O's pitching better in second game and today they go for series win

After Friday's opening night loss, a result of some poor pitching, the Orioles got the season's first win less than 24 hours later. They beat the Boston Red Sox 7-2 Saturday at Fenway Park and they can win the series there this afternoon.

In the 13-2 loss in the opener, Baltimore pitchers threw 191 pitches over eight innings with seven walks. Yesterday five pitchers threw 140 pitches over nine innings with no walks and 11 strikeouts. Boston went 10-for-19 with runners in scoring position Friday and 1-for-7 yesterday.

Right-hander Alex Cobb came up big in his first start since April 26, 2019, producing his first win since Sept. 4, 2018. He allowed one run over 5 1/3 innings, throwing 78 pitches.

"There's no feeling like sitting at the entrance and giving every single one of your teammates a high-five or a fist pound and thanking them for working behind you and them saying how nice it was to play behind you," Cobb said. "I didn't forget it It's one of my favorite feelings in the game and it's something I've wanted to have for a long time. I know it's been over a year since it happened, but I never forgot that feeling. Love it. It's my favorite."

Lefty Richard Bleier looked like his old self, getting five big outs, and Mychal Givens got the last four outs with two strikeouts. Miguel Castro threw just three pitches in the game, but they were three big ones. When Boston cut a 5-0 O's lead to 5-2 in the sixth, Castro faced pinch-hitter Xander Bogaerts with two men on.

He threw a 99 mph heater for a called first strike. Bogaerts fouled off a fastball at 98 and then swung through a slider at 87. Good morning, good afternoon and good night. Threat squashed. Comeback bid hits a brick wall.

"Miguel Castro probably got the biggest out of the game," said manager Brandon Hyde. "The middle part where we really struggled last year, that sixth and seventh inning to keep a lead or keep a game close. For him to punch out Bogaerts in that situation, that was the key to the game."

Castro has made some adjustments to produce a little less movement in his delivery. The Orioles hope that leads to not just fewer walks, but better command within the strike zone. His summer camp outings and yesterday's outing indicate the changes might be big for him and the team.

"Miggy's got great stuff," said Hyde. "I love the mechanical adjustments that he has made. He's lowered his leg and it's more of a slide step right now, just getting his arm to catch up. Getting his fingers on top of the baseball a lot more often. To me, when he had some problems last year his fingers were on the side of the ball. There were some middle (of the plate) misses with that slider. He'd be spinning the ball rather than really getting his fingers on top and driving it down. That's a key for him. No right-hander wants to face Miguel Castro when he throws like that. That's a big boost for us going forward."

But before the game: In the pregame interview with Hyde Saturday, the pitching talk was very different. The Orioles were coming off the blowout loss in which the bullpen had a bad day.

The Orioles began this season with a 16-man pitching staff on a 30-man roster. That's five in the rotation and 11 in the bullpen. Hard not to keep the 'pen fresh with 11 pitchers out there, right?

Well, before Saturday's game, O's manager Brandon Hyde explained there could be bullpen issues, even with so many pitchers there to start the year.

"(Saturday) I will have three guys down (after Friday's game)," he said. "I know we have a lot, but you also have to think about tomorrow also. And I prefer not to throw anybody back-to-back right now, because guys aren't built up to that. Our starters aren't built up like they normally are at the end of July. So, even though it's a 30-man roster and we have 16 pitchers, I almost feel like it's not enough. And the lineups we face (are tough) too.

"That is why the importance of coming in and being able to command the ball in the strike zone and trying to get early contact is so key. It allows you to keep guys fresh and not have 30-pitch innings, which puts you out for tomorrow. Our guys are trying hard and we're going to compete. But we need to try and build up our starters a little more, and every club will have that issue. And our bullpen guys need to come in and throw strike one."

And that certainly did not happen on opening night. Pitching in a big league game for the first time since Sept. 29, 2018, right-hander Cody Carroll faced four batters in the fourth inning and walked three of them. He threw just 10 of 22 pitches for strikes. O's pitching walked seven guys over eight innings opening night.

"Well 190 pitches, eight innings," said Hyde. "It's not a real good formula for a win. I mean, these guys have to throw strikes. We do the best we can as coaches to stay positive. I know our pitching coaches are working with these guys every day. I thought we did a pretty good job in summer camp of throwing strikes. We're hammering it. I talked to all the bullpen guys about the trust that I need to know that when I hand them the ball you'll come in and throw strike one and work ahead of the hitters. Or the bullpen gets taxed and guys are unavailable the next day. The 25-to-30-pitch innings can kill your pitching staff. We're stressing to force early contact. But it's up to them, it's their careers, to be able to do it.

"Some guys are in different parts of their careers and can maybe try too hard. That is what Cody Carroll was, because Cody didn't throw like that a few days ago. He came in and pounded the zone, and then (Friday) night he was just missing above the zone. He hadn't pitched in the big leagues in a long time and was excited to be out there. Hopefully, it's something we improve on during the course of the season or your pitching will not hold up. You have to force contact and attack hitters."

Those were Hyde's pregame comments Saturday. We then saw it play out with some solid execution during the game. It sets the O's up today to win this series before they head to Miami.