Baltimore Orioles and starting pitching, a familiar refrain

The Baltimore Orioles lost on Sunday as their overworked and previously unscored upon bullpen surrendered seven runs in four innings.

I’ve said it already this year, and I’ve said it many times before about the Baltimore Orioles, it’s all about starting pitching

The defense is going to be good, and it has.

The bullpen is going to be good, and it largely has.

The offense is going to be good, and while so far it hasn’t, I don’t expect that to be the case all season.

The starting pitching has not been good so far, save for Dylan Bundy.

The Orioles have played in five games so far. Their starters have pitched 26 1/3 innings, while the bullpen has covered 20 2/3 innings.

Game 1 – Kevin Gausman threw 5 1/3 innings, leaving 5 2/3 for the bullpen in the extra innings win.
Game 2 – Dylan Bundy pitched seven innings, leaving 2 for the bullpen in the Orioles only quality start, and win by a starting pitcher, this year.
Game 3 – Ubaldo Jimenez threw 4 1/3 innings, leaving 4 2/3 for the bullpen in the come-from-behind win.
Game 4 – Kevin Gausman threw 4 2/3 innings, leaving 4 1/3 for the bullpen in another come-from-behind win.
Game 5 – Wade Miley threw five innings, leaving 4 for the bullpen in the team’s first loss.

The Orioles have just the one quality start.

Entering Sunday, Brad Brach and Zach Britton had pitched in every game. Oliver Drake had appeared in two straight games.

All three were unavailable to pitch on Sunday.

I missed the last three innings of the game, but after seeing the final score was trying to figure out who probably got the loss.

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I knew that Tyler Wilson had pitched the sixth, so he was out. I assumed (correctly) that Britton, Brach and Drake were all unavailable.

I figured Donnie Hart and Mychal Givens would have been used in the 7th and 8th to try to get to the ninth inning. Both pitched Sunday, even though Givens left up a game-tying home run.

So, even in a non-save situation, Buck Showalter went to the man who was his closer on Sunday at the top of the ninth. Darren O’Day did not have his finest day.

But, what would the Orioles have done if O’Day did his job? If he was able to limit the damage and keep the game scoreless, but still struggled, he likely would have been done.

That would have meant that Vidal Nuno was the only pitcher left in the bullpen. He probably could not have thrown more than three innings.

That’s not going to work. Not in game 5 and not in game 155.

The Baltimore Orioles have got to get better starting pitching. Period.

For this team to achieve all that they want to, pitchers are going to have to go deeper. The Orioles starting pitchers must find a way to last through the first six innings. It would be great if they get through the inning, but they at least need to start it.

The Orioles’ bullpen is only going to get smaller this week with the addition of the fifth starter on Saturday, which makes it imperative that this is addressed.

The Baltimore Orioles will only go as far as their starting pitching will take them. So far, they have gotten by on clutch hitting, on their bullpen and their defense.

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But, if the bullpen-taxing continues, it won’t be a strength anymore.

For the Baltimore Orioles, it is all about the starting pitching.

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