Did O's 'pen provide a glimpse of the future in opener?

It may have happened during one of the toughest losses of the year. But as the Orioles were struggling for the clutch hit that never came in the opener of yesterday's doubleheader, their new-look bullpen was throwing gas.

It was definitely a look at the immediate and perhaps long-term future for a Baltimore bullpen that has lost Richard Bleier, Mychal Givens and Miguel Castro in trades since Aug. 1.

The group of five of Branden Kline, Evan Phillips, Dillon Tate, Hunter Harvey and Tanner Scott were showing big velocity and getting a lot of outs in that 6-5 loss in which the Orioles went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position. The five combined to throw 5 2/3 scoreless innings on four hits with one walk and six strikeouts.

* Kline's fastball averaged 95.6 mph and topped at 97.7.
* Phillips' fastball averaged 94.8 mph and topped at 96.
* Tate's fastball averaged 96.3 mph and topped at 97.4.
* Harvey's fastball averaged 97.3 mph and topped at 98.4.
* Scott's fastball averaged 95.7 mph and topped at 96.8.

Harvey's fastball particularly got some swings and misses. Yankees batters swung at his four-seamer eight times and whiffed five times. That is how many whiffs Yankees batters had in 29 fastball swings with the other four pitchers combined. Swing and miss or not, they were throwing gas and getting outs.

O's lefty Paul Fry, who has been on a good roll himself, today said in a Zoom interview that that might have been a preview of what the Orioles' bullpen is capable of, even without the veteran guys.

"I think so," said Fry. "We've got a lot of guys that throw hard and can throw strikes too. We all have the stuff. I'm not a guy that throws 98. But as long as I can attack the zone and throw strikes. I think our bullpen is in a really good spot. Lot of youth and a lot of talent. The experience is going to come this year and this is a good opportunity for everyone to show what they've got."

But the traded players are certainly missed. They were big parts of that bullpen for years.

"You know it is part of the business," Fry said. "We kind of all knew that it was coming. We still have to pick each other up and still have to go out and do our jobs. We are all trying to fit into new roles, and it's going to be exciting to see what happens the rest of the year."

The O's bullpen has a 2.90 ERA the last seven games, and allowed just one earned run in 8 2/3 innings with nine strikeouts in the doubleheader.

The 'pen's eldest member, right-hander César Valdez, threw two scoreless to get his first major league save in the nightcap. He's now thrown seven innings, allowing one unearned run. He threw 33 pitches Friday night and 28 were changeups.

"He brings us a lot of energy," Fry said of Valdez. "I've seen videos of the guy pulling on his jersey and getting the crowd pumped up in the Dominican. It was really awesome. He's a quiet guy, though. But you can see once he gets on the mound, he gets that competitive edge. And he can be really nasty out there."

Speaking of bullpen pitchers throwing well, we need to include Fry. He's 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA in 15 games on the year. Over his last 12 games, covering 12 1/3 innings, he has pitched to a 0.73 ERA. In that span he has walked three, fanned 16, has thrown 62 percent of his pitches for strikes and has a 62.5 percent groundball rate.

Fry said confidence is the biggest key.

"Attacking guys and going straight right at them," he said. "Using my fastball and not giving them too much credit, like I used to. There were a few times last year where I fell into that and was just trying to be too perfect. So, I'm just going right after guys and making them put it in play or swing and miss.

"For me, it's all about where I'm at in my head. Last year was tough when I had some struggles, I didn't know how to get out of it fast. But this year I've put in the work and know where I'm at physically. It's all mental, especially for a bullpen guy. So now I'm going at guys and not giving them credit, like I said. This is a really good spot for me to be in."