CINCINNATI (Interstat) — Samuel Basallo hit a three-run home run in the first inning and the Baltimore Orioles scored five runs in the fourth inning to defeat the Cincinnati Reds 8-5 on Saturday, July 4, 2026, before 33,047 at Great American Ball Park.

The game lasted 3 hours, 2 minutes. Baltimore improved to 42-48, while Cincinnati fell to 40-48. The Orioles won the first game of the series, following a 3-0 shutout Friday. Brandon Young pitched five innings, allowing four earned runs on eight hits with five strikeouts, to earn the win and improve to 7-2. Tyler Wells pitched a scoreless ninth for his second save. Hunter Greene, making his season debut, took the loss and dropped to 0-1 after allowing eight runs in four innings.

Baltimore struck first against Greene in the top of the first. Gunnar Henderson singled to center field. After Adley Rutschman struck out and Taylor Ward flied out, Pete Alonso walked. Basallo then launched a 1-1 pitch over the right-center field wall for his 14th home run of the season, scoring Henderson and Alonso for a 3-0 lead.

Cincinnati answered in the bottom half. Sal Stewart hit a ground-rule double down the right-field line. After a lineout, Eugenio Suarez singled to center to drive in Stewart, cutting the lead to 3-1. Nathaniel Lowe struck out to end the inning.

The Reds took control in the second. Spencer Steer singled to left. Jose Trevino doubled down the left-field line, scoring Steer to make it 3-2. TJ Friedl tripled to right, scoring Trevino to tie the game 3-3. Matt McLain struck out, but Elly De La Cruz singled to right to bring home Friedl, giving Cincinnati a 4-3 lead. After a flyout and a walk, Suarez grounded out to end the inning.

Baltimore’s offense went quiet in the third, but the fourth inning turned the game. Colton Cowser led off with a single to right. Leody Taveras walked, and Jackson Holliday walked to load the bases. Blaze Alexander singled to right, scoring Cowser and Taveras to give Baltimore a 5-4 lead. A challenge overturned a strikeout call on Henderson, but Henderson was later called out on strikes. Rutschman then doubled to right, scoring Holliday and Alexander to make it 7-4. Taylor Ward grounded out, advancing Rutschman to third, and Alonso singled to left to drive in Rutschman for an 8-4 lead. Basallo struck out to end the inning, but the Orioles had sent 10 batters to the plate and taken a four-run lead.

The Orioles defense turned two double plays to stifle Cincinnati rallies. In the fourth, De La Cruz grounded into a double play after a walk. In the sixth, Steer walked and Trevino singled, but Friedl grounded into another double play. The Reds left seven runners on base.

Cincinnati scored its final run in the seventh. De La Cruz walked. Stewart reached on a force out, with De La Cruz out at second. JJ Bleday singled to right but was thrown out trying to advance to second. Suarez then singled to left, scoring Stewart and cutting the lead to 8-5. Lowe walked, but Andrew Kittredge relieved Young and induced a force out from Steer to end the inning.

Kittredge pitched a scoreless eighth, striking out McLain. Wells worked the ninth, allowing a leadoff single to De La Cruz and a walk to Stewart, but retired Bleday on a popout, Suarez on a flyout and Lowe on a flyout to shortstop to secure the save.

Offensively, Basallo finished 1-for-4 with the home run and three RBIs. Rutschman went 2-for-5 with two doubles and two RBIs. Alonso was 3-for-3 with a walk, a double and an RBI. For Cincinnati, Trevino went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Friedl had a triple and an RBI. Suarez had two hits and two RBIs.

On the mound, Rhett Lowder pitched three scoreless innings for Cincinnati, allowing two hits with one strikeout. Julian Garcia added two scoreless innings with one strikeout. Sam Moll pitched two-thirds of an inning, allowing one hit and striking out one. For Baltimore, Kittredge pitched one scoreless inning with one strikeout.

The most important sequence of the game was Baltimore’s five-run fourth inning. Trailing 4-3, the Orioles strung together four hits, two walks and a sacrifice fly to build an 8-4 lead. The rally began with Cowser’s single and included key hits from Alexander and Rutschman, along with Alonso’s RBI single. The inning put Baltimore in control, and Cincinnati never got closer than three runs the rest of the way.

The Orioles snapped a pattern of inconsistent play, having lost four of six before Friday’s win. The Reds had scored seven runs in a win over Milwaukee on Thursday but could not sustain early momentum. Baltimore won without committing an error, while Cincinnati committed no errors but left seven runners on base.

The teams conclude the series Sunday at Great American Ball Park. Baltimore then returns home for a seven-game homestand against the Chicago Cubs and Kansas City Royals, followed by a road trip to Houston. Cincinnati welcomes the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs next before traveling to Colorado.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Baltimore Orioles 4, Cincinnati Reds 3. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Cincinnati with a 51.60 percent probability to win. Cincinnati had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total score of 13 went under the over/under line of 9.