Wednesday Bird Droppings: Tyler Wells is moving to the bullpen

Good morning, Birdland!

Typically, it is a good strategy to knock the opposing starting pitcher out of the game early. The Orioles accomplished that on Tuesday night. Yusei Kikuchi’s night was over before the end of the fifth inning.

But then the Blue Jays bullpen went to work, and they absolutely shut the Birds down. Six different relievers combined to allow just two hits and a walk but no runs over the final 5.1 frames. It was a tough way to lose.

The Orioles got just as much out of their pitching staff prior to extra innings. Grayson Rodriguez fought through six innings despite not having his absolute best stuff. Jacob Webb, Cionel Pérez, Yennier Cano, and Félix Bautista combined for three shutout innings. It was Mike Baumann that had some trouble in the 10th, allowing three runs (including the Manfred man). It was Baumann’s first loss o the season.

Down in St. Petersburg, the Rays knocked around the Rockies to secure a 12-4 win. That means the Orioles’ AL East lead is down to two games.

The O’s just need to keep winning. Hopefully Jack Flaherty can return to the form he had in Toronto earlier this month and deliver a solid outing.

Links

Orioles’ Tyler Wells to pitch in relief after move to Triple-A: ‘Definitely want to see what that looks like’ | The Baltimore Sun
It remains to be seen how Wells and DL Hall will look once added to the big league bullpen, but the unit certainly has the makings of an elite group if everything comes together. September is about to be an educational month.

Orioles’ John Means nears return from Tommy John surgery, could join rotation after next start, per report | CBS Sports
It is anyone’s guess as to what the Orioles are planning with the rotation. Once Means is activated, who goes? The team may not even know yet.

Gunnar Henderson on cool bat followed by hot bat heading into Toronto series | Steve Melewski
Even when Henderson’s bat goes “cool” he is still pretty good. Looking forward to this guy donning an Orioles uniform for a long time.

Orioles birthdays

Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!

• Denny Bautista turns 43 today. The right-handed pitcher bounced around the league for seven seasons, but he kicked off his career with two appearances for the 2004 Orioles.
• Alejandro Freire is 49. His 25-game cameo as an outfielder and first baseman for the 2005 Orioles was his only big league experience.
• Casey Blake celebrates his 50th. He played six games as a first baseman with Baltimore in 2001 before his career took off elsewhere.
• Raúl Casanova is 51. He caught two games for the ‘02 Birds.
• Jeff Manto turns 59. The 1995 season saw him post a 108 OPS+ during his only year with the Orioles.
• Mike Boddicker is 66 years old. From 1980 through ‘88, he was a crucial piece of the Orioles pitching staff. That included a fourth-place finish for Cy Young in 1984, a season in which he led the league with 20 wins and a 2.79 ERA. In 2001, he was inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame.
• The late Ed Barnowski (b. 1943, d. 2017) was born on this day. He pitched in six games for the Orioles between 1965 and ‘66.
• John Morris, a native of Lewes, Delaware, is 82. The southpaw tossed 31.2 innings for the ‘68 squad.
• A posthumous celebration for George Kell (b. 1922, d. 2009). He wrapped up his 15-season career as an infielder with a pair of seasons in Baltimore from 1956-57.

This day in O’s history

2002 - The Orioles come back from a six-run deficit to beat the Blue Jays 11-7 and move to 63-63 on the season. They would win just four of the 36 games remaining on the schedule