The approach John Means pitched Tuesday was encouraging. The approach his offense hit wasn’t.
In his first begin since April 2022, Means pitched 5 innings of three-run ball, pounding the strike zone and searching like a beginning pitcher able to remaining within the rotation for the rest of the season.
But Baltimore’s bats didn’t again him up, placing collectively maybe their worst offensive efficiency in weeks towards the worst statistical beginning pitcher within the main leagues. St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Adam Wainwright entered Tuesday with an 8.19 ERA that was 1.31 runs worse than another starter with greater than 80 innings pitched, however the Orioles couldn’t capitalize towards the struggling veteran and his bullpen in a 5-2 loss.
The matchup towards the National League Central-worst Cardinals was ripe for the taking, because the Orioles have spent the previous few weeks as probably the greatest offenses within the sport. They scored 48 runs of their earlier 5 video games and averaged 7.62 since Aug. 28.
But regardless of totaling 9 hits and 5 walks, Baltimore couldn’t come via with runners in scoring place, going 1-for-12 in such conditions with three double performs and 10 runners left on base. The membership entered Tuesday with an .850 OPS in these moments, rating first within the majors.
The lone runs the offense managed got here off Wainwright within the fifth inning on an Anthony Santander single and a Ryan O’Hearn groundout. Wainwright, who tossed 5 innings of two-run ball, has spent the 2023 season trying to find his 2 hundredth win, getting into the marketing campaign with 195. The 42-year-old’s victory Tuesday was his fourth of the season towards 11 losses, making the potential Hall of Fame candidate one win away from the milestone.
Baltimore falls to 91-53 and a pair of 1/2 video games above the Tampa Bay Rays, whose recreation towards the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday remains to be ongoing, for the very best report within the American League. The Orioles’ magic quantity stays at 4, with the possibility to maneuver to 3 if the Seattle Mariners lose to the Los Angeles Angels late Tuesday evening.
Means strong in return
Means’ return was nearly derailed within the second inning.
Toeing the rubber at Camden Yards for the primary time since April 13, 2022, Means allowed the primary three batters of the body to achieve base on balls hit softer than 75 mph, a string of unhealthy luck that may typically spiral into extra misfortune. But because the left-hander typically did when he headlined the Orioles’ rebuild-era rotation, he didn’t flinch.
He gave up only one run after the bases-loaded, no-out jam — a sacrifice fly to Jordan Walker — en path to a strong five-inning begin. Means wasn’t the All-Star model from 2019 or the no-hitter mannequin from 2021, managing only one strikeout and 7 swings and misses, however that was by no means the expectation Tuesday, and he doesn’t should be that pitcher to assist the Orioles down the stretch.
He pounded the zone in addition to any Orioles starter has this season, with 55 of his 75 pitches going for strikes and never issuing a stroll. Aside from the 2 bloop singles within the second, the opposite two hits Means allowed have been solo house runs — one within the first inning to Paul Goldschmidt, the opposite within the fourth to former Towson University standout Richie Palacios.
Means bought stronger because the outing progressed, retiring 12 of the ultimate 13 batters he confronted. The common exit velocity off him was simply 85.7 mph. His fastball averaged 92.2 mph, near the speed he confirmed in 2021.
Jorge López adopted Means with a scoreless sixth however allowed two within the seventh because the Cardinals (64-81) took a three-run lead. Palacios hit his second solo shot, the primary two-homer recreation of his profession, and Lars Nootbaar singled off Cionel Pérez to attain a run charged to López. Former starter Cole Irvin pitched two scoreless innings to save lots of the remainder of the bullpen getting into Wednesday’s sequence finale. With Kyle Gibson on the mound, the Orioles hope to win their eighth straight sequence.
Starting pitchers Kyle Bradish, Jack Flaherty, Grayson Rodriguez and Dean Kremer are slated to start out the pivotal four-game sequence towards the Rays this weekend.
This story will probably be up to date.
Cardinals at Orioles
Wednesday, 6:35 p.m.
TV: MASN
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
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Source: www.bostonherald.com