BALTIMORE (AP) — Chris Taylor fouled off four straight pitches. Then Bryan Baker threw him one fastball too many.
Taylor hit a grand slam on an 0-2 pitch in the sixth inning, and the Los Angeles Dodgers rallied to beat Baltimore 6-4, snapping the Orioles' eight-game winning streak Monday night. Baltimore remained a game behind Tampa Bay atop the AL East.
“He threw me a bunch in a row and I was able to get to that one,” Taylor said. “You can't cheat to it, because he's got slider and changeup as well. So you really are just trying to touch it. I think I was just able to kind of make the adjustment as he kept throwing them."
Los Angeles trailed 4-1 entering the sixth before Will Smith's RBI single. Baltimore starter Grayson Rodriguez left with men on first and second and nobody out, and for a moment it looked like Baker (3-3) might escape the jam when he induced two straight flyouts.
But after getting ahead 0-2 on Jason Heyward, Baker issued a walk to load the bases. After two foul balls made the count 0-2 on Taylor, the right-hander threw three fastballs around the plate. Following a couple more fouls, the Los Angeles shortstop hit a drive to center field for his 12th homer of the year.
“It probably could have been in a better spot,” Baker said. “Just a little bit too far out over to give him time to get to it.”
Emmet Sheehan (3-0) allowed four runs in five innings, but the Orioles did not come all that close to scoring on the Los Angeles bullpen. Ryan Brasier worked a hitless ninth for his first save since joining the Dodgers last month. He did allow a walk to Colton Cowser leading off the inning when he was called for a pitch timer violation with the count full.
Freddie Freeman finished a homer shy of the cycle for the NL West-leading Dodgers, and his triple to center — which Aaron Hicks couldn't quite hold onto at the wall — started the big sixth inning.
Adley Rutschman homered for the Orioles.
Ryan Mountcastle opened the scoring for Baltimore with an RBI double in the first. Adam Frazier hit a run-scoring grounder in the second, and Gunnar Henderson followed with an RBI triple to make it 3-0.
After J.D. Martinez's RBI single in the fourth, Rutschman made it 4-1 with a solo homer in the fifth.
Taylor now has six grand slams in his career, including two this year. Prior to this season, he hadn't hit one since 2017.
“My first full season with the Dodgers, I feel like four of my first like 10 homers were grand slams,” Taylor said. “It just worked out that way.”
RETURN
One of baseball's top prospects when he made his debut early this season, Rodriguez was sent down after posting a 7.35 ERA in 10 starts. He was recalled to make Monday's start and was sharp early, reaching triple digits with his fastball. But he was charged with four runs in five-plus innings when the runners he left in the fifth both ended up scoring.
IT'S OFFICIAL
Baltimore signed OF Enrique Bradfield, its first-round draft pick.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Dodgers: Heyward (neck soreness) was in the lineup and went 0 for 2 but drew the game's key walk.
Orioles: OF Cedric Mullins (quad tightness) missed a second straight game.
UP NEXT
The Orioles send RHP Tyler Wells (7-4) to the mound against RHP Michael Grove (1-2) of the Dodgers on Tuesday night.
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Noah Trister, The Associated Press