BALTIMORE — Blake Snell struck out 12 over six innings and allowed just one hit to carry the San Francisco Giants past the faltering Baltimore Orioles 10-0 on Tuesday night.
The Orioles have lost seven of nine to fall four games behind the first-place Yankees in the AL East. Baltimore held a half-game lead on Sept. 5 before its current tailspin, during which it has been outscored 46-18.
Colton Cowser had two of the Orioles’ five hits in their most lopsided shutout loss of the season.
“We’ve been scuffling offensively,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “We had a tough night.”
In this one, the Giants got the only run they needed when Mike Yastrzemski drove the second pitch from Orioles starter Albert Suárez (8-6) over the right-field wall. Yastrzemski added an RBI single in the second after a sacrifice fly by Brett Wisely, and Snell had no problem making the lead stand up.
“Getting runs early on, it feels good to pitch with a lead,” Snell said. “You can be more aggressive.”
Facing a Baltimore lineup without several injured starters, Snell (4-3) flashed the form that enabled him to win the 2023 NL Cy Young Award. The left-hander had at least two strikeouts in every inning but the fourth, and made up for it by striking out the side in the fifth.
“We faced one of the better pitches in the game, and we didn’t swing the bats well against him,” Hyde said.
Snell struck out All-Star Gunnar Henderson three times, the last one in the sixth to culminate his 98-pitch masterpiece.
“Gunnar. Changeups. He just struggles with them,” Snell said. “A lot of lefties do.”
Snell waked two, and the only hit he allowed was a solid third-inning single up the middle by Emmanuel Rivera.
“I like where I was at mentally today,” Snell said.
Since his return from the injured list on July 9 following a groin strain, Snell is 4-0 with a 1.33 ERA with 105 strikeouts in 74 1/3 innings.
“The guy’s unbelievable. He’s on top of it right now,” Yastrzemski said. “He’s a special pitcher. It’s pretty cool to see how dominant he can be.”
San Francisco turned the game into a rout with a six-run ninth against Craig Kimbrel, who long ago lost his job as Baltimore’s closer due to ineffectiveness.
The Giants snapped a four-game losing streak to begin their final road trip of the season.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Giants: SS Tyler Fitzgerald returned to the starting lineup after missing three games with lower back tightness. … INF Matt Chapman headed home to be with his wife, who was ready to give birth.
Orioles: INF Jordan Westburg (hand) took batting practice and is expected to return before the end of the regular season, general manager Mike Elias said. … 1B Ryan Mountcastle (wrist) is working out in Florida and has a chance to return before October. … INF Ramón Urías (ankle sprain) could come off the IL before the end of the season, Elias said. … RHP Grayson Rodriguez (lat strain) is making progress. But Elias said, “Time and the calendar is not our friend.”
UP NEXT
Hayden Birdsong (3-5, 4.74 ERA) starts for the Giants against Dean Kremer (7-9, 4.10 ERA) on Wednesday night.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
