Leftovers for breakfast

SEATTLE – Craig Kimbrel wasn’t available to pitch yesterday in Seattle after making back-to-back appearances. He walked a tightrope the first night and tied the Mariners in knots the next.

The results remain positive.

Kimbrel has surrendered only one earned run in his last 19 innings, a stretch that began after his horrendous outing in D.C. that cost him the closer’s job for a brief spell. He had eight saves at that point and earned his 21^st Wednesday after retiring the side in order with two strikeouts and a popup in foul territory.

The only blown save came in New York on June 19, but he struck out Gleyber Torres to carry the game into the 10^th inning and got the win.

What is behind the turnaround?

“Honestly, I think it’s, when you miss, where do you miss? And if I’m going to miss, I’d rather miss out of the zone than over the plate,” he said.

“A lot of times when I get beat, my misses are over the plate and when I give guys an opportunity to hit it. It’s not like I’m out there trying to paint the corners all the time. I’m usually coming right at the guy anyway. But knowing where their hit spots are, I just have to stay out of those spots, and when I miss in those spots, they hit them, and when I miss away from them, they’re not. That’s usually the big difference.”

Much easier to explain than to execute. And Tuesday’s jam resulted from grazing two batters with pitches, the contact almost impossible to detect on replays.

Kimbrel passed Francisco Rodríguez for fourth place on the all-time saves list with 438. In case you missed his postgame comments from the West Coast, he mentioned how he shared a bullpen with Rodríguez at the 2014 All-Star Game. Meant a lot to him.

“Just being able to watch him and how he went about his business, he’s very routine-based, went out there and got guys out,” Kimbrel said. “Anytime you have the opportunity to be on this list, but to surpass a guy you got to spend time with and enjoyed their craft and what they did, it’s really cool.”

Next on the saves list is another former Orioles closer, Hall of Famer Lee Smith, who spent the 1994 season with them and was an All-Star. He finished fifth in Cy Young and 14^th in Most Valuable Player voting after registering a 3.29 ERA and 1.174 WHIP and leading the majors with 33 saves in 33 chances before the strike.

Smith spent 18 seasons in the majors, playing for three other teams after the Orioles, and totaled 478 saves. Kimbrel needs 40 more to tie him, which could mean that the chase resumes next season with another team.

Kimbrel’s 21 saves are only two short of his total last season in 71 games with the Phillies and one fewer than his total in 63 games with the Dodgers in 2022.

Yesterday's game didn't require a closer after the Orioles fumbled a 2-0 lead in the fifth inning and lost 7-3. They were short on left-handers with Cionel Pérez down after working back-to-back nights and Cole Irvin unavailable following Sunday's start. Keegan Akin got the call in the seventh and left-handed hitting J.P. Crawford hit a tie-breaking, three-run double. The bullpen ERA grew to 3.64, 12th in the majors.

The Orioles hold a club option on Kimbrel’s contract worth $13 million. Félix Bautista will return from Tommy John surgery, so it’s a question of whether the Orioles want Kimbrel to work in a pricy set-up role and back up Bautista as closer. Kimbrel certainly would prefer to have most of the save opportunities.

Kimbrel is nice insurance, especially if he keeps pitching this way, if Bautista has a setback.

The other scenario, and it seems far less likely, is Kimbrel returning as closer and Bautista working in other high-leverage situations. Imagine having Bautista, Yennier Cano and Danny Coulombe as the terrifying trio leading to Kimbrel.

Doubtful, but still an intriguing thought. A dominant bullpen can cover for some rotation deficiencies.

* Anthony Santander will find out Sunday whether he’s picked as a reserve for the American League All-Star team. His .234 average and .301 on-base percentage won’t impress, but he’s hit 22 homers, driven in 56 runs and made his own highlight reel of plays in right field.

Santander seemed to run about a mile Wednesday night before making a diving catch of Dylan Moore’s shallow fly ball for the final out in the seventh. It just hung in the air and Santander covered the necessary ground to strand a runner for Jacob Webb.

“Fantastic,” manager Brandon Hyde said when asked to describe Santander as a defender. “He was a (Gold Glove) finalist a couple years ago and he’s playing like that again. He’s moving really well this year and he’s done an unbelievable job of taking care of his body. He’s incredibly prepared, and defense is important to him. And he’s healthy right now.

“He gets really good breaks, he takes good routes. He’s one of the best for me at going back on the ball, especially over his right shoulder into that right-center field gap. He’s done a great job. He’s done everything well for us.”

Santander did it again yesterday, racing in to make a diving grab of Cal Raleigh’s fly ball in the first inning with J.P. Crawford on second base. The next batter, Luke Raley, broke his bat on a liner to Jorge Mateo, and Corbin Burnes had a scoreless frame.

The range was on display again in the second when Santander ran down Ty France’s fly ball in the corner, and in the fourth when he caught Mitch Garver’s foul ball at the seats.

Taking pride in defense seems like a culture thing with the Orioles, which makes any misplay stand out, like Jorge Mateo’s inability to backhand a ball yesterday and start a potential double play with Corbin Burnes in a jam.

“We talk a lot about it. We have for a few years,” Hyde said.

“Once we got a little bit more athletic and got a little bit more talented, we got better defensively. And that’s not something that goes by the wayside. … (Bench coach) Fredi González does a great job in pre-series meetings, and him and Manso (Tony Mansolino) both. Offensive fundamental plays, defensive fundamental plays.”

* There’s also the baserunning, which grades highly for the Orioles.

Hustle is an important component, and Jordan Westburg showed it Wednesday with his double on a ground ball that deflected off the shortstop and second baseman before reaching shallow left field.

That’s a single for many players. Westburg ran hard on contact and read the situation perfectly.

“Pretty much epitomizes the kind of player he is and what we’re about for me,” Hyde said.

“Thinking double out of the box, makes the outfielder try to stop him, he doesn’t. Aggressive play all the way around. That’s how hard he plays.”

We’re back to the team culture. And the Orioles are built for it.

“We’re athletic, so we don’t have cloggers on the bases majority of the time,” Hyde said. “We have guys who can go first to third and do things. But we also talk a lot about it. We talk about taking advantage of opportunities, we talk about pushing the envelope in the right moments. When to be aggressive, when not to be aggressive. Try to let their instincts play, also.

“You want them to play with total confidence on the bases. We harp on what our primaries are like, what our secondaries are like, the opportunities to go. Being a good baserunner is just being a good teammate. Hundred percent that’s what it is. It’s a good teammate for the guy who’s hitting, getting him a chance to give him an RBI, getting a runner in scoring position for your teammate, being able to beat out a force out at second base. All those types of things is just being a good teammate. And our guys take pride in that.”

Gunnar Henderson led off the first inning yesterday with a double, tried for third base with the ball almost to the cutoff man, and was out. He surprisingly made it close.

“I’d rather be more aggressive than not,” Hyde said, “but the scoreboard tells you when to and when not to.”