Orioles Rally Past Mets in Dramatic Game 1 of Doubleheader

BALTIMORE – It took David Peterson 90 pitches to weave together a masterpiece at Camden Yards on Thursday, and it took one bad slider from Ryne Stanek to pull the threads loose. The Orioles surged past the Mets, 3-1, in Game 1 of a doubleheader.

The Mets were ahead, 1-0, before Colton Cowser’s single off Peterson to kick off the eighth inning prompted Carlos Mendoza to call on Stanek from the bullpen. Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino responded by bringing in lefty hitter Gunnar Henderson from the bench.

Henderson made an impact, crushing a knee-high slider 400 feet to right field for a go-ahead home run, marking the second pinch-hit homer for the Orioles this season and the first of Henderson’s career.

Stanek struggled further, walking pinch hitter Ryan O’Hearn and inducing a ground ball out before walking the next two batters, resulting in the bases loaded for Ramon Laureano. Laureano delivered a sacrifice fly to right field, extending the Orioles’ lead to 3-1.

The Mets, who planned to use a bullpen strategy for the nightcap, let Stanek face one more batter. However, after Stanek walked Tyler O’Neill, he was replaced by Austin Warren, who managed to retire Ramon Urias to end the eighth inning.

This late upheaval overshadowed a strong performance by Peterson. The big left-hander held the Orioles scoreless through seven innings, allowing only one run on five hits with no walks and six strikeouts, lowering his ERA to 3.06.

The Mets’ lone run came in the fifth inning when Charlie Morton issued a walk to Brett Baty, who stole second base and scored on Tyrone Taylor‘s double to right.

In other notes, Jesse Winker, recently returned from an oblique injury, was taken out in the fourth inning due to back tightness. Additionally, the Mets recalled Luisangel Acuna from Triple-A Syracuse, designating Travis Jankowski for assignment. Mendoza noted the decision to give Acuna more playing time was crucial for his development.