Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: Baltimore Orioles starters need to pitch deeper into ballgames.
Shocking, I know.
Yet, just five games into the season, here we are already, talking about the starters’ short outings taking a toll on the bullpen.
Five MLB teams have only played five games so far. Here are the total number of innings pitched by starters for those five teams:
Boston Red Sox: 31.0
Chicago White Sox: 29.0 (and that includes a 6.0-inning start by Miguel Gonzalez, in case you were curious)
Pittsburgh Pirates: 29.0
Detroit Tigers: 27.0 (a 2 1/3-inning start is dragging down their total)
And finally:
Baltimore Orioles: 26 1/3
I didn’t dig into the numbers for teams that have played more games, but I’d imagine it paints a similarly ugly picture as far as O’s pitching goes. Other than Dylan Bundy‘s 7.0-inning gem in game two against Toronto, only two other O’s starters have even gone deep enough to qualify for a win (Kevin Gausman on Opening Day, and Wade Miley on Sunday). Twice, pitchers have exited in the fifth inning (Gausman on Saturday, Ubaldo Jimenez on Friday).
With Chris Tillman still at least a few weeks away from returning, there’s no help on the immediate horizon. The guys who are here need to be better, especially Gausman, whom the team is relying on to build upon his strong 2016 second half to have any hopes of contending in 2017. The 26-year-old is struggling to throw strikes, having walked three batters in each of his first two starts, something he did just three times total in 30 starts a season ago.
Miley was ridiculously wild on Sunday, leading to his short outing. He matched a career-high with seven free passes in just five innings of work. He allowed no runs on just one hit in that time, adding insult to injury, since he was in a position to go much deeper into the game, had those walks not elevated his pitch count.
So yes, the Birds got off to a hot start, and sit atop the AL East at 4-1. The bad news is that we’re already wading into the familiar territory of “umm…guys, this isn’t sustainable.”
Bundy takes the mound again on Tuesday at Fenway Park against the potent lineup of the Red Sox, with a bullpen behind him that already desperately needs a rest.
No pressure, young fella.
