Brad Brach on his rare misstep and the bullpen's strong start

Orioles reliever Brad Brach has been so good this year that when something doesn't go his way, it almost catches you off guard. The right-hander took an ERA of 0.68 and opponent average against of .095 to the mound last night in the seventh inning. The Orioles were holding a 3-2 lead on the Chicago White Sox.

Second baseman Brett Lawrie, whose error had cost his team two innings earlier, hit a 2-2 pitch out to left field to tie the game. It was a rare misstep for Brach, who quickly recovered to get the next three outs and keep the game tied 3-3.

"I was a little bit too excited there when I came in the game," Brach said this afternoon. "I just needed to settle down and pitch down in the zone. Unfortunately, giving up the home run took a little bit of that excitement out of me, but it helped me settle back down and get back to where I had been before that."

Unlike some relievers who may come into the game throwing mostly one or two pitches, Brach has three quality pitches to work with. All can be above average offerings. He said that might allow him to pitch to a scouting report more than some other pitchers in the 'pen.

"I do like to look at a scouting report and see which off-speed pitch they struggle with more and it allows me to go to that more when I need it," Brach said. "Last night, it was one of those things where I threw a fastball by him and I tried to sneak another one by him. He's just a good fastball hitter and he put a good swing on it. But when I go to the scouting reports, I can throw my slider or changeup, whichever one they struggle with more."

Brach actually got the win last night as he was the pitcher of record when Nolan Reimold hit a three-run homer to break a 3-3 tie. Brach is now 3-0 with an ERA of 1.26. He has allowed just five hits over 14 1/3 innings. He has held lefty batters to a .130 average and has done even better against right-handed batters: They hit just .087 (2-for-23) off Brach with 11 strikeouts. Yeah, pretty strong start for him.

Brach said the O's pitchers definitely are aware that the White Sox and Orioles are one-two in the majors in bullpen ERA. Chicago ranks first at 1.65, with the Orioles second at 1.75. The next closest team is Kansas City at 2.51.

"We definitely know where teams rank in bullpen ERA," Brach said. "We keep track of it. We take a lot of pride in that. Whether we get national recognition or regional recognition, it really doesn't matter because we know if we go out there and put up zeroes, the numbers will be there. But that is a definite motivator. We want to be the best.

"We have such a large variety of guys. We have Darren (O'Day) and Zach (Britton) the last two innings. But then there are so many other guys we can throw out there to face righties specifically or to face lefties specifically. And we have a couple long guys out there to face righties or lefties, so our 'pen has been pretty impressive."