David Hess impressed in latest solid outing, plus other notes

If the Toronto Blue Jays were going to break through last night versus Orioles right-hander David Hess, the middle innings provided them with plenty of chances. A leadoff double in the fourth. Runners on first and second with one out in the fifth. Runners on the corners with two outs in the sixth.

I guess we could say Hess bent but didn't break. Toronto went scoreless in six innings against him last night and the Blue Jays went 0-for-6 against him with runners in scoring in those middle innings. The Orioles (38-94) posted a 7-0 win to snap an eight-game losing streak.

This has maybe been an underrated aspect of Hess' pitching this year. But after last night, he allows a batting average of only .217 when he pitches with runners in scoring position. When there are RISP and two outs, Hess really gets tough, allowing just three hits in 23 at-bats for an average of .130.

After pitching to an ERA of 8.37 in five June starts, Hess is locked back in again. Last night he improved his ERA to 2.19 over his past four starts and he allowed one run or less for the fifth time in his 14 big league starts in 2018.

At a time when the Orioles are looking for young pitchers in their clubhouse to step forward, this fifth-round pick from the 2014 draft is doing just that.

Last night's outing was also impressive because Hess shut down Toronto at Oriole Park five days after he had done the same at Rogers Centre. Last Wednesday on the road, he gave up one run in seven innings. Last night, he didn't give up any.

Hess and catcher Caleb Joseph were not going to change the game plan from last week until and unless they would have to.

"He had a pretty nice start there as well," Joseph said. "And so, with David's pitches, with the variety he has, the slow curveball and nice zippy fastball and mixed in a changeup there and relied on the slider a little bit, with that repertoire, it's about execution. So you feel good even if you have the same game plan if he can execute the pitches. A lot of times tonight he executed and that is what it takes to win games in the major leagues."

Hess made a slight adjustment last night in that he mixed in a few more curveballs, including big bender at 71 mph to strikeout Justin Smoak in the sixth. But that was the only change he made in the back-to-back starts. In Rogers Centre, 89 percent of his pitches were fastballs or sliders. Last night that percentage was 76.

On Aug. 3 at Texas, Hess allowed seven runs in 3 1/3 innings as his ERA increased to 6.41. After that game, pitching coach Roger McDowell challenged him to prove he could do a lot better. Hess accepted the challenge. He said it might have been a turning point.

"I think in a lot of ways it was. I pride myself on being a competitor and I think that brought that out a little bit more," Hess said. "Then I think that kind of resonated and showed a bit in Cleveland. That was a big turning point with the bases loaded strikeout to (Yonder) Alonso. That showed, even in a jam, we can make pitches and get our way out of situations."

Joseph echoed the point about young pitchers needing to step up during a postgame MASN interview for "O's Xtra."

"There are opportunities all over the place for these young guys," he said. "You want to leave a lasting impression. We talked about it today. Roger got the pitchers together and we talked about that. We talked about look, opportunities are short and sweet here in the big leagues. You want to give a good impression and finish this season out strong. A lot of guys are auditioning for next year and you have to step up and take the opportunity and take it by the reigns and go. That applies to just about everybody in the clubhouse. Tonight was a big step for us and hopefully we can do it again tomorrow."

Trey Mancini carried the offense last night with a three-run homer and two-run double. He matched his career high with five RBIs. Mancini has served as the designated hitter in four of his last five starts. As the DH Sunday and Monday night, he's gone 3-for-8 with two homers and six RBIs.

"I don't mind it (being the DH) at all," said Mancini. "You just try to find a routine. That is an important aspect of it that people don't know. When you are not playing the field, all you are thinking about is your at-bats. So since I've been doing it a little more often, I've been trying to get a routine down. So after I hit, I'll hang in the dugout a little bit and watch the game and then, in the five-spot, whenever the nine-hole or leadoff guy gets on, I'll go in and start taking balls off the Iron Mike. Hitting off the tee. Talking to Howie (Clark, assistant hitting coach) about my previous at-bats and what he might do to me next time. You have a lot of time to prepare too, so you can kind of get used to it."

Mancini hit his 19th homer and homered in consecutive games for third time this season.

The Orioles snapped an eight-game losing streak last night, one short of a season-high. They scored just 17 runs in the losing streak before getting seven last night. Dating to the series last week at Rogers Centre, the Orioles went 18 straight innings without scoring versus Blue Jays pitchers until they scored four in the sixth last night.

Second baseman Jonathan Villar had a big impact on the game, reaching base all four times he batted with two hits, one a bunt single, and two walks and scoring twice. He stole second base in the third inning. Villar is now 20-for-22 stealing bases on the year, a success rate of 91 percent. He has stolen 12 in a row and after going 14-for-16 with Milwaukee has is 6-for-6 with the Orioles.

Villar now has three seasons with at least 20 steals. He had 23 last year and 62 in 2016 when he led the National League. But his stolen base percentage is better this year. It was 78 percent in 2016 and 74 percent last season.

The Orioles recorded their sixth shutout in the win and first since July 14 when they beat Texas 1-0 in a game started by Yefry Ramírez. Toronto was shut out for the eighth time and saw its 10-game winning streak over the Orioles come to an end. But the Jays have still beaten the Orioles 12 of 14 times in 2018.