Can Matt Harvey join John Means in pitching well atop rotation?

By Steve Melewski

Orioles

April 26, 2021, 8:13pm

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The Orioles have lefty John Means at the top of their rotation and he's throwing great baseball. What if Matt Harvey could build on last night's strong outing and join him for a nice one-two punch at the top?

That could be big for the pitching staff, which already has its bullpen humming along pretty well. It would be a lift for the rotation if Harvey, who lowered his ERA to 4.26 last night, could string together a few strong outings. Last night was just the sixth time in 21 games that an O's starter pitched six innings or more. Means has three of those games, Bruce Zimmermann two and Harvey now has one.

Harvey broke through the five-inning threshold last night in his 84-pitch outing, allowing three hits and one run in the Orioles' 4-2 win over New York. Yankees batters went just 3-for-19 against him and he threw a combined 56 two- and four-seam fastballs, with both pitches touching 95 mph. After Means allowed one run in 6 1/3 innings Sunday, Harvey basically matched that last night. And for the first time this year, the Orioles have back-to-back quality starts.

"I thought he got over the hump there," O's manager Brandon Hyde said of Harvey via Zoom. "I thought his stuff stayed the same through the fifth. He gave up that one run there in the sixth inning, but impressive performance. Good life to his fastball, good two-seamer again, liked the slider and the curveball. He's a competitor and he competes with what he's got. He knows how to pitch. He's continuing to get stronger every outing."

And that is great news for an O's rotation that has pitched to an ERA of 3.67 over the last 11 games. If the Orioles had that 3.67 rotation ERA for the entire year, and not just the last 11 of 21 games, they would rank second in the American League.

Jay Flaa, great story: He's 28 and from North Dakota, and until yesterday was a lifelong minor leaguer in his seventh year in the Orioles organization. He didn't make any of those top 30 prospects lists and was not considered someone expected to make the Baltimore bullpen anytime soon.

But right-hander Jay Flaa made the show yesterday, when the O's added him before the game.

He makes the 40-man and the active rosters for the first time. The Orioles drafted him in round six in 2015 out of North Dakota State. And after 165 games on the farm, he got the call. His pro career began in Rookie League and short-season Single-A ball and then he played all the way through Triple-A Norfolk in 2019. In 2020, there were no games and this year he got into some spring training games as one of those extra players brought over. That meant he was on the radar at least a little bit.

Now he's in their bullpen.

"Gary Kendall called me (Monday) morning just before 10 o'clock and I was just kind of waking up," Flaa said. "Obviously told me, 'Congratulations, you're going to Baltimore,' and I thought he was messing around with me right away and I asked if he was serious. He was like, 'Obviously, I wouldn't joke around about that.' So it was a pretty big shock to me."

Flaa hopes his promotion sends a message to all on the O's farm. You don't need to be considered a top prospect or be a high draft pick to make the bigs.

"I would absolutely like to think that a lot of guys see me as an example of someone who kind of came from under the radar like that and how fast things can change," Flaa said. "I went to bed last night as a regular minor leaguer and woke up this morning and my life changed forever. So things can happen that fast, and with the hard work and mindset, for me, to have it pay off has been unbelievable."

Born in Bismarck, N.D., if he gets into a game, he would be the 20th native North Dakotan in major league history and the third to play for the Orioles. He would join a Devils Lake native, pitcher Rick Helling, who appeared in 24 games for the O's in 2003, and pitcher Mark Lee, a Williston native who appeared in 39 games for the Birds in 1995.

Click here for more on Flaa's promotion.

A few final notes:

* Center fielder Cedric Mullins went 3-for-4 with a double and two solo homers last night for his first career two-homer game. He went 2-for-2 against lefty pitchers. Mullins is now 15-for-33 against left-handers, batting .455/.486/.636/1.122. He is now batting .365 with an OPS of .996 for the season. He is 9-for-18 over his last four games with two doubles, two homers, two runs scored and two RBIs.

* Harvey last pitched five innings or more, allowing one run or less, on July 13, 2019 for the Angels against Seattle. His last quality start was April 28, 2019 for the Angels versus Kansas City.

* While the Orioles have won just five of their past 30 games against the Yankees, they have now won four home games in a row versus New York. The last time the Yankees lost four in a row at Baltimore was from Oct. 3, 2015 to May 3, 2016.

* The Orioles are now 9-2 when scoring four runs or more.

* Right-hander CÃ©sar Valdez recorded his AL-leading fifth save with a scoreless 1 1/3 innings to end the game, although he did allow an inherited runner to score. He has not allowed an earned run (one unearned) in five career appearances against the Yankees, with five hits, one walk, and eight strikeouts over nine innings pitched.