Leftovers for breakfast

BOSTON - Kyle Bradish must want to keep his ERA at 3.03. Must like the whiff of a palindrome.

Bradish allowed two runs in six innings last night for the third start in a row and fourth out of five. He registered his 16^th quality start of the season and raised the Orioles’ total to 61. They lead the majors with 44 since June 1.

Are they getting close to the club’s single-season record?

Not at all.

Starters don’t work as deep into games and must complete at least six innings with three runs or fewer allowed to meet the criteria.

The 1968 team holds the record with 111, according to STATS. The 1972 Orioles are next with 109. Neither team made the playoffs.

The ’68 Orioles went 91-71 and finished in second place, 12 games behind the Tigers in the American League standings in the year before the majors implemented divisions. The ’72 Orioles went 80-74 and finished third, with Detroit topping the AL East (the Tigers became part of the Central Division when it was created in 1994).

The 1971 Orioles had 102 quality starts before losing to the Pirates in the World Series. The 1961, ’73 and ’78 teams are tied with 98.

Among all major league teams this season, the Orioles ranked ninth before last night in quality starts. The Twins were first with 69, followed by the Mariners with 67, Padres with 65, Cubs with 64, Astros with 63, Phillies with 62, and Brewers and Blue Jays with 61.

The Rangers were right behind the Orioles with 59.

Manager Brandon Hyde has used only eight starters this season, including Keegan Akin once as the opener. Four Orioles have recorded 20 or more starts, including Tyler Wells, whose last appearance was July 29.

John Means could hop into the rotation after his reinstatement from the 60-day injured list. I’ve heard rumblings about him starting Tuesday night against the Cardinals, but that isn’t confirmed. The club hasn’t announced its plans for Means or the rotation next week. But maybe Tuesday.

* Austin Hays had an RBI single last night in a four-run sixth inning.

Hays is one of three Orioles to record at least four four-plus-hit games in back-to-back seasons, along with Miguel Tejada (2005-06) and Roberto Alomar (1996-98), per STATS.

The eight games for Hays with at least four hits since last season were tied with Amed Rosario for third in the majors before last night. Luis Arraez and Freddie Freeman had 10.

* Kyle Gibson set his career high with his 14^th win Wednesday night in Anaheim. A stat that doesn’t carry the same weight as it used to, based on circumstances that are out of a pitcher’s control and other numbers in the analytics age that provide a more accurate gauge of his value.

Hyde sees both sides of the issue.

“I still think there’s something to be said for pitching with a lead and getting a win out of it, being able to go five or six innings,” he said. “I think that does matter.”

Hyde paused and said, “I don’t know. It’s a yes and no.”

“I remember when Félix (Hernández) won (13) games and won the Cy Young with Seattle (in 2010), when he got no run support. (Jacob) deGrom, all those years with no run support in New York. So, there is some luck in there,” Hyde said.

“But also, you have to pitch well to have that many wins, and you have to pitch well with a lead. He’s done a great job with that this year.”

Gibson said the number itself isn’t that important.

“I think it’s a cool thing to do,” he said. “Anytime you set a career-high, I feel like it’s a good thing. This season’s been pretty special for me for a lot of reasons, but I tend to get quite a bit of offense whenever I’m on the mound, so that’s a good thing. It’s just kind of a reminder. There’s been ups and downs in a season for me, so it’s kind of a reminder for me to be able to look back and say, ‘Hey, yeah, there have been some rocky starts,’ but for the most part I can look back and say that I’ve been fairly consistent.”

“Had some interesting games here and there, but I think that’s something I can look back on and say I kept the team in the game more games than not.”

* Gibson earned his third career Roberto Clemente Award nomination. Four Orioles have won it – Brooks Robinson in 1972, Ken Singleton in 1982, Cal Ripken Jr. in 1992 and Eric Davis in 1997.

Basic needs bring out the passion in Gibson and wife Elizabeth, "and kids happen to be on the forefront of that,” he said.

An example is how Gibson remains involved in the backpack program in Minnesota.

“They discreetly put a weekend’s worth of food in thousands of kids’ backpacks every week and it helps to fill that gap from maybe their last school lunch on Friday to breakfast when they get to school on Monday,” Gibson said. “Even if it just gets them two meals on the weekend, three meals on the weekend, they can show up to school and they can do better in school, they can feel like they’re getting more out of their education. And I think it brings hope into a situation that a lot of times doesn’t happen.”

“We have four kids of our own, and as kids, my wife and I, we were fortunate that we didn’t have to worry about where our next meal was coming from. And there are just millions of kids every day that don’t have that same luxury. They didn’t do anything to pick their circumstances, they didn’t do anything to pick their home. It’s just kind of how the birth lottery went for them. If they’re in a third-world country, they were born there for a reason, and if they’re here and struggling, they’re just in their environment. So, anything we can do to help families that are struggling to feed their kids is something that’s on the forefront of our minds.”

The couple is guided by their faith, which brings the understanding that “we’ve been given more than most,” Gibson said, “and if we are not necessarily using that in a way to help people, I don’t necessarily feel that’s the right way to do it.”

“We feel like what we’ve been given is a gift,” he said, “and if we can use those gifts to help other people, that’s what we’re trying to do.”