With changeup re-emerging, Branden Kline is back with O's

As he returned today to the Orioles roster for his fifth stint in 2019 with the big league club, the search for consistent big league success is ongoing for right-handed reliever Branden Kline.

His injury issues now well behind him, Kline made his big league debut this year on April 20 versus Minnesota, with his mom looking on in tears from the stands. He had made it all the way back from Tommy John surgery and complications that forced him to miss most of three seasons from 2015 to 2017.

He was a real feel-good story in April. The kid from Frederick, Md. makes his hometown team after a long comeback. Now he's kind of moved past that and is trying to be the kid with the 97 mph fastball who can consistently get out big league hitters.

Along those lines, he's seen that even a high-90s heater can get hit hard at times this year. So in recent outings his changeup is emerging as a pitch he's using more. It helps keep hitters off his fastball.

In 21 Orioles games, Kline is 1-4 with a 6.18 ERA over 27 2/3 innings. But over his past five games he's allowed three runs in 7 1/3 for a 3.68 ERA. He sees signs of progress, including in his last game with the Orioles, when he threw 2 1/3 scoreless on 30 pitches July 22 at Arizona. But he was sent out the next day when the team had to open a roster spot for Dylan Bundy, who was coming off the injured list.

But now Kline is back with a bigger focus on his changeup that he can now feature as much as his slider.

"Feels real good," Kline said today of that pitch. "Especially being in this locker. (John) Means' old locker. The changeup aura is around me. It's a pitch I'm getting a lot more comfortable with the more I throw it. It is definitely a weapon I'm going to be using. The more I throw it, the more trust I have in it. If I have a long battle with a batter, it is something you can throw in there for a strike or for a chase pitch."

According to brooksbaseball.net stats, Kline didn't throw even one changeup in 12 of his outings this season. But in the last three games, he's used the pitch 14, 16 and 20 percent. In the game in Arizona, he threw 57 percent fastballs, 23 percent sliders and 20 percent changeups.

He became more than a two-pitch pitcher, and he now had two different offerings to offset the mid to upper-90s heat.

"The fact I've been able to throw off-speed pitches in certain counts, whether I'm ahead or behind, just being able to trust in that," Kline said. "I know that is a big thing up here, being able to keep hitters off balance, and that is something I've struggled with throughout the year. But I'm getting more comfortable doing that in hitter's counts and I think that will help bail me out in certain situations. It's a lot easier if I can get ahead and then I have something to put guys away with."

And Kline returns with confidence coming off a couple of good Triple-A outings that followed that game at Arizona. He threw well but was gone the next day.

"I know it was one of those things and the business moves need to be made," he said. "I understood the role. My job is to get as many outs as I can as quickly as possible, and obviously a move had to be made after the game. It was me. So I just took the outing I had, took it down to Triple-A with me and tried to improve."

And now he's back. For the fifth time.

"It comes with the business," Kline said. "We all understand what is going on. The mindset we all have down there is 'Be ready.' All we try to do is go out there and attack."