McKenna’s 10th-inning homer gives the Orioles a 6-4 win over the Mariners

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This article was published 24/06/2023 (862 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BALTIMORE (AP) — Ryan McKenna entered the game as a defensive replacement in a routine ninth-inning substitution.

Then plans quickly changed — and it turned out the Baltimore Orioles would need his bat.

McKenna hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the 10th to give the Orioles a 6-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Saturday.

When McKenna replaced Anthony Santander in right field, Baltimore was trying to protect a one-run lead, but he could only watch as Mike Ford’s tying homer off closer Félix Bautista sailed past.

So the game went to extra innings. The Mariners weren’t able to advance their automatic runner at all in their half of the 10th. Mike Baumann (5-0) retired J.P. Crawford on a grounder to the pitcher and then struck out Julio Rodríguez and Ty France.

With one out in the 10th, McKenna hit a drive to right-center off Justin Topa (1-3) for his second homer of the year.

“It’s awesome,” McKenna said. “It’s stuff you try to visualize, try to be prepared for that moment, and yeah, winning the game like that is always sweet.”

Ford homered twice for Seattle, and Crawford and Rodríguez also hit solo shots.

Santander had four hits for the Orioles, including a solo homer.

Aaron Hicks also went deep for Baltimore, which rebounded from a 13-1 shellacking against the Mariners on Friday night. Rodríguez made a leaping, spinning catch in center field, reaching above the wall to rob Ryan O’Hearn in the seventh.

The Orioles welcomed Cedric Mullins back from a groin strain, but Hicks — who has performed well as a replacement — made an impressive bid to stay in the lineup. He started in center field with Mullins as the designated hitter, and his solo homer off Gabe Speier in the sixth put the Orioles up 4-3. Ford tied it with a 434-foot drive off Bautista — with Seattle down to its last out.

“He got a really good fastball, he put a great swing on it,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said. “It doesn’t get any bigger than that in that moment. Good for him.”

McKenna had a rough start to the season. In Baltimore’s second game, he dropped what would have been the final out at Boston. The next batter hit a homer to win it for the Red Sox.

But McKenna has remained someone the Orioles can use in a variety of roles — as Saturday’s game showed.

“Just sticking to a good routine,” McKenna said. “Talking to a lot of guys that do play every day and seeing what they do and soaking it all in.”

Dean Kremer allowed three runs and five hits in seven innings for Baltimore.

The Orioles scored first on Adam Frazier’s RBI single in the second. Ford and Crawford homered in the third, but Santander answered with a drive to right-center that tied it at 2 in the bottom of the inning.

Santander’s run-scoring single in the fifth put the Orioles up 3-2, but Rodríguez tied it an inning later with his 13th homer.

Hicks was released by the New York Yankees after hitting .188 in his first 28 games this season. When Mullins went down with his injury in late May, the Orioles picked up Hicks. He has hit four home runs in 20 games with Baltimore.

RUNNING INTO TROUBLE

The Orioles had all sorts of problems on the bases. Frazier was hung up between first and second after his RBI single, and Ramón Urías was thrown out when he tried to dash home on the play. Santander was thrown out trying to advance to second on his RBI single after the throw went into third.

Henderson was picked off first in the eighth, and pinch-runner Jorge Mateo was doubled off first in the ninth when he failed to realize Mullins had hit a routine foul pop.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Mariners: Crawford returned from a bruised shoulder after missing three games. … Seattle reliever Andrés Muñoz left in the seventh with what Servais said was light-headedness.

Orioles: Mullins went 0 for 4 with a walk in his first game since May 29.

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Kyle Bradish (3-3) starts for Baltimore in the series finale against George Kirby (6-6) on Sunday. Kirby has 75 strikeouts and only six walks on the season.

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Follow Noah Trister at https://twitter.com/noahtrister

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports