A look at a three-inning save, two blowout wins and O's back in first place

When Wyatt Langford of the Texas Rangers hit a walk-off grand slam off Yankees closer Clay Holmes late last night, it moved the Orioles back into first place in the American League East.

Holmes, who suffered his 11th blown save, gave up two hits and two walks in the ninth and saw his slider hit 407 feet to lose the game 7-4.

The Orioles (81-59) were last in first on Aug. 20 and now they begin play today a 1/2-game ahead of the Yankees (80-59).

The Orioles beat the Chicago White Sox 9-0 last night at Oriole Park and have won four of five and seven of 11, going 23-21 since the All-Star game. New York has lost five of seven and is 22-19 in the second half. 

The chase is on for the AL East title with 22 games remaining.

Meanwhile, we saw a baseball rarity when the Orioles beat the Chicago White Sox 13-3 on Monday afternoon. We saw a three-inning save for O’s lefty Cole Irvin.

He entered the game in the seventh leading 11-2 and got a save. A pitcher finishing the game his team wins that pitches three innings is credited with a save.

Before Irvin did it, the last Oriole to get one was lefty Keegan Akin on Aug. 1, 2022 at Texas and he also got one July 27, 2022 at Seattle, according to Stats Perform. Before that, the most recent three-inning save for the team was by Josh Lucas on May 25, 2019 at Colorado and by Paul Fry on Sept. 26, 2018 at Boston.

“For me I am trying to put up more zeros to be a little better out of the bullpen,” said Irvin pregame yesterday, after allowing one run in three innings on 43 pitches. “That is where a lot of my runs have come this year. So, it wasn’t perfect, but we gave the bullpen a rest, which is important to me. We have a stretch of games coming up that are pretty important so any rest we can get for the staff goes a long way.”

Irvin is correct that his numbers are better starting this season. In his 16 starts-only, he is 6-4 with a 4.07 ERA and .773 opponent OPS. In eight games over 22 1/3 innings out of the ‘pen, he is 0-1 with a 7.25 ERA and .953 OPS.

“I’m happy about a three-inning save. Everyone was saying congrats on the save. I hadn’t thought about a three-inning save in a long time and forgot it was a thing. Been a while since I’ve seen one.

“My other save was a two-inning save and I got an at-bat. Right now, I am trying do my part, be a good team player. Trying to find that one percent more I can get better at. I don’t want to be a finished product," he said.

Irvin’s other career save was for Philadelphia at Pittsburgh July 19, 2019.

Irvin said for him, going between the bullpen and starting is a real challenge. His routine is different for one and he’s mostly been a starter in his pro career – majors and minors. So he is learning and adjusting each time he throws out of the bullpen.

“Still learning what is my routine in the bullpen. How many pitches do I throw to be ready? Those are all still new. I have done this three separate seasons but still don’t feel that bullpen routine is completely down yet.

“I have talked to Akin. Keegan is a good guy to kind of lean on. He was a starter and transitioned to the bullpen with success. Just picking his brain a little bit, nothing too crazy. The luxury of starting is you have the same routine every day. In the bullpen you’ve got to be ready to go today.”

Per Stats Perform, here are the O’s all-time leaders in three-inning saves, (saves officially tracked since 1969)

20 - Sammy Stewart
7 - Tippy Martinez
6 - Grant Jackson and Mark Williamson
5 - Nate Snell and Tim Stoddard

Here are the all-time MLB leaders in three-inning saves:

52 - Gene Garber
38 - Mike Marshall
37 - Dan Quisenberry and Bob Stanley
36 - Rollie Fingers

Here is a crazy, three-inning save: On Aug. 22, 2007 in Game 1 of a doubleheader, Texas beat the Orioles 30-3 at Camden Yards. Rangers' right-hander Wes Littleton pitched scoreless ball the last three innings and yes, he got a save. In a 27-run win.

With last night's win the O's have won two games this series over the White Sox by 10 and by nine runs. Even as bad as the White Sox are at 31-109 with 12 straight losses, this is not a normal result.

The Orioles have just seven wins this season by nine runs or more yet two this series. The White Sox have just eight losses by nine runs or more, but two this series.

The Birds have their first three-game win streak since July 14-20. They are 6-0 this year versus the Sox and 15-4 since the 2022 season. And they take the field tonight back atop the division. 

This is the swing that put Baltimore back into first place.