Poor pitching derailing O’s playoff hopes
MLB: Loss of Tillman, O’Day proving costly at crucial time
As the trade deadline approached, no team seemed in more desperate need of pitching than the Baltimore Orioles.
Armed with one of the most explosive offences in the game, as well as one of the game’s best bullpens, the same can’t be said of the Orioles’ starting pitching.
Baltimore starters have pitched to a 4.96 ERA this season, which leaves them 13th out of 15 American League teams in that category. As a group, the Oriole starters have logged 7022/3 innings, lowest total in the AL and second-lowest in the majors.
The fact that they were unable to make a significant upgrade could very well come back and haunt the O’s as the calendar flips from August to September and the race to the wire in the American League East heats up. In fact, it already is haunting them.
In August, the Baltimore starters have a horrible 5.29 ERA and are averaging barely five innings per start. The strain is starting to show on the club’s superior bullpen, which has been ravaged for a 6.72 ERA this month. In total, the Orioles have allowed 113 runs over their last 17 games, an average of more than six runs per game.
If you believe the pre-deadline scuttlebutt, the Orioles were in on just about every starting pitcher that changed hands, from Rich Hill to Drew Pomeranz to Andrew Cashner. Before that, they had been kicking the tires on James Shields before he went to the White Sox.
They did make a deal with the Seattle Mariners to obtain Wade Miley, who has been a disaster in his five starts, pitching to an 8.18 ERA. Kevin Gausman and Chris Tillman, who went on the DL this past week, are the only Baltimore starters with ERAs under 4.00. Ubaldo Jimenez, Yovani Gallardo, Miley, Mike Wright, Tyler Wilson, Vance Worley and Dylan Bundy have combined for a 5.85 ERA.
If Tillman needs to stay more than the requisite 15 days on the DL, Baltimore’s playoff hopes are going to be in peril because they just don’t have any competent depth.
If that isn’t concerning enough, Darren O’Day, one of their most reliable and effective relief pitchers, is on the DL suffering from a rotator cuff strain.
Still, the Orioles (71-59) have somehow been able to stay in touch with the Blue Jays (74-56) and Red Sox (72-57) even as their offence has deteriorated. Prior to the All-Star break, the O’s were averaging just more than five runs per game. Since the break, they are averaging just under four runs.
They have yielded 12 or more runs in four of their most recent 10 games, yet still managed to win four during that stretch.
Over the last few weeks, manager Buck Showalter has been running a daily shuttle between Baltimore and Norfolk, home of the team’s triple-A affiliate, bringing up fresh (more or less) arms to replenish the front lines. Despite his efforts, Showalter has been unable to stop the bleeding.