Cade Povich owes Brandon Hyde some Tums.
For the second start in a row, the lefty slogged through an agita-inducing first inning only to turn in an impressive performance against one of baseball’s best offenses, providing the Orioles with 5 2/3 strong innings in a 3-2 loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Monday night.
Given the state of the Orioles’ rotation, the manager will take the heartburn.
“He [Povich] seems pretty composed. Doesn’t get too up, too down, doesn’t seem rattled in any way,” Hyde said. “These first four starts he faced four pretty good teams: at Toronto, Atlanta, New York and then these guys. That’s a tough way to enter the big leagues and he’s showing really well. To be able to go into the sixth inning after a tough first like he did, that was fantastic.”
As the O’s trudge through a month in which they have just a single off day, no amount of starting pitching is enough.
Hyde needs his starters to go as deep into games as possible every night. That’s not an ideal situation for the average rookie starter.
Povich has been better than the average rookie starter.
The lefty gave up three runs against the Guardians, falling one out shy of a quality start. Just as he did a week ago against the Yankees, Povich kept the Orioles in the game, and that’s all Hyde could ask for.
“The goal is to try to at least go as deep into games as possible,” Povich said. “I think today is one of the better command games that I’ve had.”
One blowup start, one abbreviated performance could derail a beleaguered O’s rotation that has lost a trio of pitchers to elbow surgery. Another, Dean Kremer, will require another rehab start with Triple-A Norfolk after a five-run, 39-pitch outing that Hyde said was “not ideal.”
Povich’s opportunities are born out of necessity and he continues to make the most of them. After allowing six runs in his big league debut in Toronto on June 6, the 24-year-old has allowed four runs over 16 1/3 innings in his last three starts. His performance against the American League’s best team on Monday wasn’t enough to earn himself his first career win, but it preserved a bullpen that currently lacks a long reliever.
Five days after pushing through a grueling first inning in New York, Povich put forth another rocky opening that threatened to shorten his night. But a 32-pitch frame yielded only one run for the Guardians off a José Ramírez single with two runners on.
“It’s one of them,” Povich said of his mindset after the first inning. “So get past it and continue to try to get outs as quick as possible.”
Bo Naylor added another run the following inning with an RBI double. But Povich breezed through the third and fourth inning on just 18 combined pitches, ultimately finishing with 95.
After giving up a home run to Ramirez to start the sixth, Povich was able to record two more outs before surrendering a single and getting pulled.
The lefty has thrown at least 89 pitches in each of his first four career starts.
Hyde can now turn to two reliable arms, Cole Irvin and Grayson Rodriguez, in the latter two games of the series, and hope Kremer goes deeper in his next start for the Tides. In the meantime, he’ll hope his offense can awaken from a slumber that has seen the team score four combined runs over their last three games.
The Orioles struggled immensely facing Cleveland righty Tanner Bibee, ending their franchise-record streak of 22 consecutive games with a home run.
“I thought we expanded the zone a little bit more than normal, maybe later in the game, but give them credit,” Hyde said. “They have a great bullpen and their starter’s got really good stuff.”
Left fielder Heston Kjerstad, recalled earlier in the day from Norfolk, was the only Orioles hitter with more than one hit, doubling and singling in his return to the big leagues. He also battled with Guardians reliever Hunter Gaddis in the eighth inning, ultimately flying out to center field as a result of a 13-pitch at-bat.
“It’s a unique swing but there’s a lot of damage in there,” Hyde said of Kjerstad. “He showed how he can really grind out an at-bat there in a really, really big spot, just missed it, but put together a great at-bat there.”
Baltimore’s bullpen put a frustrating weekend in Houston behind them, as relievers Cionel Pérez, Jacob Webb and Keegan Akin followed Povich by holding the Guardians scoreless over 3 1/3 innings.
