BALTIMORE -- The Orioles delayed taking a series from the defending World Series champions by dropping an 8-5 decision to the Red Sox on Tuesday night at Oriole Park, after an eighth-inning rally fell short and the bullpen faltered late.
Let’s dig inside the numbers to shed some light on what transpired during the back-and-forth affair, and what it might tell us about the club going forward.
7
Games since the Orioles' bullpen allowed a home run before Tuesday, a season high. The streak was snapped when Branden Kline surrendered Mitch Moreland go-ahead, three-run shot in the fifth, and the hiccup stands as the unit’s first in its last 28 2/3 innings dating back to April 27.
That’s a far cry from the 33 they allowed over their first 28 games, and a sign of progress as manager Brandon Hyde continues to shuffle his relief corps in search of arms he can trust. Baltimore has already cycled through 20 different relievers this season, the most in baseball. But the unit has been relatively stable lately and could remain that way at least until Richard Bleier and Nate Karns (hopefully) return from injury later this month.
0.79
Let’s talk more about Gabriel Ynoa, who has been a ray of light in the sea of uncertainty surrounding the Orioles' ‘pen since joining the club in mid-April. The righty shaved his season ERA to the above number with three more scoreless innings in long relief Tuesday, the third of his five appearances of at least that length this year. Two of those have kept the Orioles in contests long enough to rally late.
Tuesday was another of those times. Ynoa stopped the bleeding after Moreland’s go-ahead homer, powering through Boston’s lineup with three strikeouts.
“I think the key has been the way I've been working,” Ynoa said through team interpreter Ramon Alacon. “I've been studying the hitters more, and I trust my pitches more this time around."
The owner of a 4.92 career ERA in 19 Major League appearances entering this season, Ynoa sat out much of 2018 with various injuries. But he was re-signed this winter as necessary depth, later summoned to provide little more than length for a bullpen that leaked incessantly in the early going. But that perception is changing based on how he’s pitched.
“He’s pitching his way into higher-leverage situations, being somebody that you can trust on the mound when the game is close,” Hyde said. “I think he can probably do a variety of things for you. He kind of came here as our long guy, and he's kind of pitching his way into different situations.
9
These trends and a nice stretch from their rotation aside, things are still far from rosy for the Orioles’ young staff. That’s perhaps understandable, and best illustrated by the nine free bases they surrendered Tuesday night, via eight walks and a hit by pitch.
Four of those came from starter David Hess, who walked four and allowed home runs to J.D. Martinez and Xander Bogaerts across four innings. It was as much Ynoa as it was home runs from Rio Ruiz and Hanser Alberto that kept Baltimore in the game until late.
But the bullpen issued four more free passes, swelling their season total to 71, second only to the Mariners among AL clubs. The last few proved most costly as Evan Phillips walked two and hit a batter to help Boston widen its lead with a two-run ninth. It marked the fifth time in six appearances Phillips walked a batter, the righty issuing seven walks in five innings over that stretch.
.480
The minimum expected batting average (xBA) of four batted balls that all resulted in outs for the Orioles, courtesy of a trio of excellent defensive Boston plays. .480 represents the floor here, with Jackie Bradley Jr. laying out to rob Ruiz of what would’ve been a leadoff single in the sixth. Bradley also ranged back to snag a deep Stevie Wilkerson fly in the second, on a ball that typically produces a .670 average, per Statcast.
Renato Núñez rocketed a one-hopper with a .550 xBA in the ninth that turned into a game-ending double play courtesy of some flashy Bogaerts glove work.
But the worst luck fell on Chris Davis, who barreled a ball (.740 xBA) in the first which Mookie Betts robbed with a leaping catch in right center. All four turned the tide in Boston’s favor Tuesday.
“They made a bunch of great plays,” Hyde said. “They saved a lot of runs.”