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O’s First-Half Report Card: Pitchers

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Now that we’ve graded out the hitters on the squad, let’s hand out the grades for the Orioles pitching staff.

Grading out the hitters was pretty fun. This will be….less fun? Yeah, let’s go with that.

Let’s rip the band-aid off and get to it!

Dylan Bundy looks in for a sign.

Dylan Bundy

Bundy hit the 2017 season with hurricane force and ended the month of April with a 3-1 record and a sparkling 1.65 ERA over five starts. He followed up by posting a solid 3-2 record and a 3.92 ERA over six starts in May, but has seen his season go south in a hurry since. He recorded a 5.93 ERA over five starts in June and owns an 11.00 ERA through his first two starts in July. After starting out the year going 6-3 with a 2.89 ERA, he finished the first half with an 8-8 record along with a 4.33 ERA over eighteen starts and 108 innings. Here’s to the All-Star break providing the spark for the return of ”Dealin’ Bundy”.

Grade: B-

Kevin Gausman delivers the pitch.

Kevin Gausman

Gausman got off to a nightmare start to the campaign after notching a 7.50 ERA through six starts in April, but then looked like he was on the mend after going 2-2 with a 4.30 ERA over six starts in May. However, his season took a sharp turn south again with a 6.41 ERA over five starts in June. He’s 1-0 with a 4.09 ERA through two starts in July. On the year, the Orioles opening day starter owns a 5-7 record and a 5.85 ERA over nineteen starts and 97 innings.

Grade: E

Ubaldo JImenez prepares to wind up.

Ubaldo Jimenez

”Forrest Gump” is at it again in 2017. However, other than a couple of gems, he’s been pretty hard to watch. Over eighteen games and thirteen starts, Jimenez has gone 4-4 with a 6.67 ERA over 83 2/3 innings.

Grade: E

Wade Miley of the Orioles pitches from the mound.

Wade Miley

Miley was phenomenal to begin the season and finished the month of April with a stellar 2.32 ERA over five starts. What has transpired since has been nothing short of a disaster, highlighted by a 7.48 ERA over six starts in June and a 9.82 ERA over two starts this month. On the year, Miley owns a 4-7 record and a 4.97 ERA over eighteen starts and 88 2/3 innings.

Grade: E

Chris Tillman winds up to pitch.

Chris Tillman

The Orioles’ “Ace” over the past five seasons might want to shut it down this year. Over eleven starts since returning to the team in May, Tillman has gone 1-5 with a 7.90 ERA, a 2.14 WHIP and a .362 BAA over 49 innings of work. He posted a 9.69 ERA over six starts in June.

Grade: F

Zach Britton throws in spring training.

Zach Britton

The Orioles’ star closer missed two full months with a forearm injury. However, he did go 5-for-5 in save situations back in April before being shut down and his presence alone seems to have provided a boost to the team. He owns a 2.25 ERA over eleven appearances on the year.

Grade: B

Brad Brach looks in for a sign from the catcher.

Brad Brach

Brach posted a stellar 1.93 ERA over 13 games in April, and even after struggling at first with the task of filling the shoes of Britton (5.40 ERA over eleven games in May), Brach has been on fire since. He snapped back into form with a 1.46 ERA over 12 contests in June and has recorded two scoreless outings so far in July. On the year, he owns a stellar 2.58 ERA over 38 1/3 innings and has gone 15-for-19 in save situations. He also boasts a stellar 0.86 WHIP and a .167 BAA.

Grade: B+

Mychal Givens

Givens hit the ground running with a 1.29 ERA over eleven contests before stumbling as the lead set-up guy in May (4.73 ERA over thirteen games). Like Brach, Givens wasted no time in bouncing back into top form with a microscopic 0.71 ERA over ten appearances in June. On the year, Givens owns a sparkling 2.25 ERA over 44 innings along with an impressive 1.02 WHIP and a .206 BAA. Boasting a 6-0 record is just a bonus.

Grade: B+

Richard Bleier

Few would have expected Bleier to have such a positive impact on the bullpen, but he’s done just that. After being called up in May, Bleier posted a 2.84 ERA over nine contests that month before notching a miniscule 0.75 ERA over twelve games in June. He’s racked up four scoreless outings so far in July as well. On the year, he boasts a remarkable 1.48 ERA over 30 1/3 innings.

Grade: B

Darren O'Day pitches.

Darren O’Day

After a horror story of a season in 2016, O’Day struggled for form in April before returning to his vintage self with a stellar 1.64 ERA over eleven contests in May. A shoulder injury in June almost derailed his comeback season, but he looks to be fine after recording four scoreless outings so far this month. O’Day owns a solid 3.86 ERA over 30 1/3 innings this season along with an impressive 1.09 WHIP and a .179 BAA.

Grade: C+

Donnie Hart

Hart was immaculate in April with a 0.00 ERA over twelve contests, but was sent back down to Norfolk after recording a 7.36 ERA over eight games in May. However, after returning to the team in June, he looks to have his confidence back and has notched four scoreless outings since. On the year, the southpaw owns a 2.96 ERA over 24 1/3 innings.

Grade: C+

 

Miguel Castro

Castro looks to be becoming a staple in the Orioles bullpen, and owns an impressive 2.25 ERA over five contests so far this month. On the year, he has notched a solid 3.31 ERA over 16 1/3 innings.

Grade: C

Baltimore-Norfolk Shuttle

Yeahh……..this isn’t really working out. Hopefully, the guys listed above will prove to be the end of this experiment.

Grade: E

That’s a wrap for our Mid-Season grades!

Again, let us know how your grades stack up! The pitching staff grades should be pretty unanimous, but hey, we want to know anyway!

Enjoy the rest of the break, everyone!

All O’s photos: Craig Landefeld/GulfBird Photo

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