A take on Dylan Bundy, plus O's and Red Sox notes

Watching Dylan Bundy give up five runs over five innings last night and pass the 100 innings mark for the second time in his pro career, I wondered if the Orioles should consider shutting him down for the 2016 season.

But guess what? He is probably only going to make another two starts in the regular season. The Orioles pretty much have gotten the kid through the season healthy, even if he isn't quite as sharp as he was a few weeks ago.

We've seen this young right-hander come a long way this year. There were concerns in spring training that the club might have to treat him like a Rule 5 pick this season. Instead, he ends up in the rotation and has looked often every bit like the first-round pick that he was. The hype from earlier in his career? There were clearly good reasons for that.

We should not forget how many innings and games to learn and develop on the farm that Bundy lost to injury. He has pitched just 38 2/3 innings in his life in the minors above Single-A at Double-A and has never pitched at Triple-A. In the majors, he has now thrown 106 1/3 career innings.

Bundy's innings by year as a pro pitcher:
2012 - 105 1/3
2013 - 0
2014 - 41 1/3
2015 - 22
2016 - 104 2/3

Bundy's innings by level, lowest to highest:
Short-season Single-A Aberdeen - 15
SIngle-A Delmarva - 30
Single-A Frederick - 83 1/3
Double-A Bowie - 38 2/3
Triple-A Norfolk - 0
Baltimore - 106 1/3

So, yeah, that major league contract he signed out of the 2011 draft, coupled with his injuries, have led to that breakdown. It is not exactly how they draw it up in player development. But Bundy has gained valuable experience and certainly learned a few things this season while pitching at the highest level.

He is in the Orioles rotation to stay. If he ends the regular season at around 115 innings, he is set up next year to pitch perhaps 150. Certainly, he could add postseason innings this year.

With the finish line for his season approaching, I think the Orioles have gotten what they could have hoped for and maybe much more out of Bundy. He has competed well at this level with a three-pitch mix that was special at times. He did all this while compiling more innings at the big league level than at any =minor league level.

A few more notes on the Orioles and Red Sox:

* The Orioles have now scored just two runs in each of their past three games. The Orioles have gone 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position in those games.

* O's starters have now gone five consecutive games without a quality start while pitching to a 6.48 ERA.

* At the same time, the Orioles bullpen has allowed just two earned runs the last seven games and 24 2/3 innings for an ERA of 0.73.

* In 16 games this year against O's pitching, Boston outfielder Mookie Betts is batting .385 (25-for-65) with nine homers, 21 RBIs and a 1.306 OPS. In seven games at Camden Yards, Betts is 13-for-26 (.500) with eight homers and 15 RBIs. Betts has done all this while hitting a total of just three homers in 47 games against the other three American League East teams. He has three homers in 16 games versus Tampa Bay. He has not homered in 15 games against New York and 16 games against Toronto.

* While the Orioles have won three of three road series this year against Boston, going 6-3 at Fenway Park, they are 2-5 at home against the Red Sox. They earlier split a four-game series at Oriole Park and lost two straight in another series.