Bundy Handles Indians As Orioles End Slide With 5-1 Win
CLEVELAND (AP) — The Indians treated their fans to a postgame fireworks display.
Dylan Bundy barely let them hear a pop.
Bundy kept Cleveland's lineup in check — and in the ballpark — for 5 2/3 innings and Jonathan Villar hit a three-run homer as the Baltimore Orioles ended a three-game slide Friday night with a 5-1 win.
Bundy (2-5) cooled off the Indians, who scored a season-high 14 runs in Thursday's series opener and had scored 23 times in the past two games. The right-hander, who has had a problem giving up home runs, threw mostly breaking pitches while not allowing an earned run and just three hits. He struck out seven and threw a season-high 118 pitches.
"Right from the first inning, I really felt good with my off-speed stuff and I was able to get it over," he said. "You're just trying to make your pitches and throw quality strikes."
Villar connected in the third inning off Jefry Rodriguez (1-3) and Stevie Wilkerson homered in the fifth to help the Orioles win for just the second time in nine games.
Wilkerson added an RBI double in the eighth, and the Orioles racked up a season-high seven extra-base hits — two homers, five doubles.
Bundy improved to 4-1 in six career appearances against Cleveland. The 26-year-old had the Indians off-balance while managing to work around some trouble in the third, fifth and sixth innings.
After the Indians put two runners on with two outs on the sixth, he was replaced by Branden Kline, who retired Leonys Martin on a grounder. Shawn Armstrong and Mychal Given completed the combined three-hitter.
Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde didn't have his full complement of relievers after a doubleheader in New York on Wednesday and Thursday's blowout loss.
"Dylan Bundy set the tone with an amazing pitching performance," Hyde said, "just a quality performance on a night when we were so short in the bullpen."
Bundy's been dogged by a nasty habit of giving up home runs the past two seasons. He had allowed 11 coming in after being touched for an AL-high 41 homers last season.
But the Indians didn't put many good swings together and had a rough night after showing signs of emerging from an April-May slump. They never figured out Bundy, who came in with a 5.31 ERA — just below Baltimore's MLB-worst 5.66 ERA.
"Coming into the game, his ERA wasn't good, but he'd been getting left-handers out," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "He continued that trend with a breaking ball, change-up, but he also got our righties out, speeding us up with the fastball and throwing breaking balls to them. He never really let us get comfortable."
Villar's fifth homer barely cleared the wall in right, but it went far enough to give the Orioles a 3-1 lead.
Rio Ruiz doubled leading off and Austin Wynns singled before Villar hit a 1-0 pitch from Rodriguez, who made his first career start against the Orioles while he was with the Washington Nationals last season.
POSITIVE NOTE
Francona was pleased with Rodriguez, who other than the two homers, pitched very well. The lanky right-hander allowed four runs and seven hits in 6 2/3 innings.
"I thought it was the best he's thrown, actually," Francona said. "He threw more breaking balls tonight by far than he has in any other outing. I just think he's fun to watch get better."
UP IN THE AIR
Orioles RHP Dan Straily, who hasn't pitched more than five innings in seven 2019 starts, isn't a lock to remain in the rotation. The 30-year-old allowed four runs in 3 1/3 innings Thursday against the Indians, raising his ERA to 8.51. "In Dan's case, we're going to explore all options," Hyde said.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Indians: C Robert Perez sustained a nasty bruise on the inside of his right knee when he got hit by a foul tip in the second inning of Thursday's win. Perez said his leg stiffened and he nearly came out. "I know there's a pad there, but he was hurting," Francona said. Kevin Plawecki was behind the plate Friday.
UP NEXT
Orioles: LHP John Means (5-3, 2.33) has won his last two starts, allowing just two runs and seven hits in 13 innings against the Red Sox and Angels.
Indians: RHP Adam Plutko will be recalled from Triple-A Columbus and make his season debut. He was optioned to the minors during training camp in March and then placed on the injured list with a forearm strain. Plutko was with Cleveland for six different stints last season.
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