Brach on his outing, cheering section, plus reaction to the Andrew Miller trade
Right-hander Brad Brach has been pitching very well for the Orioles and that continued at Camden Yards last night.
In the Orioles 1-0 loss in 13 innings to the Angels, Brach pitched scoreless eighth and ninth innings on just 21 pitches. He retired all six batters he faced with three strikeouts.
"When you go out there in a tie game, you just want to get the outs as quick as you can and get the team back in to hit," Brach said. "That is all I was focused on, to put up zeroes for the team."
Over his last 12 games, Brach is 4-0 with an ERA of 1.31. Over 20 2/3 innings he has walked four and fanned 18. With Andrew Miller getting added to the roster today, someone in the bullpen will likely have to go. Brach made his latest case last night that it not be him.
He went right after the hitters and was in attack mode on the mound.
"That is what I try to do is be as aggressive as possible and that is probably the most aggressive I've been in probably my career," Brach said. "That is pretty much how I want to draw it up every night. Just went right at them and if they are going to hit my best pitch they are going to hit it."
During the MASN telecast last night, the camera found a cheering section Brach had of several people sitting behind home plate. They were loud and on their feet cheering on Brach during his two innings.
Brach is from New Jersey and two of his high school coaches from Freehold Township High School were on hand.
"It was Todd Smith and Brian Gobb," Brach said. "They were my high school baseball and basketball coaches. They've been here the last couple of days. They were really into it. They've converted Yankee fans over to Oriole fans so they were real excited tonight. Glad I was able to go out there and do well.
"They are good friends now. It's no longer a coach-player relationship. They're staying with me tonight. Sure they're still pumped up about it."
The Jersey boy who played his college ball at Monmouth gave his cheering section plenty to cheer about last night.
Well, there were certainly some mixed reviews yesterday on the trade that brings Miller from Boston to the Orioles. The O's sent Double-A Bowie pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez to the Red Sox in a one-for-one deal.
Baseball America ranked the 21-year-old lefty as the Orioles No. 3 prospect last winter. Before this year Rodriguez was ranked in the top 100 by several publications. He was No. 43 on ESPN, No. 61 by Baseball Prospectus, No. 65 by Baseball America and No. 68 by MLB.com.
In an insider-only story written on ESPN.com, Keith Law said the Red Sox's acquisition of Rodriguez was the best value move by any team yesterday.
Law said the trade was "a great return for Boston, and the deal with the best minor league prospect moved over the course of the whole day. Two months of Miller, who's a free agent after the year, isn't much of a return for one of the top 100 prospects in the game, so Boston made out great here."
In this write-up on the deal by Baseball America, an American League scout provided this quote about Rodriguez:
"He's throwing 96, will throw you a plus slider at times and the changeup you can see is going to be an average pitch. This guy's got a chance to have three plus pitches. It's about repeatability. He's a deep-count guy, but the good news is the arm works, the delivery's good and he throws 96. He's got a chance to be maybe a No. 2 starter in the big leagues."
Not long after the trade yesterday, I caught up with Rodriguez in Binghamton, New York where Bowie played last night. Check out what he said about the trade here.
Miller is having a tremendous year and should be a great addition to the back-end of the Orioles bullpen.
He is 3-5 with a 2.35 ERA in 50 games. Lefty batters hit just .150 with an OPS of .420 against Miller, and right-handed batters hit .180 with an OPS of .537. He gives up an average of only .105 with runners in scoring position.
Miller ranks fourth among major league relievers this season, striking out 14.67 per nine innings. His 5.31 strikeout-to-walk ratio ranks 17th.
But even with those stellar numbers, it's clear some feel the Orioles gave up too much in parting with a 21-year-old pitching prospect.
Over his last 12 games, Brach is 4-0 with an ERA of 1.31. Over 20 2/3 innings he has walked four and fanned 18. With Andrew Miller getting added to the roster today, someone in the bullpen will likely have to go. Brach made his latest case last night that it not be him.
He went right after the hitters and was in attack mode on the mound.
"That is what I try to do is be as aggressive as possible and that is probably the most aggressive I've been in probably my career," Brach said. "That is pretty much how I want to draw it up every night. Just went right at them and if they are going to hit my best pitch they are going to hit it."
During the MASN telecast last night, the camera found a cheering section Brach had of several people sitting behind home plate. They were loud and on their feet cheering on Brach during his two innings.
Brach is from New Jersey and two of his high school coaches from Freehold Township High School were on hand.
"It was Todd Smith and Brian Gobb," Brach said. "They were my high school baseball and basketball coaches. They've been here the last couple of days. They were really into it. They've converted Yankee fans over to Oriole fans so they were real excited tonight. Glad I was able to go out there and do well.
"They are good friends now. It's no longer a coach-player relationship. They're staying with me tonight. Sure they're still pumped up about it."
The Jersey boy who played his college ball at Monmouth gave his cheering section plenty to cheer about last night.
Well, there were certainly some mixed reviews yesterday on the trade that brings Miller from Boston to the Orioles. The O's sent Double-A Bowie pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez to the Red Sox in a one-for-one deal.
Baseball America ranked the 21-year-old lefty as the Orioles No. 3 prospect last winter. Before this year Rodriguez was ranked in the top 100 by several publications. He was No. 43 on ESPN, No. 61 by Baseball Prospectus, No. 65 by Baseball America and No. 68 by MLB.com.
In an insider-only story written on ESPN.com, Keith Law said the Red Sox's acquisition of Rodriguez was the best value move by any team yesterday.
Law said the trade was "a great return for Boston, and the deal with the best minor league prospect moved over the course of the whole day. Two months of Miller, who's a free agent after the year, isn't much of a return for one of the top 100 prospects in the game, so Boston made out great here."
In this write-up on the deal by Baseball America, an American League scout provided this quote about Rodriguez:
"He's throwing 96, will throw you a plus slider at times and the changeup you can see is going to be an average pitch. This guy's got a chance to have three plus pitches. It's about repeatability. He's a deep-count guy, but the good news is the arm works, the delivery's good and he throws 96. He's got a chance to be maybe a No. 2 starter in the big leagues."
Not long after the trade yesterday, I caught up with Rodriguez in Binghamton, New York where Bowie played last night. Check out what he said about the trade here.
Miller is having a tremendous year and should be a great addition to the back-end of the Orioles bullpen.
He is 3-5 with a 2.35 ERA in 50 games. Lefty batters hit just .150 with an OPS of .420 against Miller, and right-handed batters hit .180 with an OPS of .537. He gives up an average of only .105 with runners in scoring position.
Miller ranks fourth among major league relievers this season, striking out 14.67 per nine innings. His 5.31 strikeout-to-walk ratio ranks 17th.
But even with those stellar numbers, it's clear some feel the Orioles gave up too much in parting with a 21-year-old pitching prospect.
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