Matt Wieters: No excuses for the pitches he could not catch

Orioles catcher Matt Wieters is a two-time Gold Glove winner. So when O's pitchers threw three wild pitches the last two nights, it was a strange sight to see Wieters misplay one or two pitches that looked catchable.

One instance occurred Monday night with the Orioles and Rockies tied 1-1 in the top of the seventh. David Dahl was on first base with two outs. He advanced to second on a Yovani Gallardo wild pitch and scored the go-ahead run on Mark Reynolds' single to center.

Wieters had just returned on Monday after missing six games. He got hit on the right foot nine days ago at Yankee Stadium. I asked Wieters if his foot is still sore and causing him any mobility issues.

"No, the foot is not the reason for anything," he said. "Just another nick that everybody plays through. The foot is fine. It will get better as we go. That is not any kind of excuse. Just haven't played that well lately and hopefully we'll turn it around soon."

It is a natural question, asking Wieters if the injury is still causing challenges when you see him miss a ball that he normally handles.

"No, I just missed it," he said. "It is something to where, just get the focus a little harder and try to catch it next time. Playing, I feel fine. Once the adrenaline gets going, it feels fine. It is more, I'll be looking forward to waking up in the morning without any soreness with it. That will feel good, just waking up and not having to think about it. Other than that, it is not affecting anything."

Tonight starter for the O's, right-hander Dylan Bundy (3-2, 3.30 ERA), makes his third start and first with Wieters behind the plate after Caleb Joseph caught Bundy's outings against the Rays and Indians.

Bundy threw more changeups earlier in the game and more overall on Friday, when he allowed one unearned run in five innings versus Cleveland. Was the pitch mix very different from Bundy's first start?

"From watching on the side for both of them, I thought so," Wieters said. "I thought the command of his changeup is something he's been able to fall back on. I think he really used that more to his advantage in his second start more than his first.

"It's not that he didn't have it his first start. But, on top of that, anytime someone is making their first start, you are probably going to call a lot of and throw a lot of fastballs because you're a little bit pumped up. Sometimes it is hard to throw quality changeups when you are pumped up, which I'm sure he was. That is natural for a first start."

According to stats from Brooksbaseball.net, Bundy threw fastballs on 61 percent of his pitches in his first start and 55 percent in his second. His use of the changeup went up from 21 to 30 percent. Wieters said Bundy's change can be a real plus pitch for him. What makes it a good pitch?

"The fact he can it throw it to both right-handers and left-handers, as well as his arm speed with it is just like his fastball. I think any pitcher that has a good changeup, the arm speed is the same as the fastball arm speed," he said.