Wojciechowski is A-OK but batters do a 16-K

New starter effective, but Orioles strike out 16 times

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — For the second straight night against the Tampa Bay Rays, Orioles manager Brandon Hyde was tasked with a decision involving a new starter as his team faced a one-run deficit after the fifth inning.

On Monday, he pulled right-hander Tom Eshelman from his major league debut after 75 pitches, only to see the bullpen surrender a lead the Orioles captured in the top of the sixth. On Tuesday, Asher Wojciechowski, acquired from the Cleveland Indians for cash the day before, returned for the sixth inning. It was his first outing in the majors since September 2017, when he was a Cincinnati Red facing the Chicago Cubs, for whom Hyde was then the first base coach.

This time, the Rays built on their one-run lead against Wojciechowski (WOE-juhHOW-ski) before adding on against Baltimore’s shaky bullpen in subsequent innings for a 6-3 victory to claim the series.

As the first-year manager of a team with baseball’s worst record, Hyde’s managerial maneuvers can be difficult to critique, given that seemingly any pitcher he sends to the mound is likely to endure a rough outing on a given night. A night after possibly pulling his starter too soon, he came for Wojciechowski too late, but neither move was without justification.

Eshelman commanded his pitches well throughout Monday’s start, but his fastball never exceeded 88 mph, and the final four batters he faced all hit the ball 97 mph or harder, according to Statcast. There was also the fact Hyde would’ve been asking the rookie to face the Rays’ lineup for a third time, which managers have been doing less often throughout baseball, even with experienced starters.

Tuesday, he faced the same conundrum regarding the third time through the order with Wojciechowski, but only one of the last five balls in play against him was hit harder than 78.5 mph. He also recorded six strikeouts in his outing, showing a putaway ability that Eshelman never did in failing to record a strikeout.

So Wojciechowski returned for the sixth with no one warming up behind him. The frame began with a matchup against No. 2 hitter Brandon Lowe, who homered off Wojciechowski in the first and added an RBI single against him in the third after Chris Davis tied the game with his first home run since May 12 in the inning’s top half. Lowe fouled the at-bat’s first pitch off his lower right leg, getting checked on by the Rays’ medical staff but remaining in the game. With the Orioles shifting him to pull the ball to the right side, Lowe cued a 55.3 mph grounder through the left side for a leadoff single, hobbling to first, then exiting the game.

After Wojciechowski walked the next Ray, Paul Fry warmed in the bullpen. A wild pitch put both runners in scoring position, though they didn’t advance on a grounder by Ji-Man Choi that could’ve been an inning-ending double play if not for the ball to the backstop. Avisaíl García followed with a hard single up the middle to score two, ending Wojciechowski’s night back in the majors.

His opposing starter, Charlie Morton, was excellent. He struck out 12 Orioles in seven innings, with Davis’ homer the only of the four hits he allowed that did damage. The Orioles finished with 16 strikeouts, their third most in 2019.

The Rays added a run each off Fry and Jimmy Yacabonis in the seventh. In the top half of the inning, the Orioles got two in scoring position to bring up Davis as the tying run, but Morton struck him out looking to end the threat. Chance Sisco homered after Trey Mancini opened the ninth with a single, but the next three Orioles went down without issue.