There’s a reason they call Jordan Westburg Mr. Dependable.
An entire stadium — and a national TV audience — was on the edge of its seats, waiting for an extra-base hit so Orioles owner David Rubenstein, acting as Mr. Splash for just two innings, would be able to spray down the Splash Zone.
The game was on the line too, of course. And Westburg, with runners on first and third in the second inning, hit an RBI double to accomplish both tasks. The Orioles got on the board first, and Rubenstein got to hose down his section, with Westburg breaking out into the sprinkler motion as he landed safely at second.
A year ago, all of those things were unimaginable.
Rubenstein was just a billionaire, Westburg was in Triple-A and the Splash Zone was just a regular section next to the bullpen. Albert Suárez, who came on in relief, was in South Korea, and Craig Kimbrel, who came in in the seventh not the ninth, was a closer for the Phillies.
But this is the reality now for the Orioles, who beat the Diamondbacks 4-2 on Friday to open a three-game series.
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“The crowd went crazy,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “It’s awesome what he’s doing. ... To be able to show his personality and be out there with the fans, I just think it’s fantastic.”
The Orioles won on the back of another stellar outing from Cole Irvin, who gave up two runs in 5 2/3 innings. His scoreless streak, dating to April 15, ended in the third inning after 22 2/3 innings when Ketel Marte hit a home run.
“Mentally, physically, this is probably the best I’ve felt in my career,” Irvin said. “Good time for it to pop up. Just trying to build off that confidence, we had a great game plan coming in and the execution of that plan on my end I could have done a little bit better, but all in all this team did a lot of good things tonight to win tonight’s ballgame.”
He was replaced by Suárez, who allowed a run that was credited to Irvin but got the last out. Then, in an unexpected twist, came Kimbrel for the seventh, closer lights show and all.
Kimbrel, signed for $13 million to replace Félix Bautista as the Orioles’ closer, started strong in April before declining in May. He’s blown four saves, giving up the lead Wednesday in a game the Orioles won after 12 innings instead of nine if Kimbrel had performed.
But, as he works through things, the Orioles opted to put him in a less stressful situation. He performed in this scenario, striking out one in a 1-2-3 inning. They will take Kimbrel day by day and situation by situation, Hyde said.
“I just want to get him going, I just want to get him confident, and I know he’s had a rough week,” Hyde said. “Just wanted to change his look a little bit. This guy has done a lot of cool things for a long time, just trying to give him some confidence.”
They sent out Cionel Pérez for the eighth, leaving the ninth up for grabs. The Orioles went closer by committee at the end of last season when Bautista injured his elbow, and they did so again when Kimbrel was unavailable with upper back tightness.
It was righty Yennier Cano on Friday to face a heavy right-handed lineup. He allowed a double to open the inning but got the save.
“They told us all to go out there and be ready,” Cano said through Brandon Quinones, who translated the interview. “I went out there and did what I’ve done all season long, which is to be prepared and do my one inning of work and get the job done.”
So, since they got the win, should Rubenstein be Mr. Splash every night now?
“Maybe only on City Connect nights,” Hyde said.
