Dylan Bundy approaches 2016 innings total, plus other notes

It has gotten this bad for the Orioles rotation. The one pitcher that could almost always be counted on is now struggling himself. Just 6 2/3 innings short of his 2016 season total now, Dylan Bundy allowed a season-high three homers in yesterday's 10-3 loss to Tampa Bay.

Bundy gave up a trio of homers of over 400 feet each to tie his career high as he allowed five runs over four innings. He beat the Rays a week ago yesterday allowing three runs over seven innings at Tropicana Field. But this time Tampa Bay scored three runs off him before he recorded his second out of the night.

"Yeah, they came out swinging the bats real early and aggressively," Bundy said. "I didn't get many pitches over the zone that they didn't swing at. So just wasn't executing early on in the counts and they were able to tag me for three homers."

Bundy went 3-1 with a 1.65 ERA in April and 3-2 with a 3.92 ERA in May. But in six starts since June 1, he is 2-4 with a 6.61 ERA. He will pitch on regular rest next Thursday at Minnesota. But after that, he gets 11 days' rest, not pitching again until the fifth game out of the All-Star break on July 18.

Bundy threw 109 2/3 innings last season and is at 103 now. Are the Orioles just asking too much from a youngster with his injury history? Should they back off him more during the second half?

Gausman's turn today: Rome wasn't built in a day and Orioles right-hander Kevin Gausman can't erase a poor first half in one or two starts. But he feels he's making progress the last few starts. He gave up three runs in 5 2/3 innings two starts ago against Cleveland and, yes, that is not a great pitching line. But he threw scoreless ball over 5 1/3 innings Tuesday at Toronto. He needs to get deeper in games, but it's a start for a pitcher whose ERA reached as high as 7.55 in May. Now he is 4-7 with a 6.07 ERA.

The stat sheet shows Gausman as a better career second-half pitcher. In the first half of his seasons, he is 11-19 with an ERA of 4.98, WHIP of 1.485 and strikeout-to-walk ratio of 2.48. Post All-Star break, he is 16-19 with an ERA of 3.63, WHIP of 1.255 and with a 3.31 K/BB ratio.

He has also had to work on the mental part of his game during this first half and try to stay strong there during a tough season.

"You draw on your previous experiences," he said about trying to stay mentally tough. "I know that I'm a lot better pitcher than my ERA and my record shows. Obviously, I've put myself in this situation. Put myself in a hole and I have to climb out of it.

"I always get better as the season goes on. So I know my second half is going to be good. My numbers have always been better in the second half and that is a positive thing to think about. But obviously it's frustrating. Not what I expected in my first half."

Another young pitcher is ready to start his career: After a quick trip to Baltimore to sign his contract and have his signing officially announced, Orioles top draft pick pitcher DL Hall is in Florida now. After he builds some arm strength back up - he hasn't pitched in a game in about two months - he'll eventually pitch for the Orioles' Rookie-level Gulf Coast League team. First, he will throw some bullpens and live BP sessions before he gets into GCL games.

After his press conference Friday, I asked Hall what he sees as his strengths and also something he still needs to work on.

"I think some of my biggest strengths are probably my power fastball from the left side and my curveball being probably my best pitch," he said. "That is probably my biggest attribute there is my curveball. I think something that I have to work on is probably throwing all three pitches for strikes at all times whenever I want."

Hall has had several coaches on the amateur level and many have helped him with his pitching over the years, but his biggest pitching influence lived under the same roof.

"I haven't ever really worked with anybody as far a personal you know, training or lessons or anything. But the main person that always helped me is my dad," he said. "Kind of always been me and him learning from all the different tournaments we went to and us just working in the backyard on my mechanics."

The Orioles signed Hall to a signing bonus of exactly $3 million. That was a bit overslot for the 21st overall pick in the draft with the slot value set at $2,892,400. From Valdosta (Ga.) High School, Hall pitched to a 1.36 ERA this season. In 51 1/3 innings, he allowed 24 hits for a .129 average against and struck out 105.

"This has been a huge day for my family. I'm blessed to have such a good support group. I know they are really excited as well," he said at his press conference, which was attended by his representative Scott Boras.