Austin Wynns hopes he can help Orioles turn it around

While Orioles catchers were struggling in Baltimore and the losses started to mount, Austin Wynns, a veteran of 70 big league games over two seasons, was off to a good start at Triple-A Norfolk. Yesterday, Wynns' call back to the majors came. He got the start and the O's pitched well with him back there in a 3-2 loss in 10 innings to Minnesota.

It was not a storybook return' as he went hitless and the O's did not end their losing streak. Wynns was catching when Adam Plutko's wild pitch allowed the Twins' go-ahead run to score in the 10th.

But Wynns earned his promotion and yesterday was his first start for the Orioles since Sept. 29. 2019. This season for Norfolk, Wynns was batting .333/.448/.563 with two doubles, three home runs, nine RBIs and seven walks in 15 games. He also threw out six of 11 runners trying to steal.

Wynns left the Tides leading that club with a 1.011 OPS. He was producing against both left- (1.037 OPS) and right-handed pitching (.995 OPS).

He has always been a player that seemingly would run through a wall to get a win. He hopes to bring some energy to an O's team that might need an injection of that about now.

"You know the type of guy I am, on and off the field," Wynns said during a Zoom interview this afternoon. "Like big clubhouse (guy), I am all for the team. Organization, I am all in and I would do anything for this organization and our team. So being on the same page and then going to war with the team every day. I just want to see eye to eye so we are ready. Thought we did a great job yesterday. Yeah, we didn't come out on top. Lopie (Jorge López) pitched awesome and (José) Berríos, he is a pretty stud pitcher, wouldn't you say? He kept us quiet. Today is a new day and we are going to leave it all on the field again.

"Yesterday, that wild pitch, lost some sleep over that. I know that I should have blocked that and I take full responsibility for that. Because the game could have been changed if I block that ball. It won't happen again. That is the thing. All of us in our craft as a professional, you have to own it and get better. You have to not make those mistakes, bottom line."

Wynns joined the Orioles ahead of their 14th straight loss, which ties for the second-longest streak in club history. He was asked how he found his teammates holding up when he arrived.

"First off, joining the club, it's amazing to be back up here," he said. "It's hard, especially where we are at right now. But think about it, this game is built on adjustments. We're going to make an adjustment and we are going to take a step forward and keep going. We're all professionals in this game and we've got to make sure we do that."

What was it like watching the Orioles when he was in Norfolk? Were there any anxious moments wondering if he would get his chance?

"Anxious? I go about my day to day one step at a time," Wynns said. "I love this game. Of course, we all want to be in the big leagues. We wanted to be in the big leagues since we were a kid, but focus on the little things day to day where you're at, wherever you're at, get better and keep getting better and better and better. And then all your hard work pays off. I'm a firm believer in that."

Wynns had hit safely in 10 of his last 13 Tides games and was 16-for-45 (.356) during that stretch, with two doubles, three home runs, nine RBIs, six walks, seven runs scored and six multi-hit games.

Now he hopes to bring some positive vibes to the Orioles.

"Affects us all in different ways," he said. "We're human. We need to obviously re-evaluate the situation and say, 'All right, what's our next step? How can we overcome this together?' Key word: together. This is a team. We're all individuals, trying to do the best we can do but this is a team sport. We need to be able to pitch, play D, quality at-bats, timely hitting. We need to have all the things, all the factors playing when we play."