 innings pitched).
Dodgers road trip
Although the Dodgers have twice fallen short of completing series sweeps out of the All-Star break, they are 4-2 on their road trip thus far and now face the red-hot Texas Rangers.
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