Notes
Showalter still has confidence in Givens
Reliever off to slow start; strikeout totals continue to mount for O’s
After two scoreless outings to open the season, Givens has allowed an earned run in four of six since, including a run on a hit, a walk and a wild pitch in Tuesday night’s 4-2 loss to the Detroit Tigers.
“I’ve got to tell you, there’s such a fine line between empathy and sympathy for us,” Showalter said. “Pitching, hitting, defense — it’s a challenge with the weather. Mike, I think he’s built up a lot of cachet and track record. I think we’ll like where he is when it’s all said and done. It’s just not there for him right now. I don’t think he’s quite got the feel command-wise that he’s going to have or have in the past. What do you do? Not pitch him? We know what he’s capable of, and you keep getting him out there. He’ll figure it out.”
Givens has had his bright spots, including two stellar shutout innings punctuated by a great play at the plate in the extra-inning win over the New York Yankees on April 6. But he has a 6.52 ERA after Tuesday’s appearance. His fastball is still averaging over 95 mph, so there’s no concern on that front, but he’s found it difficult to command his pitches in these environs.
“Mychal will figure it out,” Showalter said. “I’ve got a lot of confidence in him. He’s healthy, he’s throwing the ball as firmly. You see a lot of velocities down in baseball in general. ... Mike’s not. It’s just the feel for the breaking ball isn’t there yet.”
“We’d like to not ever strike out,” he said. “If you’re getting a return, in other words, if you’re scoring runs. But we’re not getting enough runs to win games that we pitch well in. That’s always a true sign. I don’t really care what’s happening all over baseball. I care about what’s happening here. It’s something everybody is concerned with. It’s kind of how the game is played.”
With 189 strikeouts through 17 games and a strikeout rate of 28.5 percent, the Orioles offense has had major problems putting the ball in play. Their .215 average entering Wednesday tied for second worst in the majors.
Showalter said plenty goes into that, but he hit back at the sense that it was a problem with making adjustments.
“All hitters do that,” Showalter said. “It’s a game of constant adjustments, from pitch to pitch, at-bat to at-bat, game to game, to [
“That’s why hitting is so hard to do. I still think it’s one of the hardest things to do in sports. You couple that with a lot of the conditions, and it’s hard. Guys are trying to make the adjustments. It just hasn’t happened. I see all the work that goes into it every day. You’d like to see them get a return for the amount of effort they’re putting into it. Sometimes, it’s hard to get out of your own way.”
Trumbo had a rehab stint at Double-A Bowie cut short April 10 after he didn’t feel right in his first game back.
“I wouldn’t put a date on it,” Showalter said. “The last little [thing] is kind of pushing and busting out of the batter’s box, quick burst. He’s not quite there yet.”