As Tyler Wells approached Camden Yards’ mound Thursday evening, he took a short second for himself.
He knew the duty at hand — three extra outs to safe the Orioles an American League East title — and he was prepared. But after his jog from the bullpen, as he walked to the rubber to throw his warmup pitches, he paused, seemed round and reveled within the second, realizing the journey he’s taken to get there.
“I looked around and said, ‘Wow, this could be it,’ Wells said. “I knew I still had a job to do, but hearing Birdland and hearing Camden just go absolutely nuts … it was so incredible to be a part of it.”
Wells was the Orioles’ finest beginning pitcher within the first half of the season, however as fatigue set in after the All-Star break, he was optioned to the minor leagues and quickly transitioned again right into a reliever. He didn’t return till final week, lacking the primary clinch celebration regardless of the essential function he performed within the achievement.
The Orioles’ roster is full of gamers like Wells, whose windy path serendipitously led to Thursday’s ninth inning. But few have reached highs as excessive — or lows as low — as Wells in 2023.
He mentioned Thursday’s achievement — recording the ultimate three outs of the Orioles’ 2-0 win over the Boston Red Sox — is the best of all of them, and it makes him admire the odyssey he endured to make it there.
“If you would’ve told me this at the beginning of the year,” Wells mentioned within the clubhouse throughout Baltimore’s celebration, “that I would’ve been starting for the first half and closing out to win the AL East, I would’ve told you you were joking.”
Eleven days prior, because the Orioles chugged from the homer hose throughout their wild playoff clinch celebration, Wells was with Triple-A Norfolk, two days faraway from a poor reduction outing. He and a gaggle of gamers with the Tides, together with Ryan McKenna, Cole Irvin and others who spent a lot of the 2023 marketing campaign with Baltimore, obtained a FaceTime from common supervisor Mike Elias and skipper Brandon Hyde.
“It did hurt not having some of those guys here for the celebration the other week,” Elias mentioned.
Wells mentioned that day was “bittersweet.” He felt satisfaction for his teammates and for the function he performed on a staff that clinched the franchise’s first playoff berth since 2016. But he additionally longed to really be there — popping champagne bottles, pouring beer over his teammates’ heads and dancing to the blaring music.
“We loved seeing the guys and them having fun,” Wells recalled. “To be up here now with all these guys is amazing. I wish the guys who were down there with me at that time were up here as well. I know that I’ll be thinking about them tonight.”
This time, although, he obtained to have a good time. With goggles on, he chugged a Budweiser with Austin Hays. He and Anthony Santander embraced in an extended hug. Jordan Westburg sprayed him within the face with champagne, and Wells returned the favor by dumping a beer on the rookie’s head. And he was one of many first gamers to slurp from the homer hose as teammates doused much more champagne on his face.
“I’m going to cherish this forever,” he mentioned.
Before these shenanigans, although, Wells was given a troublesome process. The 6-foot-8 right-hander entered with a 2-0 lead, dealing with the center of Boston’s order. It was his first MLB save alternative since September 2021, when he was final an enormous league reliever.
Entering the competition, Hyde didn’t plan on having Wells pitch the ninth inning of a two-run recreation. “It was just kind of the way it happened,” he mentioned. It was the primary time the 29-year-old pitched on consecutive days this season.
“For me, Tyler’s a pitcher first,” Hyde mentioned. “That’s why you take your chances.”
Hyde’s belief in Wells isn’t stunning. As spring turned to summer time, Hyde advocated for Wells to be an All-Star. Before Kyle Bradish emerged as Baltimore’s ace, it was Wells who was the staff’s No. 1 starter.
In 104 2/3 innings, Wells posted a glowing 3.18 ERA and MLB-best 0.927 WHIP. He allowed two or fewer runs in 12 of his 17 first-half begins.
“He was a horse. He was our best pitcher in that first half,” Bradish mentioned. “I’m so happy that he’s here to experience this.”
But he “hit a wall,” Elias mentioned, to start the second half and was demoted to Double-A for what Hyde known as a “reset.” It was removed from the primary velocity bump in Wells’ profession.
As a minor leaguer with the Minnesota Twins, Wells underwent Tommy John elbow reconstruction in 2019. After he recovered from the surgical procedure, the Orioles chosen him within the Rule 5 draft, and he made the roster of a Baltimore staff in 2021 that misplaced 110 video games. He was a reliever all through that season and have become the staff’s nearer in September. Last yr, he was as soon as once more one of many Orioles’ finest starters within the first half, however two accidents precipitated him to overlook many of the second half.
After one other adversity-filled yr, Hyde is worked up for what’s to come back for Wells — in 2023 and past.
“He’s a favorite. He’s a great story,” Hyde mentioned. “He’s going to be better for it next year. To kind of swallow his pride a little bit, honestly, and pitch in Double-A and Triple-A games just to see if we can hopefully get him out of the bullpen in spots like this, he’s come through.”
When the Orioles optioned him in late July, Elias envisioned getting Wells again to pitch as a reliever in video games like Thursday’s.
Wells was prepared.
He dealt with the high-pressure second with ease, inducing groundouts of Adam Duvall, Alex Verdugo and Trevor Story to finish the sport. As the Orioles rushed the sector, he was on the heart of the celebration.
“We wouldn’t be here without him,” mentioned beginning pitcher Dean Kremer, who earned the win with 5 1/3 scoreless innings. “It’s kind of like a full circle moment having him to close out a game like this.”
“You couldn’t write that up better,” catcher James McCann mentioned. “We’re not here without Tyler Wells.”
After about quarter-hour of celebrating within the clubhouse, although, Wells took one other second for himself. As his teammates continued the get together, Wells went out to the sector for half an hour together with his fiancee, Melissa Carpenter, who was a “big support system” throughout his stint within the minors.
“I wanted to make sure that this moment was just as special for her as it was for me,” he mentioned.
When he returned to the clubhouse, he walked slowly to rejoin the get together, grinning from ear to ear, as soon as once more taking all of it in.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com