O's go for sweep today, plus minor league pitcher notes

The Orioles top two picks in the 2016 draft, pitchers Cody Sedlock and Keegan Akin, will end the minor league season on the disabled list with Single-A Frederick. But the Orioles will bring both players to their instructional league next month in hopes they head into the offseason healthy.

Sedlock, the 27th overall pick in round one, has been on the disabled list twice with elbow issues. He spent July 1-22 on the DL with a right elbow flexor strain and went back on it Friday.

"He'll go to instructional league and we'll make sure we get him healthy going into the offseason. His forearm was tight. He has a strained forearm," Orioles director of player development Brian Graham said.

Sedlock got off to a strong start this year with Frederick. He had a 1.64 ERA through four starts. But he is now 4-5 with a 5.90 ERA in 20 starts and 90 innings. The Orioles plan for him to get back on a mound during instructs and are hopeful he'll pitch in games in Florida.

Akin has been out since his last start Aug. 4 with a pulled oblique muscle. He was also head to Florida for the start of instructional league on Sept. 13. He is back doing conditioning drills, but has not yet resumed throwing.

Akin went 7-8 with a 4.14 ERA over 21 starts and 100 innings for Frederick. He pitched to a 0.90 ERA in five June starts.

"We want to get him to instructional league and make sure he goes home healthy. We are hoping he can pitch in games during instructional league, but that is a ways away," Graham said.

In other news on the farm, Single-A Delmarva pitcher Alexander Wells has emerged as a strong candidate to be named the Orioles minor league Pitcher of the Year.

The 20-year-old lefty from Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, is 11-5 with a 2.45 ERA. Wells is the South Atlantic League leader in ERA and is second in wins. Wells extended his streak without issuing a walk to a remarkable 64 innings in his last start. On the season over 136 innings, he has walked 10 and fanned 109. He has 17 quality starts

Readers have asked why Wells was not promoted to Frederick?

"He's young and it's his first full season," Graham said. "He's at his innings limit, and it's about development. He's done a great job and is exactly where he needs to be. When you have a young pitcher in his first full season and they are having that kind of success and continuing to improve, you just let him develop."

Wells could certainly move fast later in his career, possibly as early as next season.

"That is exactly right. It is about getting guys to the big leagues. It's not about getting them to Frederick," Graham said.

"He's done a tremendous job of commanding the ball and throwing strikes. When you look at his number of walks per innings pitched this year, it's the best in all of baseball. He has tremendous makeup and is very coachable. But (repeating) his delivery allows him to do what he is doing," he said.

Fun at Fenway: The Orioles will try today to complete their first three-game sweep at Fenway Park since September 2014. They have beaten the Red Sox by 16-3 and 7-0 scores the last two days. They have outhit Boston 30-10 and outscored them 23-3 in the series. They've held the Red Sox to two extra-base hits. Coming into the series with the Orioles, the Red Sox had scored 127 runs in their previous 21 games for 6.05 per game.

The Red Sox had won 16 of those previous 21 games before losing two this weekend. They began the series with a 40-22 home record and 10 wins in their previous 12 games at Fenway Park.

O's starters Jeremy Hellickson and Kevin Gausman have thrown a combined 14 2/3 innings in the series, allowing eight hits. Gausman went 7 2/3 scoreless yesterday on four hits. He is 10-9 with a 4.98 ERA on the year. His ERA is under 5.00 for the first time since April 13. He is 5-2 with a 2.26 ERA over his last eight starts.

Now 29-22 in American League East games, the Orioles will get back to the .500 mark if they complete the sweep today. They would improve to 65-65. The last time the Orioles were at .500 was Aug. 7, at 56-56.