masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgThe Orioles’ first two save opportunities without All-Star closer Zach Britton could not have gone much better. Two clean saves, with Brad Brach recording six outs over the last two nights on 19 total pitches.
Called on to protect a 2-0 lead Wednesday night at Cincinnati, Brach retired the side on nine pitches. He entered in the last of the 10th with a 2-1 lead last night and got a groundout, strikeout and lineout to center on just 10 pitches to conclude the win over the Reds.
Brach is trying…

The Orioles’ first two save opportunities without All-Star closer Zach Britton could not have gone much better. Two clean saves, with Brad Brach recording six outs over the last two nights on 19 total pitches.

Called on to protect a 2-0 lead Wednesday night at Cincinnati, Brach retired the side on nine pitches. He entered in the last of the 10th with a 2-1 lead last night and got a groundout, strikeout and lineout to center on just 10 pitches to conclude the win over the Reds.

Brach is trying to treat getting the last three outs no differently than if he had been called on to pitch the seventh or eighth.

Brach-Throws-Black-Sidebar.jpg“And that is what I’ll try to continue to do,” he said this afternoon. “Keep it the way I have been pitching the last few years. Whether it’s the seventh, eighth or ninth, trying not to think about it. Just get three outs as quick as possible. Just don’t worry about the number (of the inning) and concentrate on the pitch.”

Brach is off to a fantastic start with an ERA of 0.00 over eight games. In eight innings, he has allowed one hit and no runs with three walks and 12 strikeouts. Opposing batters are 1-for-24 (.042) against him. Yep, he’s been overpowering at times.

So is there any more pressure pitching the ninth?

“I just try not to think about it,” he said. “Not going to lie, the first one the other night, I had a few nerves. Then when (Adam) Duvall popped up that first pitch, it really kind of settled me down. Last night, I felt a lot more comfortable. I think it was getting that first one under my belt.

“Zach has been so successful. I think everybody here knows how many he’s had in a row (54 straight converted saves). I don’t want to be the one to blow that streak. So kind of going out there and just try to get us the win. That’s the biggest thing.”

Left-handed batters are 1-for-8 versus Brach and right-handed hitters are 0-for-16 with eight strikeouts. A year after making his first All-Star game, he’s off to another strong start.

His team is pulling out the close ones, going 8-1 in games decided by two runs or less.

“Wade (Miley) earlier on the road trip, was saying, ‘Man, on this team, you really just need to go six innings (with this bullpen). If we go six we can win 95 games this year.’ ” Brach said.

“That is kind of what we did in 2014. The starters got into a real groove there in the middle of the season and we got a ton of wins. The runs are going to come. But if you can win the 2-0, 2-1, 3-2 games, that will really help for the rest of the season.”

Brach is impressed with a starting rotation that has recorded six quality starts over the last seven games. In those six games, the rotation ERA is 1.35. Over the past two nights, Ubaldo Jiménez and Miley combined to allow one run and four hits over 15 2/3 innings.

“I think the biggest thing is they’ve been attacking the zone and keeping the walks down,” Brach said. “Keeping runners off base. In the American League East, if you give up free passes, that’s when you get the two- and three-run homers or see a ball in the gap and find yourself in a lot of trouble real quick. Just attacking the zone and being aggressive and using hitters’ aggressiveness against themselves has been a big key.”