New Orioles pitcher Andrew Miller has made two impressive relief appearances for his new team. He got two key outs Friday night against Seattle in his O's debut and had a real strong outing Sunday.
He came on in the eighth to protect a 1-0 lead and retired the side in order on 10 pitches with two strikeouts. He had some overpowering stuff.
Like two other left-handers in the Orioles bullpen in Brian Matusz and Zach Britton, Miller is a former starter. But he didn't pitch nearly as well in that role as he has in relief since he moved to the bullpen full-time in 2012.
In 66 career major league starts for Detroit, Florida and Boston, he is 20-27 with an ERA of 5.70. His last season starting was 2011 with Boston, when he went 6-3 with a 5.54 ERA.
Miller pitched to an ERA of 3.35 out of the bullpen in 2012 and 2.64 last season. This year, he is 3-5 with a 2.25 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 71 strikeouts in 44 innings.
I asked Miller what led him to have success pitching in relief after he had his struggles as a starting pitcher.
"In some sense, it's unrelated," he said. "I think I sorted through some mechanical issues I had. But ultimately the bullpen transition has been good for me. Pitching more regularly has been really important. Even if you warm up and don't get in the game, it's more repetitions. That has paid off for me and allowed me to fine tune what I am trying to do."
Now he joins a strong Orioles bullpen, one that has pitched to an ERA of 1.59 over the last 13 games.
"These guys have been really good," Miller said. "Some really good arms and a pretty good mix and balance out there. Whatever is asked of me, I want to fit in. These guys are throwing the ball really well right now."
A new team means new teammates for Miller, including two new catchers he has not worked with before Friday.
"I'm pretty simple and straightforward," he said. "I'm not the easiest guy to catch, I don't think, but as far as my process I think it's pretty straightforward. Don't imagine those guys will have too much of a problem. They've gotten to see me pitch, so it's not like I'm an unknown."
Acquired from Boston for O's minor league pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez before Thursday's non-waiver trade deadline, Miller is very familiar with the American League East.
After spending four seasons and pitching in 157 games with Boston, he is prepared for the day he may be pitching against his former Red Sox teammates.
"I thought about that," Miller said. "I looked at the schedule. Looks like we have two series against them. It will be odd, but I'll have to find a way to get through that and just face the guy at the plate. Think I'll be fine."
Davies honored: Double-A Bowie right-hander Zach Davies has been named Eastern League Pitcher of the Week for the week ending Sunday. This is the second time this season Davies has received the honor.
Davies went 2-0 with a 2.03 ERA during the week with 13 strikeouts over 13 1/3 innings. For the season, he is 8-6 with a 3.30 ERA and 82 strikeouts over 84 2/3 innings.
The 21-year-old Davies, the Orioles' No. 11 prospect according to Baseball America, is 7-2 with a 1.88 ERA in his last nine starts dating back to June 16.
![miller-black-pitching.jpg](http://www.masnsports.com/steve-melewski/images/miller-black-pitching.jpg)
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