Tyler Wells turned in his third consecutive lackluster out for the Baltimore Orioles this evening. This coming out of the All-Star break. One or two poor outings might be one thing. Three is a trend. And that’s what we’re seeing now. Wells’ line: 2.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 1 K.
New York got on the board right away on a solo homer in the first inning by Stanton. But the Birds battled back, and actually did get a lead for awhile. Ryan Mountcastle’s solo homer in the last of the first tied it. Later in the inning Ramon Urias’ RBI-single gave the O’s the lead at 2-1.
But a two-run homer by Judge in the third out New York back in the lead at 3-2. One inning later Torres’ sac fly-RBI extended the lead to 4-2. The O’s did fight back again, albeit briefly. Anthony Santander’s RBI-groundout in the last of the fifth cut the lead to 4-3.
However New York cemented things in the sixth – which for the record, was well after Tyler Wells had left the ballgame. They loaded the bases and the Birds had Kiner-Falefa on the ropes with two outs and two strikes. But Kiner-Falefa came through, putting forth a bases-clearing double, and sending New York onto an 8-3 victory.
Tyler Wells has already pitched ten more innings than he has in any other year of his career. And that most recent mark was set last year. So the question is whether or not Tyler Wells is tired. Results would indicate that he is.
Keep in mind, he was skipped in the rotation just prior to the break. So he also has a bit of extra rest. However the mere fact that his velocity is a tick slower might indicate that he’s tiring. That of course combined with the fact that his innings are higher.
The bottom of the order hitting with two outs has been a challenge for the Orioles for years. Again to be clear, the Kiner-Falefa at-bat came long after Tyler Wells had left the game. But it came with two outs. And he was down to his final strike. It’s almost as if teams have the Orioles exactly where they want them in such situations.
Tomorrow night’s series finale of course airs on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. However it’s a huge game in terms of the standings. The winner wins the season series between the Orioles and New York. Now I don’t think New York’s going to make a run to win the division (although you never know). But you’d hate to see the Orioles drop the season series, and wind up losing a tie breaker to New York in some manner, even to the point of missing the post-season.
The aforementioned series conclusion comes tomorrow evening at Camden Yards. Dean Kremer gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by New York’s Luis Severino. Game time is set for 7:10 PM.
Birdland Crush 