Zach Eflin took a perfect game into the sixth inning, James McCann homered and doubled, and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Colorado Rockies 6-1 in Denver on Sunday.
Eflin retired the first 15 Colorado batters, needing just 49 pitches to get through five innings, before Jake Cave led off the sixth and singled on a dribbler down the third base line.
Eflin walked the next batter, Jordan Beck, but got out of the inning with a double play and a comebacker. He left after allowing a run on four hits and one walk and striking out a season-high nine in seven innings.
Eflin (10-7) was placed on the 15-day injured list on Aug. 20 (retroactive to Aug. 17) with right shoulder inflammation. He improved to 5-0 in five starts since Baltimore acquired him from the Tampa Bay Rays on July 26.
Anthony Santander and Gunnar Henderson had two hits each for Baltimore (79-59), which moved within a half-game of the American League East-leading New York Yankees.
Michael Toglia had two hits for Colorado (51-87), which lost a home series for just the second time since dropping two of three to Washington on June 21-23.
Colorado’s Ty Blach, pressed into service when original starter Cal Quantrill went on the IL with a triceps injury, walked Austin Slater to begin the game. Santander singled to put runners on the corners, and Slater scored on Henderson’s single.
Blach got out of the jam with a flyout and a double play to trail just 1-0.
Another leadoff walk in the fourth came back to haunt Blach as Eloy Jimenez scored when Cave misplayed Coby Mayo’s single to right, allowing Mayo to reach third. He scored when Cedric Mullins’ popup got lost in the sun for another single.
McCann followed with a homer to left, his fifth of the season.
Blach (3-7) allowed five runs on five hits in four innings.
The Orioles added a run in the seventh on Henderson’s RBI single.
The Rockies broke through on the scoreboard with three consecutive singles with two outs in the seventh.
–Field Level Media