Orioles can't afford for rotation woes to grow as they begin next road trip

The Orioles are down the road for the next three nights playing the Nationals in a series that no longer is hyped as an uncivil war.

These teams don’t hate each other and it isn’t a rivalry. It’s two organizations in relatively close proximity trying to get on a roll at the expense of the other. That’s fine. You can’t fabricate hard feelings.

The Nats are 9-13 and in fourth place in the National League East. The Orioles are 9-12 and in fourth place in the American League East, a half-game ahead of the Rays. They woke up yesterday two behind the Red Sox and 4 ½ out of first place. Far from insurmountable, but it’s time to get hot.

The adage that it starts with starting pitching is glaringly accurate in Baltimore. The rotation has a 6.11 ERA that’s the worst in baseball, with the Yankees next among American League teams yesterday at 4.50. The Orioles’ overall ERA of 5.43 also sat on the bottom yesterday, just behind the Nats’ 5.12. However, Jorge Mateo and Gary Sánchez combined to allow nine runs Sunday over the last two innings, so the numbers should come with an asterisk.

Stay with me here … they aren’t pitchers.

We debated in the press box Sunday whether there should be some sort of forfeit option for teams that otherwise must resort to using non-pitchers and making a mockery of the game. I know that it seems unsavory to wave a white flag, but it’s no worse than trotting out shortstops and catchers to lob balls to home plate, get pummeled and watch the opponents’ run total soar to 24.

If not this, what about a pitcher on the taxi squad whose sole purpose is to appear late in blowouts? I’m open to suggestions. Nine guys faking their deaths on the field seems extreme.

Yesterday’s loss looks way worse with those nine runs. I mean, 15-2 ain’t pretty but lots of people made a much bigger deal about the defeat because it’s the most runs surrendered since the 30-3 debacle in 2007 and the Orioles are under .500. This one happened in April and position players created an embarrassing score. That doesn’t excuse what happened earlier that forced them into a new role, but they made it a three-touchdown game.

Charlie Morton’s 2 1/3 innings on the mound set a bad tone. The Orioles brought up Cody Poteet to eat innings, despite how he allowed 10 runs and 12 hits in eight innings with Triple-A Norfolk, and the right-hander lasted only 2 2/3 innings. He sort of took one for the team by staying out there to give up five runs and six hits, but manager Brandon Hyde was hoping for three-to-four innings.

That outing was the second hint of the position player nonsense to come. Cionel Pérez was able to complete two innings, allowing three runs to push his ERA to 11.32, but the Orioles had two more innings to cover. Nobody was warming in the bullpen, and we sat there waiting to see who came out of the dugout and picked up the ball sitting on the mound.

Mateo was first, and we knew that he wasn’t returning for a second inning, which only left Sánchez unless a different infielder swapped places with Mateo. Fun, right?

Maybe the best moment was Mateo glaring at plate umpire Tripp Gibson after failing to get a strike, and Gibson calling time to step away from the plate and admonish him. Gibson apparently yelled to the Orioles’ dugout that he wasn’t tolerating the stare. Meanwhile, here’s a thought: call strikes and move this thing along. Anything close. Gibson’s reaction was as bad of a look as Mateo’s pitching and the score.

You’re gonna squeeze Jorge Mateo?

Man, these umpires are brutal.

Sánchez actually retired the first two batters before allowing four runs, including Austin Wynns’ three-run shot. The former Orioles catcher had a career day and then some, tying the Reds record for most hits with six. He’s the first Cincinnati catcher with six RBIs since … no, not Hall of Famer Johnny Bench … former Oriole Ryan Lavarnway in 2019.

There’s a right way, there’s a wrong way, and there’s Lavarnway.

Anyway, I’m way off track now. The Orioles absolutely must get more innings and better results from the rotation, or the bullpen is going to implode. The relievers’ ERA went from lowest in the AL to 4.59 that ranked 23^rd in the majors yesterday. And again, position players count, but Poteet and Pérez combined for eight in 4 2/3 innings.

Yennier Cano and Seranthony Domínguez each have tossed 8 1/3 scoreless innings with a combined 18 strikeouts. Bryan Baker has allowed one run with 11 strikeouts in 9 2/3 innings. Matt Bowman has been charged with two earned runs in 9 1/3. Gregory Soto has allowed three runs in 7 2/3 innings and they all came in one outing. Félix Bautista hasn’t allowed a run in five of his six appearances and he retired the side in order on Saturday. The six walks in six innings are the only downer, unless you were expecting his fastball velocity to jump back into triple digits after he left Florida.

The ‘pen can be a real strength if it doesn’t collapse. Starters have gone fewer than five innings in 10 games. Morton is a huge concern because he’s got to be the stopper with Zach Eflin and Grayson Rodriguez on the injured list, and the latter could be gone for a long time. Players usually don’t seek second opinions if the first one is encouraging.  

In case it got lost in Sunday’s updated game story, here’s the full quote from Morton on his confidence in turning around his season:

“I think the things that make me question that are, physically, can I do it? I think that’s the big question. Like, is my stuff good enough. And it’s hard to judge it when you’re behind a lot and it’s hard to judge it when you’re in bad counts. But then it seems, like today, there were a couple counts they got into where it’s like, I still try to make kind of a contact pitch with the sinker. Got pulled to the left side. Lots of base hits to the left side. Couple bad, poorly executed pitches went for base hits. Even that Elly (De La Cruz) homer, I go 1-2 to him and I go up and in on him and he hits it for a homer.

“It’s hard to have expectations based on what I can do physically when I don’t know really, truly where my stuff is. I go out there and I think I had 40-something pitches in the first two innings. Any time I do that, I’m putting myself in a bad spot physically. To answer your question, it’s like, what’s the shape of the breaking ball? What’s the spin on the breaking ball? What’s the velo like? Things like that, those are questions that I ask myself to see if I can justify a belief in myself physically. That’s the question, right?

“Yeah. If you gave me, I don’t know, if you said, ‘We’ll give you 30 starts to get this right,’ I’ll get it right. It’s just, how much negatively do I affect the team during that process, right? That’s the question. Do I still think I can pitch well? Yeah. It’s just, some of the things that are going wrong right now, just throwing strikes, making decent pitches consistently, getting into a rhythm, some momentum. That’s the issue. But, yeah, I don’t doubt the fact I can get it right. It’s just, how quickly can I get it done? Cause like I said, I’ve failed plenty.

“I’ve failed tons of times. I’ve felt this way a lot. I’ve felt like I was in a bad spot or I wasn’t getting my job done, I was letting people down. I’ve felt that before, more than enough. I know that about myself, inherently, that I can do it. It’s just really frustrating.”

The Orioles aren’t paying Morton $15 million for his interviews, but his thoughtful, honest responses are admirable. He’s such a pro. But he’s got to figure it out. He knows that his age factors into the concerns and raise doubts whether he can be fixed. He also should know that the Orioles didn’t put a short leash on him. He won’t be cut in April. That’s nonsense. And they’re already down to four starters until Kyle Gibson is activated, perhaps Friday in Detroit.

Who’s next up if Morton is gone? Thaddeus Ward? Cameron Weston? Kyle Brnovich? They could become options later, but they aren’t replacing a healthy Morton. Brandon Young must stay down a minimum of 15 days unless subbing for an injured pitcher. He’s made a grand total of one major league start. Hopefully, he gets another opportunity down the road and has a nice career. He’s easy to root for, starting with his appreciation of classic rock and friendly personality. But it isn’t fair to view him as a savior while Morton struggles.

Guys on the current roster need to step up. Position players need to stay away from the mound unless charging a ground ball or corralling a popup. And the entire team needs to take out its anger and frustration on the next opponent. Use the embarrassment as fuel.