The pitch making a difference for Harvey, plus Mountcastle heats up

By Steve Melewski

Orioles

March 21, 2021, 2:23pm

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One reason right-hander Matt Harvey is having a good spring and making a strong push for an Orioles rotation spot is because he has found a new pitch. It's not at all new to the sport, but the power sinker is new to Harvey. It's really just a two-seam fastball being used by a pitcher who seldom threw one during a career that spans eight seasons.

But when Harvey spent time before reporting to Sarasota at Baseball Performance Center in Pleasantville, N.J., they found he could throw the power sinker, that it produced excellent movement and that his velocity was strong with the pitch. Now he had a four-seamer and two-seamer.

As he worked with the data and technology available at the facility, Harvey seemed to regain some late life on his four-seamer while adding the two-seamer that would bore down and in on right-handed hitters. The late movement made it hard to square up.

If he makes the Baltimore rotation, and he took a big step allowing just one run in four innings against the Yankees on Saturday night, that two-seamer could be big for him.

"I think so," manager Brandon Hyde said before Sunday's game via Zoom. "It's just a pitch that he hasn't thrown much. Just kind of always a four-seam guy, and I think experimenting with the two-seamer this spring, he's got a lot of confidence in it right now and he's getting really good results in games. Like (Saturday) night, just from the dugout side, you could see the tilt in the pitch and some of the swings that some of the hitters were taking was uncomfortable. Just because of the ride and the sink in with the two-seamer. So it's another added weapon for him and something he's been working on."

Harvey has worked eight innings over his past two games, allowing three runs and six hits with one walk and six strikeouts.

Mountcastle heats up: Ryan Mountcastle's bat looks fine now. Heading into Friday's game, he was batting just .179 (5-for-28). But in his past two games, he is 4-for-8 with two homers and five RBIs. He had a double and homer in four at-bats Sunday. Over his past five games, he is 7-for-17 with four doubles, two homers and five RBIs.

If the kid could just hit a single. He has one. That is for all of spring over 36 at-bats. Eight of his nine hits have gone for extra bases, and he leads this team in doubles (five), homers (three) and RBIs (10).

"I'm feeling pretty good," he said after coming out of Sunday's game. "Just had to get my timing down. Sometimes it takes me a little while during spring. But starting to get the hang of things and seeing the ball pretty good."

Mountcastle, who still qualifies for rookie status, hit .333/.386/.492 in 2020 when his OPS+ of 140 was 40 percent better than league average. He finished eighth in the Rookie of the Year voting. The lone single this year leaves his line currently at .250/.243/.639 in 12 spring games.

He has yet to walk and don't expect to see a lot of them during the season, either. Some would see that as a weakness in his game. I see it as he's an aggressive swinger who gets after it when he gets a pitch to hit. That style has gotten him this far. The bigger issue for me is for Mountcastle to not chase pitches. Know his strike zone and what he can be productive swinging at, as manager Brandon Hyde might say.

With Trey Mancini back, the potential grouping in the lineup - in some order - of Mancini, Mountcastle and Anthony Santander could be fun to watch this summer.

"Yeah, I think we're all excited," Mountcastle said of that possible lineup. "There is a lot of talent on this team. And lot of good hitters. If everybody can stay healthy, I think we can have a really dangerous lineup."

LÃ³pez with a rough inning: Yes, Jorge LÃ³pez got jumped for three homers and seven runs (just three earned) in the third inning yesterday. But LÃ³pez had allowed just one run in his previous 11 innings before that inning against Minnesota. We can't dismiss it, but we can't dismiss that most of his spring has been solid, either. The O's brass surely won't.

I've got LÃ³pez with a good chance to make the opening day pitching staff of 13 or 14. I think he's a valuable long guy if he doesn't make the rotation. One that could bounce back sooner than most and not need a lot of days off between outings.

The Orioles have scored 38 runs their past six games, producing double figures twice. after scoring 13 in the previous seven.

New third baseman Maikel Franco made his O's debut yesterday in the loss to the Twins and went 1-for-3 with a two-run double.

Lefty John Means, the O's opening day pitcher, gets the start today in Bradenton against Pittsburgh. He has allowed two runs over eight innings his past two games.