Starter, offense struggle in shutout
In first start in majors, Wells allows 4 early runs as Rays complete sweep
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Throughout spring training and even Sunday morning leading into Tyler Wells’ first major league start, Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said he would limit the 27-year-old right-hander to three or four innings throughout the year in his conversion back to starting.
Baltimore would have been fortunate to get that many frames out of Wells on Sunday. The Tampa Bay Rays knocked him around in the second inning, scoring all the runs they needed in what became an 8-0 victory to complete a season-opening sweep.
“He just didn’t have his command that he normally has today,” Hyde said. “A lot of deep counts.”
After an initial breaking-in period as a Rule 5 draftee, Wells dazzled in the Orioles’ bullpen last season to become the club’s closer, punctuating a rookie year spent in relief following two seasons in which he didn’t pitch because of Tommy John surgery and 2020’s canceled minor season. But he climbed the minors as a starter and the Orioles believe he can succeed as one in the
majors, naming him the third member of their rotation despite the fact that his innings will be monitored throughout the season.
On Sunday, Wells needed 22 pitches to get through a scoreless first, but that was an efficient frame relative to what he faced in the second. After two walks, a comebacker ricocheted off his glove, a potential doubleplay ball turning into a bases-loading infield single. As they did all weekend, the Rays
churned outs into runs, with a sacrifice fly and groundout giving them a 2-0 lead. Brandon Lowe (Maryland) doubled that advantage, hammering Wells’ 32nd pitch of the inning out to right field. With Wells on a 60-pitch limit, that home run ended his day.
The Orioles’ plan has been to have another stretched-out pitcher pair with Wells, and right-hander Dean Kremer was warming to take that role. But on one of his warmup pitches, he suffered what Hyde called a left oblique strain, likely taking him out of the running to start Tuesday and potentially prompting a stint on the injured list.
Hyde instead was forced into a bullpen game, and it went well until the Rays added four more runs in the seventh. But their first quartet was more than enough, with the O’s unable to string together hits all weekend. Baltimore batters went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position Sunday, finishing 2-for24 in those situations on the weekend. Their 37 strikeouts in the series were a franchise record for the first three games of the season. Outfielder DJ Stewart, responsible for two in three at-bats, was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk after the game, leaving the Orioles with openings on their major league and 40-man rosters.
Meanwhile, the Orioles are 0-3 for the first time since 2007 and have lost 15 straight games to Tampa Bay. Since sweeping the Rays in their first series of 2020, they are 2-27 in these matchups, their worst 29-game span against any opponent in franchise history.
“We didn’t swing the bat well this series,” Hyde said. “They have really good pitching. But we didn’t do a very good job swinging the bats. We didn’t make them work much. We can improve our two-strike hitting, put more pressure on their defense. We have some guys scuffling kind of early. I’d like to see them break out a little bit, but maybe we’re putting too much pressure on ourselves.”