Tyler Wells on his big out versus Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

For a rookie pitcher who was a Rule 5 draft pick last December, one with just 34 big league games under his belt and no career saves, it was a big-time situation.

Orioles right-hander Tyler Wells came in to face Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the last of the seventh last night at Toronto's Rogers Centre. There were two on and two outs and the Orioles were leading 4-2. Guerrero had hit his 39th homer an inning before on a 97 mph fastball. The night before, he had homered twice. In 11 games this year versus Baltimore pitching he is batting .372 (16-for-43) with two doubles, eight homers and 18 RBIs.

Did we mention that Guerrero was the 2021 All-Star game MVP or that he leads the American League in OBP (.406) and OPS (1.008) while leading hte majors in runs with 98? He also ranks second in the majors in homers, is third in RBIs and his 5.6 WAR on Fangraphs.com is currently No. 1 among all major league players.

Wells retired him on one pitch.

He threw a slider at 89 mph and Guerrero lined out to center. Threat over. Wells, 27, would then pitch a scoreless eighth as the O's went on to win 4-2.

"I mean, Vladdy is an unbelievable hitter," Wells said this afternoon in a Zoom interview. "They have a lot of great hitters in their lineup. For me to be to go in there and get some big outs, that does a lot for my confidence as a pitcher. You know, as far as like my confidence goes, I feel really good every time that I get to go into the game and be able to just do what I do. I enjoy competing and I don't like backing down from anybody, so it's definitely a treat sometimes when you get to face guys like Vlad."

Wells is 2-1 with a 3.54 ERA over 48 1/3 innings, allowing 33 hits with 10 walks to 59 strikeouts. He has had one strong year with the best WHIP on the team (minimum 10 innings) at 0.890, his walk rate is 1.9 and his strikeout rate is 11.0. He has recorded seven consecutive scoreless outings, throwing 6 2/3 innings in that span and allowing just two hits and an .095 batting average.

"I mean, it feels really good. I'm really happy that Hyder (manager Brandon Hyde) has that kind of confidence in me to go in there and get big outs. Hopefully, I continue to be able to perform in those big situations and continue to build my trust with him," he said.

Wells is someone Hyde has said he will use to close games. But for a team that has just three wins in the last 26 games, there have been very few chances.

"I mean, it really hasn't bothered me at all," said Wells. "I would definitely say that sometimes I get a little antsy, but it's not really for a save situation. I mean, if I get in a save situation, that's fantastic and I would not take that moment for granted. But I'm just happy that, you know, Hyde has confidence in me to go into those big-leverage situations. And for me, I really, like I said, I don't take those for granted. I really, really enjoy them."

Wells has not allowed a hit in five of his past six outings, including five straight from July 19 to Aug. 25. He has appeared in the ninth inning in seven outings since July 6 after throwing in the ninth inning four times in 25 prior appearances. His 59 strikeouts rank fifth among rookie relievers.

In his minor league career, he made 46 starts among his 50 appearances. I asked him today if there is any talk of him moving into a starting role at some point down the road.

"There hasn't been any conversation with me about it," he said. "I think right now the best thing that we can do is really just kind of focus on getting through the rest of the season. For me, I'm happy to be in whatever position they need me to be in or want me to be in. So, I enjoy starting. I enjoy being in the bullpen and either one is perfectly fine with me."