Means dominates and Lowther debuts in 8-1 win (updated)

Zac Lowther sat in the Orioles bullpen this afternoon and waited for the phone to ring. A second call in less than 24 hours that would thrill him. That would allow a fourth player on the club to make his major league debut in less than a month.

The fly in the ointment was a former All-Star pitcher who's the undisputed ace of the staff. A starter who didn't need a reliever to provide length.

John Means was dealing again. Austin Hays was destroying fastballs.

Lowther wasn't debuting until the Orioles broke open the game in the eighth.

Hays hit his first two home runs of the season to provide a pair of leads, Means worked into the seventh while holding the Athletics to one run and Lowther was handed the ninth in an 8-1 victory before an announced crowd of 8,107 at Camden Yards.

A five-run eighth opened the door for Lowther, who threw a strike on his first pitch - a 92 mph fastball to Jed Lowie - allowed a single, induced a fly ball and bouncer, and struck out Matt Chapman looking at a changeup.

Hays followed a two-hit night by registering the second multi-homer game of his career, the other on Sept. 23, 2019 in Toronto. He drove a 96 mph fastball from Jesús Luzardo to left-center field and a 95 mph heater to right and the Athletics' winning streak snapped at 13 games.

The Orioles had lost eight in a row to them dating back to 2019. Today's win, which included Maikel Franco's solo home run in the eighth, improved their home record to 2-8.

César Valdez was warming with a chance at his fifth save - he began the day tied for the lead in the American League - but Deolis Guerra walked four batters in the eighth after Franco's home run. He threw 38 pitches and the last 10 resulted in Ryan McKenna's first major league RBI.

An Elvis Andrus error allowed Cedric Mullins to reach for a 6-1 lead. Trey Mancini followed with a two-run single off Adam Kolarek.

Eleven batters came to the plate. The A's walked five. The game slowed as if played under water.

Hays raised his right arm as he rounded first base and gave the Orioles a 3-1 lead in the fourth. Symbolic from a player providing a much-needed lift.

"I felt good the first couple games in Miami, and then felt like I was trying to do too much," Hays said. "I was a little bit out of control for some reason. Things were speeding up on me. Before my last at-bat last night, I was talking to Cedric in the dugout and I told him I felt like I just wasn't seeing the ball that well, and he's like, 'Why don't you just try walking up to the plate a little bit slower, and all the stuff you do before, just try to slow it down.' And I saw the ball a lot better my last at-bat last night and then I just felt very comfortable today.

"It's definitely good to talk to the guys who are hitting .350, because there's something they're doing right. So, yeah, he gave me a good tip."

Means hadn't allowed a run in his last 13 innings before Ramón Laureano homered into the Orioles bullpen with two outs in the fourth for a 1-1 tie. A 94 mph fastball was redirected at 109.6 mph, per Statcast, for the first hard contact from the Athletics.

Chapman walked and Means retired eight in a row. Manager Brandon Hyde let him return for the seventh at 91 pitches while Adam Plutko began to warm, Chapman walked again with one out and Means left to a nice ovation.

The Orioles have five starts last six or more innings - three from Means and two from rookie Bruce Zimmermann.

Asked to compare this start to opening day, Means said, "It was more heater heavy. Changeup wasn't great today. I threw some good ones, but it wasn't quite as good as it was on opening day. Just kind of mixed it well, kept them off balance. Still felt pretty good.

"It was nice kind of finishing off the season strong and going into this season with confidence and getting back to who I am as a pitcher. I just feel very comfortable right now with mentality and stuff. Just try to keep that going."

And maybe begin to receive more national attention?

"I couldn't care less," he said. "I just like playing the game, to be honest with you, and I want to play it as long as I can. So as long as I'm playing, as long as I'm performing, I couldn't care less what anybody cares about it."

Means allowed only two hits, walked three batters and struck out six. He threw 101 pitches and lowered his ERA to 1.50 - a number that held because Plutko got a strikeout and popup to strand Chapman.

"He was exceptional today," Hyde said. "That is a really good lineup and for him to have the stuff that he had and get into the seventh inning, really impressive. Love the curveball today, aggressive with his fastball, good changeups again. But in, out, up, down, just really competitive. I know he's disappointed in those walks. That walk in the seventh was eating at him a little bit, but it was just a really great start that we needed.

"I know that he expects a lot out of himself, probably a little hard on himself at times, but the way he's throwing the baseball right now, you feel good about your chances when John Means is on the mound, because this is a guy who's going to pound the strike zone and be really competitive and have multiple pitches to mix. ... He's just doing a great job."

Paul Fry retired the side in order in the eighth with two strikeouts.

Mullins lined the first pitch from Luzardo into center field, but he broke early for second base on a steal attempt and was tagged in a rundown. Luzardo retired the next four batters, striking out Ryan Mountcastle, before Hays hit his first home run of the season.

The ball got out of here in a hurry with an exit velocity of 108 mph. A line drive that carried into the Orioles bullpen.

Mullins had three hits within five innings, including a bunt single, and was 13-for-29 against left-handers.

Hays' next home run came after a one-out walk Pedro Severino and a forceout. The ball landed above the grounds crew shed.

"When he's playing well, he does everything so great," Means said. "Plays outfield well, has a great arm, steals bases, obviously hits homers. When he gets hot, he doesn't really cool off, it seems like. So I'm excited to see what he has in store in the next month or so."

"It shows you the dynamic type of hitter he can be," Hyde said, "and a lot of our guys can be when they just learn to stay on the baseball and be on time with the fastball."

Means struck out four of the first eight batters, his fastball reaching 95 mph, and the only hit came when Stephen Piscotty reached for a changeup and poked it into right field. With an exit velocity that wouldn't dent pudding.

No. 9 hitter Vimael Machín walked, but Mark Canha grounded into a 5-4-3 double play.

"He was really pitching in well and setting up his off-speed stuff," Hays said. "That's a great lineup and there weren't a whole lot of very comfortable at-bats for them. It was great to see him pitch as well as he did today."

Means has allowed one run or fewer in eight of his last nine starts dating back to September. He held down the Athletics this afternoon. He also kept an eager rookie seated in the bullpen.

An offense that's been on ice presented him with a cool moment.

"When the score got to where it got to, I was pumped to watch him on the mound and he didn't disappoint," Hyde said. "Threw strikes, showed multiple pitches. He didn't look nervous. I'm sure he was. I told (Darren Holmes) when I called down to get him up, I said, 'Base hit here, we score two, Lowther's in the game. What do you think his heart is doing right now? I'm sure it's beating a million miles a minute.' It was a nice way to break him into the big leagues."