Baltimore Erupts for Six in Third, Buries Cleveland 9-5
Baltimore turned a tied game into a rout in the span of one inning, scoring six runs in the third to put Cleveland away for good. The Orioles won 9-5, with Dylan Beavers delivering the knockout blow twice — first with a two-run double, then with an RBI single to cap the third-inning explosion.
Cleveland actually drew first blood, and in emphatic fashion. Chase DeLauter launched a 410-foot home run to right center in the first inning, scoring Kwan and staking the Guardians to a 2-0 lead. For two innings, that looked like it might be enough — Franco Aleman was sharp out of the Cleveland bullpen, throwing 2.1 innings of one-hit, scoreless ball. Then the third inning happened, and it happened all at once.
Beavers' double to shortstop, scoring Narváez and Taveras, was the moment the game turned. Win probability swung from 49% to 69% in Baltimore's favor on that single swing. What followed was a sustained assault: an Encarnacion-Strand hit by pitch scored Beavers to make it 3-2, Jackson Holliday singled home Alonso for 4-2, a sacrifice fly from Hinds pushed it to 5-2, and then two more singles — from Jackson and Taveras — kept the line moving. By the time Beavers singled to right to score Jackson and make it 8-2, Cleveland's starter was long gone and the game was effectively over. Six runs, seven plate appearances with runners in scoring position, and Baltimore's lineup had cycled through with ruthless efficiency. Beavers finished 2-for-5 with 3 RBI. Coby Mayo scored twice and added a solo homer in the sixth to push the final to 9-5.
Cleveland made it interesting for a moment in the sixth — Nathaniel Lowe hit a 407-foot homer to right, and a Bailey double scored another run to cut it to 8-5 — but Mayo's answering shot to left center at 407 feet slammed the door. Shane Baz was far from sharp for Baltimore, allowing 5 earned runs on 6 hits over 5.2 innings, but the offense made his rough outing irrelevant. The story of the night was that third inning: six runs, a complete reversal of momentum, and a Cleveland team that never recovered. DeLauter and Lowe each homered for the Guardians, but two solo-ish swings were never going to be enough against a Baltimore lineup that looked locked in from the moment Beavers stepped to the plate.