Notes on close games, the young starters and Baumann at Bowie

In baseball, the losses all count the same, whether you get beat 8-1 or 2-1. But the second one can be more frustrating. Typically, a team losing a close game can look back at several things that could have changed the result. The clutch hit in a big spot they didn't get, a double play not turned that led to a run, a pitch meant to be low and away that found the middle and the left the ballpark.

It's a fine line.

It's part cliché, but also reality that young teams need to learn how to win close games. Especially against the top teams.

Both the Orioles and first-place Tampa Bay Rays have losing records in one-run games with Tampa Bay 8-10 and Baltimore 4-10. But when you combine one- and two-run games, the Orioles are 9-19 (.321) and the Rays are 21-16 (.568). They have played about the same number of close games, with the Rays gaining 12 wins there on the Orioles.

On the one hand, you can be encouraged to be right there and playing all those close games. But as a club looks to start winning more, pulling out the close ones could be rather helpful to the cause.

When O's manager Brandon Hyde was a coach with a rebuilding Cubs team, they had to get over that hump too.

"When we were getting better, we had veteran guys surrounding our young players too, (and) that's extremely helpful," Hyde said via Zoom. "We don't have a ton of experience in the bullpen, we don't have a ton of experience in the rotation or the lineup (in Baltimore). So little different there. We had veterans that had won in the past, some guys that had rings on their fingers, that were in the lineup and in the rotation that could help along the way.

"This is a little bit different. These guys are all kind of going through this together. We do play a lot of close games and we came up a run short (Saturday). Our bullpen pitched extremely well and did a nice job keeping us in it, we just couldn't manufacture a run or two after the grand slam.

"To win close games against really good clubs you have to be able to play very, very solid defensively. We struggled with that a little bit (on Saturday). Also be able to get into people's 'pens and be able to score off good, high-leverage guys. Hasn't been something we are doing very well this year."

And while the Orioles are 0-6 against the Rays, three of losses have come by two runs or less.

Zimmerman was solid: O's lefty Bruce Zimmermann missed by an out of recording the club's 14th quality start Sunday against Tampa Bay. He allowed three runs over 5 2/3 innings and 95 pitches.

He continues to show us he has three at times quality secondary pitches to mix in around a fastball that he used just 36 percent yesterday. He came into the outing with average fastball usage of 43 percent. But he threw 34 four-seamers Sunday at an average velocity of 90.4 mph and added 36 sliders, 16 changeups and nine curveballs.

Zimmermann is 4-4 with an ERA of 4.83 for the year. He has pitched to an ERA of 3.43 over his last six starts. And he's allowed two earned runs or less four times his past six starts with an ERA of 4.25.

The young starting pitchers are learning on the job at the major league level. There is nothing wrong with that, but I think we just have to understand they are slowly building a body of work on which to be judged. We can make judgments at any point in the process - it doesn't cost us anything - but this process is just starting out.

* Zimmermann has an ERA of 5.68 in 12 major league starts over 57 innings.
* Keegan Akin has an ERA of 3.50 in nine major league starts over 36 innings.
* Dean Kremer has an ERA of 6.19 in 13 major league starts over 56 2/3 innings.

Baumann's outing on Sunday: Right-hander Mike Baumann, the Orioles' No. 7 prospect per MLBPipeline.com and No. 8 via Baseball America, pitched his best rehab outing since joining Double-A Bowie on Sunday.

Against Binghamton, Baumann threw four scoreless innings on two hits with no walks and four strikeouts. He lowered his Bowie ERA to 7.84 with a 47-pitch outing.

When I interviewed Baysox pitching coach Justin Ramsey last week, Baumann was coming off an outing where he gave up seven runs (four earned) over 2 2/3 innings. But Ramsey expressed confidence that he was making strides and that the rehab process was going well for the right-hander.

"I know the numbers don't look great, but his rehab process has been good," Ramsey said. "His velocity is getting back up there where we want it and the spins on the pitches are getting where we want it. (Last) Sunday did not go great for him, his second outing with us, but he's been working on some things delivery-wise that led to some mistakes in the zone because it's new to him.

"Once he gets a true feel for his pitches and the ability to move it around again, he'll be fine. Because the weapons are coming back, too. We're happy with the work he's put in. I don't know how long he will be here, but as long as he's here, we'll keep the work going. When it is all said and done, he's going to be fine."

Baumann teamed with Cameron Bishop on Bowie's fifth shutout as they combined to allow six hits with no walks and 12 strikeouts.

Adley Rutschman hit homer No. 10, a two-run shot among three hits, and is now batting .294 with a .999 OPS. Cadyn Grenier had three more hits to raise his average to .315.

Bowie is 6-0 in series play this year,15-8 on the road and 25-9 overall. That .735 win percentage is the best in all of the minors.