Orioles’ offense supports Matt Harvey in 7-5 win over Marlins

On a night when starting right fielder Anthony Santander was lost to a sprained ankle, the Orioles gave themselves a comfortable lead early and hung on for a 7-5 win over the Miami Marlins at loanDepot Park on Tuesday night.

While it tightened in the middle innings, starter Matt Harvey was pitching with a lead all game thanks to a two-run double by Rio Ruiz in the first inning and solo home runs by Trey Mancini and Freddy Galvis in the third.

The 32-year-old right-hander earned his first win with the Orioles (8-9) by pitching five innings of three-run, eight-hit ball, breaking a streak of nearly 21 months without a win in the big leagues for the former All-Star.

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An Orioles first inning that seemed doomed when Santander sprained his ankle retreating to first base on a pickoff attempt eventually improved, with Santander’s replacement Austin Hays scoring on a Maikel Franco ground ball before the Orioles picked up two on Ruiz’s double.

Harvey could have helped his own cause with the bases loaded but didn’t rue stranding them. The two home runs in the third inning and a run-scoring double by DJ Stewart in the fourth gave Harvey a big cushion to work with. The Orioles didn’t have another hit until the eighth inning, when Ruiz doubled and scored on a single by Galvis.

Galvis has eight of his 15 hits on the season, including both of his home runs and three doubles, on this current road trip. Mancini joined Galvis and Ruiz with two hits in the win.

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Perhaps the bookend days off around this two-game series emboldened Orioles manager Brandon Hyde to use all of his top relievers Tuesday, but at least it came in a win.

Shawn Armstrong put on all three batters he faced to begin the sixth in relief of Harvey, and two scored on Adam Plutko’s watch. Tanner Scott, Paul Fry and César Valdez combined to handle the seventh, eighth and ninth without any further incident.

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Outfielder Heston Kjerstad, who was the Orioles’ top pick in the 2020 draft at No. 2 overall but hasn’t played since due to the heart condition myocarditis, will report to the Orioles’ secondary camp at Bowie on Wednesday, according to multiple reports, including MLB.com.

Kjerstad was held out of the team’s fall instructional camp and was invited to major league spring training as a camp reserve but wasn’t cleared to play. Instead, the Orioles planned to have him go to the Bowie site where the team’s Triple-A team is working out in preparation for its season next month.