Irvin sharp again for the Orioles, and Kimbrel pitches in the 7th inning of a 4
BALTIMORE (AP) — Cole Irvin pitched into the sixth inning in another effective start, and a reshuffled bullpen held on for the Baltimore Orioles in a 4-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night.
Struggling reliever Craig Kimbrel was taken out of the closer’s role for this game, but he worked a perfect seventh inning. Jacob Webb retired two batters in the eighth, but then walked a batter. Cionel Pérez came on and hit pinch-hitter Joc Pederson with a pitch before Eugenio Suárez hit a routine grounder to end the threat.
Yennier Cano then pitched around a leadoff double in the ninth for his second save.
Arizona’s four-game winning streak was halted. The AL East-leading Orioles have won six of seven.
Irvin (4-1) allowed two runs and five hits in 5 2/3 innings. That snapped a streak of three straight scoreless starts for him, but it was another solid outing for a left-hander who struggled last year after the Orioles acquired him from Oakland. He struck out six with one walk.