Wells is nearly unhittable and Orioles claim another series (updated)

The party rages on with the Orioles.

All of the wins, the water games, the loud music and light shows in the clubhouse. Selling tickets at Camden Yards should be replaced by a cover charge.

They’re mashing, they’re splashing, they’re 13 games above .500 for the first time since the final game of the 2016 season.

Mike Elias wasn’t kidding when he said the rebuild was behind them.

Starter Tyler Wells was in a zone that didn’t include water, shutting out the Pirates on one hit in seven innings, Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson homered early, and the Orioles defeated the Pirates 2-0 before an announced crowd of 21,926.  

The Orioles had their fourth shutout and claimed their ninth series win in the last 10 opportunities. They can complete their third sweep Sunday with veteran Kyle Gibson on the mound.

They now own the second-best record in baseball and are three games behind the first-place Rays. Only two back in the loss column.

Because it’s never too early to check the standings.

Bench coach Fredi González picked up a win for manager Brandon Hyde, who missed the game to attend daughter Aria's graduation from Syracuse University.

"I already got a text from him," González said. "I guess he must be in the car listening to it on the way back or something. But what a performance."

Wells retired 17 in a row and 20 of 21 before issuing back-to-back two-out walks in the seventh. Anthony Santander made a leaping catch with his back against the right field fence to rob Miguel Andujar and save the tying runs from scoring.

As Santander landed on the track, Wells spun in a circle, pumped his fist and yelled.

"Definitely owe him a nice fat steak," Wells said, "maybe even a whole cow after that catch."

Yennier Cano replaced Wells at 96 pitches. The right-hander lowered his ERA to 2.68 after giving the rotation its 11^th quality start and fifth in the last eight games.

"Besides the two walks in the seventh, I'd probably say it's the best one of my major league career, for sure," he said. "Adley was calling a great game back there, mixing up speeds real well. I felt like I had good command and got everything back in order with what I was struggling with the last couple starts. Obviously, my defense ... Santander, I can't say enough about that catch. Obviously, I was pumped up. But everyone else out there was just making great plays. Overall, I just think it instilled a lot of confidence in me to be able to just go out there and do my job and know that even if I do give up some contact, I know I've got a great group of defenders back there to protect me."

Asked what ran through his mind on Andujar's fly ball, Wells said, "I can't say that on air. But I can tell you that whenever I saw him catch it, I blacked out, lost my mind, and then gave him about as many hugs as you can give a guy."

The Orioles improved to 26-13 overall and 14-3 when scoring first, which they did on Rutschman’s 403-foot home run to center field off Roansy Contreras in the opening inning – only his second since April 13.

Henderson jumped on a first-pitch curveball with two outs in the second and lifted a fly ball to right that kept carrying until it cleared the grounds crew shed in right. Only 361 feet, but with a 37-degree launch angle.

Other balls by Henderson have been hit much harder lately, including a drive tonight that was caught in deep left-center.

"I just feel really comfortable at the plate now," he said. "I've hit a lot of balls hard here in the past few games and just glad to see some of them start falling. Just looking forward to continuing that."

"It's nice," González said. "And if you look back at the last three or four games, he's made some adjustments with the hitting coaches, or they've had conversations. He's starting to swing the bat a little bit more.

"Here's a 21-year-old young man that's learning in the big leagues, and he gets frustrated, but he comes in the next day and he's fine and he's willing to work, and the organization's giving him at-bats and to work through it. And it's not easy here in the big leagues to make adjustments and have success, and little by little we want him to be the guy that is going to be on all the billboards, but I think it's going to take a little time."

Wells’ starter stock is skyrocketing.

He entered today with the lowest WHIP in baseball at 0.775 and lowered it to 0.72, and he got on a tremendous roll after Carlos Santana’s leadoff single in the second. His eight strikeouts are a career high.

Half of the strikeouts came on the slider, and two each on the fastball and changeup.

Remember the spring training debate over putting Wells in the rotation or bullpen?

Wells tied his career high of 16 swings and misses after six innings and surpassed it in the seventh when Connor Joe struck out. Santana and Jack Suwinski walked, and Santander saved Wells with a web gem.

"He just threw strikes and he had his secondary pitches he threw over the plate," González said. "He got some quick early outs in the count. I think it just might have been one of his best outings, if not the best outing, we've seen here from him in a long time.

"I've seen him grow almost every start, the mentality of being a starter and want to stay in the game, keep going out there, not satisfied by just throwing five or six innings. Want to get the ball in the seventh. This is nice to see from a young starter, some growth there."

Wells is developing into one of the top starters in baseball after the Orioles made him their second selection in the 2020 Rule 5 draft. Happening before our eyes.

"Why not? He keeps getting better," González said.

"I think last year, those starts he got has catapulted him to this year and he's continued to get better and improve. You feel comfortable giving him the ball every fifth day."

Runners on first and second and two outs in the seventh, Wells on the ropes, and González wanted him to stay on the mound.

"For me, it was Wellsy's game right there and then," González said. "I'm not going to bring in anybody else than Wells, and he did it, and what a great feeling."

González would have sent Wells back out for the eighth if the previous inning had been clean.

"I think once he walked two guys in the eighth inning, got himself in a little trouble, I think that was enough," González said.

Tucupita Marcano doubled with one out in the eighth for the first extra-base hit surrendered by Cano, but he was stranded at third base. Félix Bautista, working on back-to-back nights, recorded his 10^th save by following a leadoff single with three strikeouts.

Cano hasn’t allowed a run or walked a batter in 19 2/3 innings. He didn’t strike out a batter tonight, and escaped the jam when Santander charged Ke'Bryan Hayes' line drive and made the grab.

"Santander, great defensive plays in the outfield," González said. "The one obviously, the last out Wellsy got in the seventh, but also that sinking line drive in the eighth, made it look easier than it was.

"He is a good defender. When you have the luxury of having a (Ryan) McKenna on your roster and you're going to be able to get a little bit better, you take advantage of it. It's not that he's a bad defender when we defend for him, because we didn't do it today. He's a good defender and he's a good thrower. Sometimes, we give him the DH spot to get him off his feet, but by any means, he's not poor."

Ruschman singled in the third to bring him halfway to the cycle. He led off the sixth with his 32^nd walk of the season, tops in the majors.

Cedric Mullins went 0-for-4 after last night's cycle. The Orioles finished with only five hits.

Ryan Mountcastle flied to the center field fence in the sixth, 386 feet at 105.1 mph and with a .720 expected batting average. He reached first base, tilted back his head and wore the latest look of frustration.

The Pirates have lost 11 of their last 12 games. They know frustration.

It was quick, if not painless. Only two hours and four minutes.

"Games like that, they're just smooth," Wells said. "It kind of feels like it's clockwork. Like you get out there and you get three outs, you come back in, and it feels like every five minutes you're back out there. It was easy to stay in that routine."

* Down on the farm, Triple-A Norfolk’s Jordan Westburg hit his 10^th home run and also doubled. Colton Cowser collected three hits in his first three at-bats and scored four runs, as the Tides built another big lead in Jacksonville.

Josh Lester had a triple and his ninth home run by the sixth inning. Shayne Fontana had two hits and drove in three runs, and Connor Norby had two hits, within four innings.

Noah Denoyer started and worked only one inning, removed after throwing 19 pitches and allowing two runs. The Tides used eight pitchers, not for more than 1 2/3 innings. Keegan Akin struck out the side in the sixth.

Second baseman Noelberth Romero hit his first home run for Double-A Bowie.

High-A Aberdeen’s Frederick Bencosme had a triple and two RBIs.

Samuel Basallo and Stiven Acevedo each hit their fourth home runs for Single-A Delmarva. Juan Nunez allowed one earned run and two total in five innings.