Baltimore Orioles: What Pitching Problems?

The Baltimore Orioles regained the American League East lead on Friday night after strong pitching led them to a 5-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians.

With a tattered rotation at the end of the first half of the season, along with a bullpen that has pitched a large number of innings, the Orioles clearly were a team in need of some pitching solutions.

Over the past 10 games in which the O’s have gone 6-4, the Baltimore pitching staff has put up an ERA of 2.93 over 86 innings, yielding 28 earned runs.

Last night it was Dylan Bundy who threw five very good innings to gain his first career win as a starter. Clearly making the difference for him on this occasion (as compared to the previous start against the Yankees) was his ability to mix pitches and command all of his arsenal. He gave up one run on five hits, not allowing any walks and striking out five.

Bundy’s highly-touted skills were clearly visible. His fastball is an excellent pitch in its own right, but when salted amongst breaking pitches and off-speed deliveries, it gains even more effectiveness. It is no secret that this is the secret for any pitcher – to command a variety of pitches that give multiple looks. Doing it successfully is just so darn hard!

Adding to the 2016 legend of the Orioles bullpen was the performance of Odrisamer Despaigne. He nearly registered a four-inning save, falling one out short, but giving Zach Britton an easy chance for his 31^st save of the season. The 3.2 innings was the longest of the season for “O” … as Buck calls him!

His stuff was rather filthy in every way with tremendous movement of the full mix of his pitches. Just ask Juan Uribe who took an 0-2 fastball that nearly came through the ear hole of his batting helmet. Clearly a pitch that got away from Despaigne, it was a scary scene, as Orioles players on the field all reacted with dismay and concern. Uribe is apparently just bruised from the incident which could have been much worse.

This was the 13^th appearance for Despaigne with the Birds, and his ERA now has dropped to 3.00 in 21 innings, allowing 19 hits (but 11 walks). With Vance Worley in the rotation, Despaigne becomes the long reliever along with apparent mop-up man Ubaldo Jimenez.

Speaking of Ubaldo, there are some rumors floating that a possible deal with the Padres would send “Ole Moving Parts” to San Diego for Melvin Upton. Could God really love the Orioles enough for this to become a reality?

I will confess to not seeing Despaigne as more than a temporary piece, and certainly not an answer to any long-term question (or even of much value for this season). There is not a great amount in the track record of the 29-year-old Cuban to see him as anything more than a marginal player. He had a 9-16 record with the Padres on a 4.74 ERA.  His career AAA earned run average is 4.69 with a 2-9 record. But if Odrisamer wants to put it all together and “arrive” for the Orioles this season, we’ll take it!

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The Orioles acquired Despaigne in February in a trade of minor leaguer Jean Cosme, a 17^th-round high school draftee of the Birds in 2014. Cosme is pitching this year at the basic “A” level and is 7-5 with a 3.56 ERA, which is not bad at all for the stage of development.

But all in all, at least for the immediate moment, the Orioles don’t look to have pitching problems.