Orioles hitters fail to support Burnes in 1-0 loss in Game 1 of Wild Card Series (updated)

Corbin Burnes threw his final warmup pitch, stepped off the mound, turned his back to home plate and crouched down before his catcher could do so. With his head bowed, he chose a crowded venue for a private moment.

Burnes finally got up, faced home plate and owned it again.

That's why the Orioles traded for him. Begins on Opening Day and Game 1 of a playoff series, in this case the Wild Card Round. To be that guy. But he can't score runs himself.

Bobby Witt Jr. hit a two-out single in the sixth inning to take their first lead of the day, and the Orioles were held to a disappointing 1-0 loss today by Cole Ragans and three relievers in front of an announced crowd of 41,506 Camden Yards silenced.

The playoff losing streak extends to nine games since the Royals won the 2014 Championship Series. They have to win on Wednesday afternoon with Zach Eflin in the starting lineup or face another loss.

“It’s win or go home,” Burnes said. “I think this is a team that I would like to play against anyone. I’m looking forward to going home, getting some sleep, coming back tomorrow and watching the guys do their thing.”

The Orioles lost a playoff game 1-0 for the third time in their history, following Game 3 of the 1974 Championship Series against Oakland and Game 6 of the 1997 ALCS against Cleveland.

“We have to turn the tide,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “We have our backs against the wall and have to play well tomorrow.”

Ragans fulfilled his expected end of the matchup with six scoreless innings, but had to leave the game after 80 pitches with left calf cramps. He allowed four hits, walked none and struck out eight.

The Orioles sent runners to the corners in the fifth, but Ragans struck out James McCann and Gunnar Henderson. Kris Bubic walked Henderson with two outs in the eighth and Jordan Westburg singled, but Anthony Santander singled against closer Lucas Erceg.

Pinch-hitter Ryan O'Hearn singled off Erceg in the ninth, providing a final glimmer of hope that ended with a strikeout, a fly ball and a strikeout from pinch-hitter Heston Kjerstad.

Burnes continued, hitting a double-play ball in the seventh and throwing five pitches in the eighth, putting him at 83. Fans once again stood to cheer him in the ninth after Maikel Garcia hit a leadoff single on the first pitch, which was only the fifth hit for the Royals.

They also wondered if allowing a run would ruin the day.

No Orioles starter has thrown a pitch in the ninth inning of the postseason since Scott McGregor won the 1983 World Series with a complete-game shutout in Philadelphia.

“That was incredible,” McCann said. “He threw the ball extremely well. To do that in the first game of the playoffs was great. You have to give Corbin credit for that. He did a great job.”

Burnes retired 15 of the first 17 batters, the only damage being a pair of singles, before striking out Garcia with one out in the sixth. Garcia stole second base, advanced on a ground ball and scored when Witt lined a first-pitch cutter to left field.

“The walk hurt, the walk cost us the game,” Burnes said. “I attack him a little better and don't let him run, we get through it and it's 0-0 and we have a chance. Unfortunately, the one big hit from Bobby today was the deciding factor in this game.”

Vinnie Pasquantino, coming off the injured list after a month-long absence with a broken thumb, was on deck with first base open. The Orioles beat Witt, the likely runner-up to Aaron Judge for the American League's most valuable player.

“I let Corbin Burnes and the way he throws the baseball right there dictate who he goes after,” Hyde said.

“We were going after him,” Burnes said. “We did well on the first two ABs against him. We hit the cutter down and away, he made some pretty bad swings, weak contact. It was a pretty good pitch. Again, he didn't hit him very hard, I just found a hole and that was the difference in the game.

Royals manager Matt Quatraro said he wasn't surprised the Orioles refused to trade Witt.

“I mean, this guy was incredible today,” he said of Burnes. “He has incredible stuff. He locates. You know, this is your best pitcher and our best hitter. That’s why you play this game, right?”

McCann threw Witt out as he tried to steal, but Ragans came back and retired the team in order. Its removal made no sense until the media was informed about the lower leg discomfort.

“I felt it twitch a little bit,” Ragans said. “I didn’t want to take it too far. I want to be healthy. I plan on having a few more launches. So I just didn't want to push it so far that it ends up being a little more serious than it needs to be.

“Actually, this is the first time I've heard that it took him out of the game, but he threw the ball extremely well,” McCann said. “He made throws when he needed to. We had opportunities. I had an opportunity myself and credit must be given to it. He threw the ball really well, he made his throws when he needed to. Both he and Corbes did a great job today keeping the opposition lineups down.”

The Orioles brought some momentum into Game 1 by winning five of their last six games, but also won only two of their last 11 home series after July 1st. The club has featured several versions of itself in 2014.

Burnes moved in August but retooled his cutter and returned to top form.

His first inning today consisted of nine pitches, all strikes and Michael Massey's soft leadoff single that didn't hurt him. Third baseman Ramón Urías caught Salvador Perez's 107.1 mph ill-intentioned groundball with two outs and shot to second base for the Force. On the way back to the dugout, Burnes hit his glove several times with his fist.

Twelve straight batters were retired before Yuli Gurriel led off the fifth with a single. Burnes averaged 10 pitches per inning through the fourth inning.

“It was a heck of a pitching game from both sides, and Burnesy only allowed one run in the ninth inning, so he threw a pitch,” Hyde said. “He did his part. Absolutely fantastically pitched. Showed me all year what kind of pitcher he is, and today he got even better in this game.”

Normal rest didn't make him normal. Burnes was cut to five innings and 69 pitches in New York for the occasion.

“He was super focused, super focused,” Cedric Mullins said. “In one of those areas where you’re not going to interrupt that in any way. He did a great job out there holding us. It's frustrating not to come through for him. I think that's the most frustrating thing about it.”

MJ Melendez followed Gurriel's single with a double play in which first baseman Ryan Mountcastle showed off his reflexes to catch the ball on his knees at the bag. A crowd that needed a cue from the scoreboard to get loud did so on its own.

Mullins went hitless in 12 at-bats in the Division Series last year after going on the injured list for the second time with an adductor/groin strain. He doubled the out-of-town scoreboard early in the third inning today with his 30th^Th birthday, but Ragans let him down with a huge assist from the revamped left field.

Westburg's fly ball reached the end of the warning track at 378 feet, a home run in 28 of 30 furlongs per Statcast. A two-run shot is easily possible here before the wall moves again in 2022.

The bat flew out of the hands of Ramón Urías on a fly ball to left center field in the fifth that Melendez ran over for a poison double. Mullins hit a single to center field while Urías was held at third base, but McCann struck out in three pitches and Henderson struck out in five.

“Then you rely on your teammates to pick you up,” Mullins said. “It’s not happening today, but I have every confidence that our guys will come back tomorrow with a new mindset and tackle it.”

The opportunities were there for the Orioles, who went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left seven of them. That was true for Burnes as well, but he could only do so much.

“That’s baseball,” said Burnes, whose eight-plus innings is a season-high. “The postseason is usually won with a big blow. Today there was only one shot that meant anything in a drawn game. We have to regroup and face a different arm (Seth Lugo) tomorrow, so we were looking forward to that. The fans were excited there, so we have to come out and play again tomorrow.”

“It’s tough,” McCann said. “A three-game series, anything can happen. Our backs are against the wall, but we’ve been in a series before, were down after the first game and now we have to find a way to win two.”

Former Oriole Steve Pearce will throw out the ceremonial first pitch on Wednesday. The Orioles hope to honor their Game 3 agreements and travel to New York for the Division Series.

“I think everyone understands the situation we are in and we have to win tomorrow,” Hyde said. “I don’t think it’s a team meeting. I think everyone completely understands what the situation is.”

“We have an opportunity to right the ship tomorrow,” Eflin said, “and we will show up prepared and ready to go.”

“It’s win or go home,” Henderson said, “so just go out there and play like that, just scratch and scratch and try to score as many runs as you can.”