A key day for three pitchers in effort to fix O's rotation
For a team whose fortunes appear to rest on how the rotation performs, having three pitchers' respective seasons hinge on a single day seems dangerous.
Yet there the Orioles were Thursday night in what could be a pivotal point in the seasons of starters Mike Wright, Yovani Gallardo, and Ubaldo Jimenez.
Wright was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk before Thursday's game with the Boston Red Sox. Gallardo made his first start in his rehabilitation from shoulder soreness in High-A Frederick. And in the main event, Jimenez tried to rebound from a May that eroded almost all of the confidence in his being a viable starting pitcher.
To executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette, there was a theme.
“It's all about stabilizing your team. And to stabilize your team, we need consistent starting pitching,” he said. “Gallardo and Jimenez have done that over their career. Mike Wright has shown flashes. That's what he's trying to do, show he can be a consistent, dependable pitcher. Ubaldo's trying to show that he can be a consistent pitcher again.”
For five innings Thursday, it looked like the aspect of this day that had the greatest immediate impact was going the Orioles' way.
The traits that dragged Jimenez to a 6.36 ERA, four straight disappointing starts in May and the brink of losing his job were absent: the poor pace, the lack of command in the strike zone, the walks. He found a rhythm early, stayed in it, and until the sixth inning kept Boston off balance.
Jimenez didn't allow a hit until the fifth inning, when first baseman Hanley Ramirez led off with a single. Before that, the only Red Sox batter to reach was catcher Christian Vazquez, who walked on four pitches in the third inning.
In the sixth, Boston erased a 4-0 Orioles lead with a two-run double by shortstop Xander Bogaerts and a three-run homer by designated hitter David Ortiz. Jimenez allowed five runs on six hits and two walks, his ERA climbing to 6.59. Only two of the 105 pitchers who qualify for the ERA title are worse.
“Statistics tell you that's it all the end game, but we've seen him when he's really good and dotting the outer half and spinning the ball,” Showalter said. “He had a good split tonight, too, early on. ... Ubaldo gave us five strong innings, and then it got away from us, and our guys figured out a way to win the ballgame. I know that's a topic of discussion, I understand from what you all tell me, and rightfully so.”
Said Jimenez: “Especially after everything I've been through in the last five games, it felt good to be out there and doing what I did in the first five innings. That's baseball. I had a tough inning. That's not going to erase how I felt in the first five innings.”
Because he began the night so well, and because of Wright's demotion, the talk of Jimenez's rotation spot being in jeopardy will likely slow. While Jimenez's slow May grabbed attention, Wright fell out of favor quietly.
His 22/3 innings of seven-hit, six-run ball with four home runs allowed Wednesday was all the Orioles needed to see. Wright retreats to Norfolk with a 2-3 record and a 5.88 ERA in the majors.
Showalter and Duquette believe Wright will be back in the rotation this season, and they hope this assignment allows him time to regroup and refine outside the pressures of what promises to be a tight divisional race in the majors and a staff that is under growing scrutiny.
On Wednesday night, Showalter said Wright's command, and the Red Sox's ability to punish pitches he didn't locate, was the crux of his struggles.
“There's maybe 10 times in a game, maybe less, where you throw a pitch and we all say it: ‘If you can throw that pitch every time, you never have to throw another pitch,'?” Showalter said Thursday. “Hard sink, down-and-away, strike. But what are your misses like? You may throw 10 of those a game, but your misses aren't too good.”
Said Duquette: “It's all about making consistently good pitches. The pitches are what get the hitters out, and if you can string a number of those together, you can get the hitters out consistently. Mike needs to find what that key is. I'm sure he will.”
He'll start Monday for Norfolk, and it is unclear who will start for the Orioles in his place. T.J.?McFarland and Vance Worley are candidates to make a spot start who are already on the roster. The crew of possible additions from Norfolk or Double-A Bowie offers uninspiring or unproven alternatives.
Showalter said the day's happenings in Frederick would have some impact on how the Orioles go forward in their rotation. Gallardo was pleased despite having allowed three runs on seven hits and a pair of walks in three innings, and Showalter said most of the hits could have been turned to outs in front of a major league defense.
So on a night when one major league starter allowed five runs in the blink of an eye, a second allowed nine base runners in three rehab innings and a third was demoted to Triple-A, each ended up spun positively by day's end. That happens when your team hits seven home runs and wins 12-7.
“If we would have lost the game,” Jimenez said, “it wouldn't be easy.”
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