Means leaves tonight's game with forearm tightness

By Roch Kubatko

Orioles

April 13, 2022, 7:57pm

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Orioles left-hander John Means retired the Brewers in order tonight on 12 pitches in the first inning, nine in the third and 12 in the fourth. They scored twice in the second on 18 pitches, but he wasn’t laboring. The total body of work was solid.

Why it lasted only through the fourth was a curiosity, to say the least.

Joey Krehbiel began to warm in the bullpen and entered the game in the top of the fifth. Dillon Tate worked the sixth. Other relievers would be following him, as manager Brandon Hyde needed to cover for Means’ unexpected departure.

The club announced that Means had left forearm tightness, with more details to come, including whether this is an injured list situation. Meanwhile, the Orioles rallied to tie the game in the eighth, but a run-scoring triple by Kolton Wong and RBI double by Rowdy Tellez in the ninth off Jorge López gave Milwaukee a 4-2 win and the series.

Means is expected to undergo an MRI, and the club hopes to have more information Friday.

“He felt it in the third and after the fourth he said something, and out of precaution we took him out of the game,” Hyde said.

“I’m not going to rush to anything until we know what the results are tomorrow. Staying positive with it and optimistic, and hopefully it’s just a little bit of tightness he felt in the forearm.”

Means went on the IL on June 5 with a left shoulder strain and didn’t return until July 20, the same injury he sustained two years earlier. He began the truncated 2020 season on the IL with left shoulder fatigue, missing his opening day start. Basically the same issue.

Tonight’s explanation centered on a different area of the arm, but is going to raise similar concerns.

“There’s not a ton of concern,” Means said. “Honestly, I felt it last outing, felt it on my curveball. Forearm started to get tight, I battled through it, and then this week it progressively got better throughout the week. I felt great in the bullpen and first two innings, and the third inning I felt it again on a curveball. It was just tight, and I told them I could go back out there, but they wanted to make sure.

“That’s what started it and then it was tight for everything once I felt it."

Hyde said he didn’t notice anything wrong with Means on the mound. No one knew what was wrong until he revealed it.

“It wasn’t tingly fingers or anything or like that,” Means said. “It was just the forearm.”

Means totaled 84 pitches in four innings on opening day. The idea was to keep stretching him out, not to pull him back.

Blaming the discomfort on a short spring training “is all speculation from here,” Means said.

“It’s frustrating for sure. Just wanted to get rolling, wanted to start the season strong. It’s a long season, and get this out of the way, get going. Still confident I’m able to go.

“I’ve never felt the forearm before. It’s always been the little things in the shoulder, so I never felt it and that worried me a little bit. But they kind of reassured that it’s just muscle.

“We’re just taking it day-by-day. We’re going to take a couple days and throw I think in a few days.”

Hyde spoke earlier of getting Means through the fifth or sixth in the 85-pitch range, maybe a little bit higher. The game would dictate it, the amount of traffic and stressful situations.

There was very little stress.

Tellez doubled with two outs in the second to score Keston Hiura, who walked, and he ran through a stop sign from third base coach Jason Lane on Mike Brosseau’s single into center field. Ryan Mountcastle cut off the throw with his back to the plate, assuming that Tellez would hold.

Brosseau’s hit was his sixth in 12 career at-bats against Means, including four home runs. The team changes and the results stay the same. Can’t escape them.

Means' fastball averaged 91.6 mph tonight per Statcast, lower than 92.8 mph in his first outing.

“He gave up two in the second, but put zeros up the first, third and fourth,” Hyde said. “His pitch count was reasonable, was hoping he could give us a couple more innings.”

So did his teammates.

“Obviously, a little worried because that’s our No. 1 guy out there, so when you see him go down, it’s never a good thing,” Ramón Urías said via interpreter Brandon Quinones. “But we don’t really know what’s going on, so we’re not scared or anything like that. Just hoping for the best right now.

“When he was pitching, I didn’t really notice that anything was off. Once I saw him come out of the game in the dugout, I was like, ‘OK, I guess something happened.’ ”

Means retired the last seven batters he faced and Krehbiel breezed through the fifth without a ball leaving the infield. Tate retired the side in order in the sixth on two ground balls and a strikeout, and he stranded a runner in the seventh.

The velocity on Tate’s sinker climbed to 94 mph after sitting at 90-91 in his last appearance.

Félix Bautista recorded another strikeout with his changeup and got a double play to escape a jam in the eighth, but Hunter Renfroe singled off López with one out in the ninth and raced home on Wong’s double into the right field corner. Tellez doubled to center field with two outs.

Jorge Mateo dropped a single into center field against Devin Williams leading off the eighth and Anthony Bemboom drew a full-count walk, with Ryan McKenna pinch-running. Cedric Mullins struck out, but Mountcastle lined a run-scoring single to center field to cut the lead to 2-1 and put runners on the corners.

Anthony Santander was hit below the right knee with the ninth pitch of the at-bat to load the bases and bring Brad Boxberger into the fray. Trey Mancini flied to medium left-center and McKenna beat the throw.

Concerns about a total lack of production with runners in scoring position were pushed aside tonight.

The Orioles just wanted to get somebody to second base and take their chances.

The Brewers were starting 2021 National League Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes, an anchor tossed to a drowning man. If you’re choking, you’d rather have the Heimlich Maneuver than a double cheeseburger.

Bemboom’s first hit as an Oriole also was their first of the night, a one-out single in the third inning. He moved to second base on a wild pitch, but a fly ball and strikeout continued the disturbing trend.

Rougned Odor led off the fifth with a double down the left field line. Austin Hays, Jorge Mateo and Bemboom struck out, and the Orioles were 0-for-5 with RISP and 4-for-52 on the young season.

Santander singled with two outs in the sixth and Mancini grounded out. Odor reached on a hit by a pitch with one out in the seventh and was doubled off first base on Hays’ liner to right field.

Urías struck out to end the eighth, and the Orioles were 1-for-8 with RISP and 5-for-55 overall.

Burnes shut out the Orioles on three hits and 97 pitches in seven innings, walking one batter and striking out eight.

“We’re ready for an off-day because we’ve had a couple bad breaks,” Hyde said.

Note: Triple-A Norfolk outfielder Yusniel Diaz was placed on the seven-day injured list with a strained right hamstring.