What now for Dylan Bundy?

At this point, if Dylan Bundy is not hurt, as everyone insists, the Orioles need to either consider shutting him down for the season or skipping him one or two starts.

Time to let this kid have a break to regroup, catch his breath and not face another major league team until late in the next homestand at the earliest.

After his first five starts this year, Bundy had a 1.42 ERA. At the end of June his ERA was 3.75. But now he continues to struggle and the Orioles need to let him come up for air for a week or two to work on the side and see if he and they can fix what ails his ERA.

Still just 25, Bundy remains a key part of this team's future. He's under team control through the 2021 season. Now the Orioles just need to get him turned around somehow. His ERA was 4.02 in 2016 when he began the year as a reliever and finished as starter. It was 4.24 last year. Now, after giving up six runs last night in a 14-2 loss to Tampa Bay, Bundy is 7-14 with a 5.58 ERA.

Over his past six starts, Bundy's ERA is 10.67 and he has pitched 5 1/3 innings or less every start. He's allowed six or more runs four times in those six outings. Over his past 11 games, he is 1-7 with an 8.83 ERA. In that span he's thrown 54 innings, allowing 77 hits and 56 runs (53 earned) with 19 homers. That is 3.2 homers per nine innings in those 11 games, in which the Orioles are 1-10. He's given up five runs or more in seven of the 11 games.

Everyone involved here may need a breather and a few days to step back before they take another run at what is going on here. No one seems to have the answer. If they did, this would have been fixed by now. So why keep pushing forward? No reason right now, in my opinion, to send Bundy back out for his next start. Skip one or two and he still could have two or three left to find something positive to take into the winter.

Bundy's velocity was down last a bit last night. According to baseballsavant.com, his two-seam fastball averaged 90.9 mph last night and his four-seamer was at 90.6 mph. But in the two starts before he faced the Rays, Bundy averaged 92.6 mph and 93.0 mph. So velocity was not an issue then. Whatever is the problem right now is probably not related to the radar gun.

But homers keep coming. He's now allowed 37, and that breaks the Orioles single-season home run record. That total leads the majors and is more than the previous high for Bundy, which was 26 last year. Bundy has now surpassed four Orioles who allowed 35 in one year: Robin Roberts in 1963, Scott McGregor in 1986, Sidney Ponson in 1999 and Jeremy Guthrie in 2009.

Bundy is a fly-ball pitcher, and maybe he will always yield a lot of homers. Will he turn into a hurler who still pitches well despite giving up the longball often, as others have? Or will giving up the longball keep him from being what the Orioles hoped he would be?

By the way, according to baseball-reference.com, last night's loss, the Orioles' 100th of the year, produced the first game in team history in which the club issued 11 or more walks, struck out 15 or more times and failed to draw a walk.