Brach's bullpen mates appreciate his contributions

Brad Brach elevated a 94 mph four-seam fastball last night to the first batter he faced, White Sox's second baseman Brett Lawrie, who took it for a ride into the left field seats and pointed in that general direction as he headed up the line.

It wasn't Babe Ruth calling his shot. It was Brett Lawie making sure everyone saw it.

The game now tied, Brach kept his composure and retired the next three batters on a fly ball, grounder and strikeout. He returned to the dugout and later took home the win, as Nolan Reimold's three-run shot in the bottom half of the inning gave the Orioles a 6-3 victory.

Brach should have done the pointing, saying, "I don't do THAT very often."

It was a shocking glitch for Brach, who's allowed only two runs and five hits in 14 1/3 innings. The strikeout of Austin Jackson raised his total to 15.

Also consider that Brach posted a 2.72 ERA last season in 79 1/3 innings, and then consider the reasons why no one in the industry seems to notice outside of Baltimore.

"I don't know if there's a more valuable guy down there," said Darren O'Day, who replaced Brach and contributed a scoreless eighth. "He does so many roles. He pitches long, he pitches short, he pitches multiple days in a row.

"I don't know why Brad doesn't get more attention. Probably because he's quiet and humble and he's worked really hard to get where he is, so he appreciates it every day. He's as good as any reliever in the league. I'm not just saying this because he's my teammate, but he's got three, like, unbelievable pitches. Three plus pitches, and you don't see that much out of relievers. Usually it's two, maybe two and an OK third one. He's got three really good ones. And you're only going to see him get better. I can tell you that."

O'Day, the All-Star set-up man, is referencing a fastball, slider and changeup that have opponents batting .109 against Brach. They hit .203 in his 62 appearances last season.

"If you ask opposing hitters about him, I think you'll find out that they know who he is and what he does," said O'Day, who's allowed one earned run in his last 22 1/3 innings since Sept. 4. "If he was pitching in the eighth or ninth inning, which he's very capable of doing, then he would get more attention, but he's more valuable for us with what he's doing right now."

Brach, acquired from the Padres in November 2013 for minor league pitcher Devin Jones, has entered games this season in the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth innings. He was used to get two outs on opening day and to get five in an April 23 game in Kansas City.

"I'm not sure why he doesn't have more people talking about him that much," said Zach Britton, the All-Star closer who notched his sixth save last night. "I think if anything, it's just the way it kind of works when you're a reliever. Unless you do something bad, really no one is writing about you. But he does a lot of different roles for us, too, which could be why. It's not like a stated role that he's doing. He's just doing a really good job for us.

"You can kind of see the progression from when we got him to last year and now to this year. A lot more dominant than he has been in the past, but it's not something that is surprising. Last year, he really took a big step forward. Now he's thrown into even more high-leverage situations and doing even better, so it's good to have him down there.

"It helps me and Darren out, and really it helps everyone in the 'pen slot into a little bit better role."

Manager Buck Showalter is fond of saying that a reliever's role is to get outs. Brach, who turned 30 this month, keeps doing it without much fanfare.

"He's extremely valuable," said left-hander T.J. McFarland. "For the last couple years, he's done extremely well down in the 'pen. And I think a lot of it is because Darren and Zach are so good that they kind of overshadow Brad a little bit. But make no mistake about it, he's definitely a presence in the bullpen and gets big outs when we need it."

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