Hyde talks opponents' stolen bases after Cardinals had four Monday night

ST. LOUIS – Orioles manager Brandon Hyde could not have been thrilled to see the Cardinals steal four bases last night in their series-opening 6-3 win.

The four steals matched a St. Louis season best done one time before. The four allowed is an O's season high, now done three times, once each by Washington, Kansas City and now St. Louis.

Adley Rutschman caught 22 percent of the runners trying to steal last year and that number is 21 percent this year.

“I think the majority of the time, it’s usually on the pitcher,” said Hyde today in the visitor's dugout. “You know, look at those four against him last night, there is absolutely nothing you can do about those four. You’re going to have to balance it with: Did he have a chance or not? And the majority of the time he really hasn’t this year.”

Hyde and the Orioles are very aware, of course, of which of their pitchers are good at holding runners and which ones have challenges. Last night’s starter, Dean Kremer, had seen his opponents steal one base on him all year and St. Louis got two bags.

“Last night, they got something on Dean," Hyde said. "They had good breaks on him, that’s two. And Cionel (Pérez) has worked on it but still needs to improve in holding runners at second base.

“We had a bad night from that standpoint last night. That night in Washington, we just didn’t do a very good of holding runners that game. If you throw those two games out, we’ve done a pretty good job this year."

For the year, the O’s have allowed 32 stolen bases and nine American League teams have allowed more. Their catchers have thrown out 20 percent of would-be basestealers and nine teams have done better in the AL in caught stealing percentage.

On another topic, Anthony Santander is getting another day off tonight. He’s been dealing with a bruised left knee and is batting .205 with a .699 OPS.

“Yeah, I mean the body is beat up a little bit. We gave him a DH last night. I just want to give him a rest today,” Hyde said.

Right-hander Kyle Bradish will make his fourth start tonight since returning from the injured list. Pregame today Hyde remembered fondly Bradish’s third career start. It was in this ballpark on May 10, 2022.

Bradish gave the Birds a big effort in a 5-3 win. He fanned 11 over seven innings, allowing two runs and had a shutout through five innings that day at Busch Stadium.

“For me that was kind of his welcome to the big leagues moment,” recalled Hyde. “That was eye opening. This team was in a playoff race two years ago. On the road, tough environment and he just completely shut them down.

“He had everything going that night and since then, he’s been one of the best pitchers in the game. Last year, he was incredible for us.

“We knew the stuff was there and we saw spurts of it. When he first got to the big leagues, he would have innings where you go, ‘Wow.’ But not sustained like that two times through the order. He shut down a really good offense and they had no shot. You thought to yourself, 'This guy is going to be really good.'”

Bradish returns to the Busch Stadium mound tonight with a 0-0 record and 2.63 ERA in his three games. He has thrown 4 2/3, five and four innings, and Hyde said they have been cautious with him on pitch counts early on coming off an injury. He has thrown 84, 90 and 85 pitches in those games as he gets set to face the Cards tonight.