Alex Cobb got his season going in the right direction in trip opener

ANAHEIM, Calif. - In the Orioles' latest loss - one where the offense came up short again and the defense made a key miscue - starting pitcher Alex Cobb was a bright spot.

Signed by the club to a four-year deal worth $57 million on March 21, Cobb had begun his O's career going 0-3 with an ERA of 13.11 and with batters hitting .484 off him. This was very unlike the pitcher who was so solid over many years for Tampa Bay. His late signing, which led to an expedited spring training, hindered his performance. But last night looked much more like what the Orioles are expecting of Cobb.

A pitcher getting a groundball percentage in the mid-50s when he was at his best, his 2018 rate improved to 54.3 with last night's outing when he got 18 outs and 13 on ground balls.

Over six-plus innings, Cobb allowed seven hits and two runs with two walks and strikeouts. He threw 89 pitches.

"Each start, I try to take something positive out of it and really work hard during the week," Cobb said. "Hone in on that rather that all the negatives. Because it's easy to get wrapped up in what you are not doing. But I took those innings that I pitched and I really focused on what was going well.

"The toughest part right now is repeatability of the delivery. That groove that you try to get in. Key points in your delivery, you try to get to before you can go towards the plate. And there will be a lot more tonight that I take away from and bring into my next outing."

Cobb is still not throwing his split-changeup as much as he did before the Tommy John surgery that forced him to miss the 2015 season and limited him to five starts in 2016. But it's a pitch that Cobb seems committed to getting fully back and he threw it 21 times last night.

But while he was pitching well, the Orioles got just one hit. He looked headed for a tough-luck loss and 0-4 start. Then the Orioles tied the game in the top of the ninth, only to lose it in the bottom half.

Cobb felt the club appeared on the way to what could have been a key comeback win.

"You know, when you go through a rut like this, one of the things that gets you out of it the most is one of those comeback wins," he said. "It looked like we were starting to move in that direction. That is how you build off momentum. It would have been really nice.

"We are going to have to respond (tonight). I think the biggest focus right now for us is to win series. And not try to make up all the ground in every single at-bat or pitch. Just win series each city we go to and I think once we look up at the end we'll at least start giving ourselves a better chance."

Winning series would be nice and if Cobb continues to pitch more like last night then he did for his first three Orioles starts, the team will have a much better chance to do that.