Battery of Cobb and Wynns sparks 2-1 win (with quotes)

FLUSHING, N.Y. - The bonding that's necessary between starting pitcher and catcher in order to keep them on the same page must have been a smooth and speedy process for Orioles right-hander Alex Cobb and rookie Austin Wynns.

Paired for the first time last night following Wynns' initial recall from Triple-A Norfolk, they wove four hitless innings through the Mets lineup, limited the damage in the fifth and made an early lead hold up in a 2-1 victory at Citi Field.

Cobb rationed the Mets to one run and two hits over six innings, Wynns delivered his first major league hit in his first at-bat and the Orioles ended a seven-game losing streak while improving to 18-41 overall and 8-23 on the road. Cobb walked one batter and struck out a season-high seven in his best start with the Orioles.

This afternoon's game provides the Orioles with another chance to claim their second series away from home. They took three of four from the Yankees on April 5-8.

Back in the New York groove?

The Orioles were 0-5 at Citi Field before tonight and had lost 11 straight interleague games. They were 0-7 on Tuesdays. Not much was working in their favor, and they stopped scoring again after the first inning, but Cobb and three relievers got the job done.

Manager Buck Showalter let Cobb bat with two outs in the top of the seventh and brought in Mychal Givens in the bottom half. Cobb had thrown 26 pitches in the fifth, but only 12 in the sixth while retiring the side in order to leave his count at 99.

It was a monumentally important inning for Cobb as the top of the order came up for a third look at him. A strikeout and two fly balls got him back in the dugout and to the bat rack for his final swings.

Richard Bleier replaced Givens in the eighth after a one-out walk and Brandon Nimmo reached on Danny Valencia's throwing error. But Asdrúbal Cabrera grounded into a 6-4-3 double play, and Brad Brach worked a scoreless ninth inning for his ninth save.

Three consecutive singles off left-hander Jason Vargas to open the game and Valencia's sacrifice fly staked Cobb to a 2-0 lead. The Orioles have now been outscored 64-32 in the first this season.

Wynns stepped to the plate after Chris Davis' leadoff walk in the second inning and lined a single into left field. He rounded first base and smacked his hands together. A MASN camera caught his mother, Laura, waving and blowing him a kiss from behind the dugout.

Cobb laid down a sacrifice bunt, but Davis was thrown out at the plate on Trey Mancini's chopper to second base and Adam Jones popped up.

The only baserunner against Cobb before Jay Bruce's leadoff single in the fifth was Kevin Plawecki on a two-out walk in the second. He retired 12 of the first 13 batters.

Plawecki doubled to move Bruce to third base and pinch-hitter Jose Bautista flied to deep left field to reduce the lead to 2-1. Bautista was batting for Vargas, who lasted five innings and 79 pitches.

Cobb struck out Amed Rosario on 10 pitches to end the fifth. Permitting only one run after a leadoff single and double was clutch.

Mancini, Jones and Manny Machado strung together hits in the first and Valencia flied to the warning track in left to craft the 2-0 lead. Vargas blanked them over the next four innings to lower his season ERA from 8.53 to 7.71. Cobb's ERA fell from 6.80 to 6.19.

Two struggling offenses ran into each other and didn't create much of a sound. It was sweet music to the Orioles, however, as they finally claimed a victory.

Notes: Darren O'Day worked two-thirds of an inning tonight for Single-A Frederick in Potomac. He walked three batters and Matt Trowbridge let all three inherited runners score.

Zach Britton tossed a scoreless inning with Triple-A Norfolk in Columbus, striking out one batter, inducing two ground balls and hitting a batter.

Showalter on Cobb: "Alex had all three working tonight. I think that might have been the first outing where he had a feel for all three pitches. And he had great late life to his fastball. Sometimes, pitchers, you see them throwing the ball to a target instead of through it. He was throwing the ball through the target. Breaking ball was there for him. That was fun to watch. Been waiting for that one."

Showalter on whether finally seeing Cobb they envisioned: "We've seen bits and pieces of it. He's such a perfectionist. He has some good outings, but the sustaining ones like he's been known for, like tonight, that was good for him to see. And it was good for the team because we all know what he's capable of."

Showalter on Wynns: "Good. He brought just what we thought he'd bring. He brings a lot of energy. Sleet, rain, hot, this guy comes to play. He brought a lot of energy to the game. It's so ... not 'refreshing.' Sometimes we can all get too cool for school, and here's a guy who didn't mind anybody knowing how excited he was to be called up to the big leagues, but he was completely under control.

"When we left the hotel today, he was sitting out there in that little, I don't know what they call them, road café things. And somebody asked him what he was doing and he said, 'I'm just taking in.' I think that's beautiful."

Showalter on seeing Wynns get first hit: "I don't know what was better, watching him or watching his teammates' reaction. That was cool. That's one of those things you're glad you're able to be here for that moment. Hopefully, he'll have a lot of other ones."

Showalter on early lead benefitting Cobb: "Going out and getting a zero in the bottom of the first and being crisp about it with a left-handed-heavy lineup. Having the split really helped him with that tonight. Some of the left-handed lineups we used to run against him in Tampa, his split was such an equalizer."

Showalter on why he let Cobb bat in sixth: "I'm not going to waste a pinch-hitter there when he's coming out of the game with two outs. If it had been less than two outs we would have done something different. What do you think?

"We're not going to burn any pitcher with two outs and nobody on. We don't need the spot where it was in the order."

Wynns on mother's reaction and his own to hit: "She blew me a kiss? Oh my gosh. That's my mom. It was just all smiles. I was like, 'Wow'. Just took a deep breath and took it in and was like, 'Wow.' Words couldn't even describe it. It was just a weight off my shoulders too. It was incredible."

Wynns on whether he got over nerves: "No way. As soon as that ninth inning came around and we won I was like, (sighs) 'Thank you.' That's when it was over. I had it that whole game."

Wynns on teammates' reaction in dugout: "Everyone was smiling happy for me. It was just great. I just want to do well, defensive side. If I hit, I hit. It was cool. Very cool."

Wynns on whether being in a close game helped: "Yeah, absolutely. Our defense was on point. It was the close play with that bunt, push bunt for a hit. Our defense and pitching staff did awesome. We'll try to be on the same page. It was like my first time catching Cobb. So, it was cool. It was fun."

Wynns on what he'll remember most: "I think it's all of it. The first step, Jones took me out there, too. He was like, 'Take it in, kid.' I was like, 'Yeah. I'm taking it in.'"

Cobb on whether best he's thrown: "I think that's probably fair to say. There were still times when it would get away from me a little bit. I felt pretty confident with each pitch I was throwing that I was going to be able to make it do what I wanted, for the most part. I'm working on some things that are obviously leading me down the right path.

"These work days in between coming off outings like this are big, because you have a pretty good idea of what you need to do and the mechanics that you need to repeat, and now it's just making it become muscle memory. So I'm happy I've got a good direction now."

Cobb on whether feeling good after early frustrations: "I think one of the things in sports you hear a lot when guys sign big contracts with a team, they'll go out and try and go out and impress and show their value in the contract. I never really felt like that. I did feel like I wanted to come out and show and prove the front office and the organization, putting their trust in me in this deal, they made the right decision.

"It was frustrating early on because I felt like I was disproving that, in a way. Whenever you're struggling as an athlete, it's tough. It's on your mind, all day, all night. You're trying to search for what it is that gets it back to being you. Tough stretch, but today it got me knowing that I'm on the right path of what I'm looking for."

Cobb on working with Wynns: "That was fun. I think when seasons are as difficult as they've been for us throughout this past stretch, this run that we've been on, you look for little shots of energy when you see a rookie come up, and the excitement on their face, that really energizes you. I've had my own issues that I've been dealing with where I wanted to go out there and have success, but having him out there making his debut, I felt like I wanted to make that a memorable night for him. I felt like he did that with his first at-bat, making that single. It was fun to be on deck and watch that. It's just a fun experience.

"Whenever a rookie comes up, it brings back some nostalgia and you think about ... He asked me if I remember my debut, like I was a 35-year-old on my way out. I had to tell him I'm not that old. It wasn't that long ago. It's just fun to watch him get that joy and excitement that we all had and got to experience."

Cobb on whether having early lead impacted game: "From the get-go, it gives you an opportunity to really attack. You have to really be fine when it's a zero-zero ballgame. But when you're up early, you go out there and attack a little bit more. To the same point, I'm never pitching differently. I'm never trying to pitch to give up runs, but when you get runs to start, you tend to be a little more aggressive in the zone."