Castro’s walks hurt O’s, spoil Cashner’s start
Before the Orioles opened their weeklong homestand Monday night against the Seattle Mariners, manager Buck Showalter raved about the progress of right-handed reliever Miguel Castro.
Showalter spoke about how Castro had arrived as a hardthrower — a fast-tracked power arm who struggled to meet expectations in previous stops with the Toronto Blue Jays and Colorado Rockies — but developed into a three-pitch pitcher who had starting-rotation stuff but was too valuable to take out of the bullpen.
Castro’s 1.6 wins above replacement entering Monday, according to Baseball Reference, makes him the most valuable reliever on the Orioles’ staff. There’s no question he’s given the club many valuable innings, from midgame multi-inning stints to shorter appearances later in games.
The one thing that’s held Castro back, however, has been his high walk rate. And in the Orioles’ 5-3 loss to the Mariners, that was the bugaboo for Castro again.
After the Orioles rallied for two runs off Mariners starter Felix Hernandez to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth, Castro was unable to record a shutdown inning in the top of the seventh, giving back the two runs that proved decisive.
With the score tied at 3, Castro walked No. 9 hitter Guillermo Heredia on five pitches, as he was unable to locate his sinker. Leadoff man Dee Gordon then dropped a bunt to the right of the mound and beat Castro’s throw to first for a single. The reliever loaded the bases with a five-pitch walk to shortstop Jean Segura.
An errant slider to Mitch Haniger became the wild pitch that allowed the go-ahead run to score, and the Haniger’s sacrifice fly gave Seattle a 5-3 lead.
Even after Monday’s inning, two-run outing, Castro has a 2.87 ERA. But after walking two batters in Monday’s loss, Castro is averaging 5.17 walks per nine innings. Among pitchers with 40 or more innings of work this season, he is the only reliever in the majors to average more than five walks per nine innings.
Castro’s struggles on Monday wasted another quality Orioles start.
Andrew Cashner’s six-inning, three-run showing was the Orioles’ 34th quality start of the season in 77 games. The Orioles are 16-20 in those games. They are also 4-11 in games Cashner has started, though the free-agent signing has made seven quality starts in his 15 outings.
The Orioles rallied to tie the game at 3 in the sixth against Hernandez. They loaded the bases with no outs in the inning, as Manny Machado opened the frame with a single, Mark Trumbo walked, and Chris Davis was hit by a pitch on his back foot.
Trey Mancini hit a ball into the hole that shortstop Jean Segura barely kept in the infield, making a diving play and throwing to second for a force play. One run scored, and another came across on Jonathan Schoop’s come-backer off Hernandez that Segura charged, barehanded and threw to first in time.
Schoop also plated the Orioles’ first run with a leadoff homer off Hernandez in the sixth, his eighth home run of the season.
Cashner was squeezed several times early by home plate umpire Orioles manager Buck Showalter argues with umpires Stu Scheurwater, middle, and Gary Cederstrom. Stu Scheurwater, who later ejected right-handed reliever Darren O’Day in the eighth after O’Day vehemently argued a balk call. Showalter was ejected soon after.
O’Day, making his 576th career appearance, had allowed a leadoff single to Mitch Haniger before Cruz worked the count full. On a 3-2 pitch, the former Orioles slugger popped out into foul territory by the Orioles dugout.
After Davis caught it, Scheurwater signaled that O’Day had committed a balk. The veteran reliever earned his ejection by yelling in the umpire’s face.
The trio has been through this before. On April 30, 2017, with runners on first and second in a 4-2 game against the Yankees in New York, O’Day threw a pickoff throw to second base into the outfield. Center fielder Adam Jones backed up the throw, holding the runners at their respective stations.
But Scheurwater called a balk — the first of O’Day’s career — and the Yankees went on to tie the game before the Orioles wonin11innings. Showalter was ejected that day, too.
O’Day’s balk Monday was the second of his career, though no runs came across after the ejection.