Povich celebrates 26th birthday with stellar start against Giants

BALTIMORE -- Cade Povich may have thought he would be spending his 26th birthday at Triple-A Norfolk, where he opened the season. Instead, the left-hander turned in a performance on Sunday afternoon that earned him a standing ovation at Camden Yards.

Clearly, it was a much more enjoyable way to celebrate.

For the second time in six days, the Orioles were tasked with filling the hole in their rotation created by the loss of Zach Eflin, who underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery on Wednesday. It again worked out well, as Povich delivered 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball to help guide Baltimore to a 6-2 win and a series victory over San Francisco.

The O’s (8-7) won five of their six games this week, a stretch that began with right-hander Brandon Young tossing five scoreless frames in a spot start vs. the White Sox in Chicago on Monday night.

Povich could still be returning to Triple-A in the near future, or he could potentially move to Baltimore’s bullpen, a role he showed he could handle by tossing 5 2/3 innings of two-run ball in emergency relief duty last Sunday in Pittsburgh. The Orioles’ starter for Monday’s opener vs. the D-backs is listed as TBA, but right-hander Dean Kremer is likely to be recalled, giving the other four starters in the rotation an extra day of rest this turn.

Kremer (who was working out on the Camden Yards field after Sunday’s game) will probably be the long-term replacement for Eflin, joining Trevor Rogers, Kyle Bradish, Shane Baz and Chris Bassitt in a rotation that didn’t have room for the 30-year-old veteran at the end of Spring Training. But the showings by both Young and Povich this week were a great illustration of Baltimore’s improved rotation depth, which should be crucial to have.

“That’s something that we’ve talked about in Spring Training -- I love our rotation depth, with B.Y. and Povich,” manager Craig Albernaz said. “And then, we still have our young bucks, too, developing with Levi [Wells], Trey Gibson, Nestor German. We’ve got some depth.”

During a 97-pitch, 65-strike start vs. the Giants, Povich scattered five hits, collected five strikeouts and did not issue a walk, with that excellent command being the biggest improvement he showed from his challenging first two big league seasons. He induced 17 whiffs, one shy of his career high set last Aug. 16 at Houston.

San Francisco didn’t get a hit until Casey Schmitt’s leadoff single in the fifth, as Povich retired the first 12 Giants batters of the game. His only run allowed came on a two-out RBI single by Daniel Susac later in the inning.

For the entire day, Povich and rookie catcher Samuel Basallo (who hit a two-run home run in the first) were in sync while working to navigate San Francisco’s lineup.

“My ultimate goal was to ride with Sam and what he called. We had a good game plan, I think, coming into the game,” Povich said. “My only thought was to execute.”

“I think everyone saw what he was able to do out there today,” Basallo said via team interpreter Brandon Quinones. “Right now, he's just being really confident and aggressive with his pitches.”

Povich became the sixth pitcher in O’s history (since 1954) to pitch 6 2/3 innings or more on his birthday. The most recent had been left-hander David Wells, who tossed seven innings of one-run ball vs. the Angels on his 33rd birthday on May 20, 1996.

Also, Povich became the first Orioles pitcher to toss 6 2/3 or more innings with one or fewer runs allowed and five or more strikeouts on his birthday.

One of the better birthdays Povich can remember?

“Yeah, probably,” Povich said with a smile.

It was also one of the better games so far for the Orioles, who have faced early adversity and still hold a winning record despite having to place 12 players on the injured list (with another IL move coming Monday, as Ryan Mountcastle has a broken fourth metatarsal on his left foot).

The O’s believe they’re better built to withstand losses than last year -- when they went 75-87 and used the IL 39 times for 29 players -- and so far, that’s been apparent.

“If we can just be battle tested the whole year and play our best baseball toward the end, that's ultimately the goal,” said first baseman Pete Alonso, who had two hits and two RBIs on Sunday. “The whole point is to win the whole thing at the end of the year, hold up the trophy. So for us to be battle tested, to be resilient, to have those characteristics, is obviously super important.”