The Baltimore Orioles Ryan Mountcastle was a one man wrecking crew gets congratulated in the Orioles dugout after one of his hits against the Oakland A’s at Camden Yards in Baltimore on Tue Apr 11, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s ( finally got some offense Tuesday night in Baltimore. The A’s hitters put eight runs on the board. The A’s had 12 hits in the game. The only problem is the A’s pitching surrendered three homers to the Orioles (6-5), and the A’s lost their sixth straight game 12-8.

The A’s pitching could not stop the Orioles’ offense. O’s first baseman Ryan Mountcastle was a one-man show. Mountcastle alone beat the A’ 9-8. Mountcastle had three hits, including a three-run home run and a grand slam. Mountcastle’s nine RBIs were the most ever by an A’s opponent.

The A’s pitching needs to be fixed. The A’s have the worst run differential in baseball this year. They need better performances from the starters, and the bullpen has not stopped anyone. 

The A’s drew first blood in the top of the first. Oakland put a run on the board when Brent Rooker singled to drive in Tony Kemp. Baltimore answered with a run in the bottom of the first. Austin Hays doubled and scored on Mountcastle’s single.

Oakland went ahead 2-1 in the third. The Orioles tied the game in their half of the inning 2-2. Baltimore took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fourth. O’s second baseman, Ramon Urias, leading off, walked. DH James McCann doubled to deep right field to drive in Urias. 

In the fifth, the A’s batted around, scoring five times to go ahead 7-3. The rally started when O’s starter Grayson Rodriguez walked leadoff hotter Ryan Noda. A’s DH Jesus Aguilar struck out. Rodriguez walked Rooker and Jace Peterson to load the bases. O’s manager, Brandon Hyde, brought in Austin Voth to pitch.

A’s shortstop Kevin Smith singled to drive in Noda. Conner Capel grounded out, and Rooker scored on the play. The A’s led 4-3. The next hitter, catcher Shea Langeliers, blasted his second big fly of the season to put the A’s ahead 7-3. The Orioles plated three more runs as they did in the first and third.

Kyle Muller was still on the mound for the A’s. Orioles leadoff hitter Austin Hayes reached on an infield single. Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman singled to put men on at first and second with no out. Ryan Mountcastle was the next hitter. Mountcastle homered to make it 7-6. The big first baseman had driven in five of the Orioles’ six runs.

Lefty Trevor May was on the hill for Oakland in the bottom of the sixth. With one out, Austin Hays jumped on a hanging curve and sent it out of the park to tie the game 7-7

The Orioles’ onslaught continued in the bottom of the seventh. Baltimore put five runs on the board. With one run in and the bases loaded, Ryan Mountcastle sent the Orioles’ fans into delirium when he sent a Danny Jimenez pitch over the wall for a grand slam. The pitch was right over the center of the plate, and Mountcastle did not miss. 

The A’s scored a run in the ninth, but it was not enough as the Orioles down the A’s 12-8.

Game Notes: With the loss, the A’s are now 2-9. Oakland has the worst record in baseball right now. A’s starter Kyle Muller did not get a decision. His line was four innings pitched, seven hits, and six runs. He gave up a home run to Mountcastle. Muller walked three and struck out three.

The hitting stars for the A’s were Brent Booker, Jace Peterson, Kevin Smith, and Shea Langeliers. Booker, Peterson, and Smith each had two hits. Langeliers had a three-run blast.

Baltimore’s starter Grayson Rodriguez went four and 1/3rd innings. He gave up six hits and five runs.

The hitting stars for the Orioles were Mountcastle, Rutschman, and Austin Hays. Mountcastle had three hits to drive in nine runs, including a three-run dinger and a grand slam. Rurschmand had two hits and scored two runs. Austin Hays homered for the second night. Hays finished with four hits, four runs scored, and two RBIs.

The time of the game was three hours and eight minutes. 12,305 were on hand to see the Orioles beat the A’s

On Wednesday, the A’s will send lefty Ken Waldichuk (0-2 ERA 14.54) to the hill to face the Orioles righty Dean Kremer (0-0 ERA 10.13) will pitch for Baltimore. The game will start at 3:35 pm.