Big second inning backs Tyler Wells in Orioles’ fourth straight win, 6-2 over Twins – The Denver Post

When Tyler Wells threw a wild pitch with a runner on third base in Saturday’s first inning against the Minnesota Twins, it marked only the 11th run against the Orioles right-hander on something other than a home run in his impressive first half of the season.

Baltimore scored more than half that many the next inning, providing all of the Orioles’ offense in a 6-2 victory, their fourth straight.

Their first seven batters of the second inning reached base against Twins starter Sonny Gray as Baltimore plated six runs. In a game the Orioles’ bats bested an All-Star, Wells showed he deserved to be one, too, with his eighth straight start allowing no more than two earned runs.

“Unfortunately, it wasn’t up to me,” Wells said of his snub. “I felt like I put together a really quality first half. But as someone once told me, ‘To be an All-Star, you only have to play good for the first half. To be a world champion, you’ve got to play good the whole year.’ And that’s kind of my outlook right now.

“I’m wanting to win a championship, and I think that’s the ultimate goal for every person in here. To have All-Star in front of your name’s a cool thing, but hopefully, one of these days, I’ll have the opportunity to say that.”

Last week, Gray was announced as an All-Star after shutting out the Orioles over six innings. He opened Saturday’s start with another clean frame before struggling to get outs in the second. Ryan O’Hearn, Austin Hays and Aaron Hicks singled to load the bases, with Hays doing so in his first at-bat after the All-Star outfielder missed five games with a left hip bruise. Colton Cowser and Ramón Urías each walked in a run before two more singles from Adam Frazier and Gunnar Henderson. After Adley Rutschman struck out, Anthony Santander ripped another single to right field before being doubled off first base on O’Hearn’s lineout.

In all, the Orioles (53-35) went 6-for-8 with two walks in the inning, their second of six runs or more in three days. They otherwise went hitless in the game, going 0-for-15 with a walk against Gray in his other five frames and 0-for-9 with a walk facing Minnesota’s bullpen.

“They like to make it tough on me,” manager Brandon Hyde quipped about his team. “What a great rally, though.

“We’re way more patient at the plate than we’ve ever been. We have guys on our club now that are able to manage the strike zone and stay within the strike zone, even against a tough pitcher like Sonny Gray.”

The big inning was enough for Wells, who closed his first half with six innings of two-run ball. The outing pushed Wells, a 28-year-old the Orioles acquired from Minnesota in the 2020 Rule 5 draft, past his innings total from 2022, in which he pitched with strict limits and dealt with injuries in the second half. In his 104 2/3 frames, Wells has posted a majors-best 0.927 WHIP, the third best before the All-Star break in team history for a pitcher with at least that many innings. He leads the Orioles’ rotation with a 3.18 ERA and has gone at least five innings in all 18 of his outings, the fourth-longest streak to start a season in franchise history.

“I’m trying to be dependable,” Wells said. “I’m trying to establish myself, and I’m trying to make sure that each and every time that I take that ball, I give my team a chance to win.

“That goal isn’t going to change.”

Saturday’s start was far from Wells’ most effective at limiting base runners, as he issued two walks and tied a season high by allowing six hits, two of which came successively in the sixth to produce a run. But none of the hits he surrendered cleared the Target Field fences. Wells entered having allowed 21 home runs, one shy of the major league lead, accounting for 27 of the 39 runs scored against him.

“Today was a testament to how last few starts have gone for me, just constant grinding and battling, giving up some base hits and walking a couple guys,” Wells said. “But I’m going to take the bright side out of this one and say I didn’t give up a home run, so that’s pretty solid.”

Bryan Baker followed Wells with two scoreless innings before Danny Coulombe, acquired from Minnesota on the cusp of the season for cash, pitched a scoreless ninth to secure a series victory for the Orioles with one game left before the All-Star break.

Wells’ outing was a continuation of strong starts from the Orioles’ rotation. A Baltimore pitcher has gone at least six innings in six straight games and allowed fewer than three runs in seven of eight. After Cole Irvin allowed one run over 6 1/3 innings in Friday’s series opener, Wells sent him an image of a salute in recognition of the performance, comparing the starters’ run with that the hitters went on in Saturday’s second inning.

“It’s just like whenever a guy goes out there and gets a base hit,” Wells said. “You just want to keep building on it.”

Around the horn

• The Orioles have yet to announce how they will order their rotation out of the All-Star break. Veteran right-hander Kyle Gibson, who starts Sunday, would be able to pitch Friday’s second-half opener against the Miami Marlins on regular rest.
• Asked whether first baseman Ryan Mountcastle, who has spent nearly a month on the injured list after experiencing vertigo, could rejoin the Orioles out of the break, Hyde said, “We’re still taking it day to day with him.” Mountcastle’s 20-day rehabilitation assignment with Triple-A Norfolk ends in the coming days, at which point the Orioles will have to decide whether to activate or option him. Mountcastle entered Saturday hitting .222 with one home run and a .572 OPS in 12 games with Norfolk.

Orioles at Twins

Sunday, 2:10 p.m.

TV: MASN

Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM

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