The way John Means pitched Tuesday night was encouraging. The way his offense hit wasn’t.
In his first start since April 2022, Means pitched five innings of three-run ball, pounding the strike zone and looking like a starting pitcher capable of remaining in the rotation for the remainder of the season.
But Baltimore’s bats didn’t back him up, putting together perhaps their worst offensive performance in weeks against the worst statistical starting pitcher in the major leagues. St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Adam Wainwright entered Tuesday with an 8.19 ERA that was 1.31 runs worse than any other starter with more than 80 innings, but the Orioles couldn’t capitalize against the struggling veteran and his bullpen in a 5-2 loss.
“We had runners on base. We just had a tough time getting the big hit tonight,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “I thought Wainwright pitched on the edges extremely well like he can do. … We just didn’t have our best night offensively.”
Means wasn’t perfect, allowing two solo homers and only striking out one, but Hyde was encouraged by the way the southpaw handled his 2023 debut.
“It looked like John Means,” Hyde said.
The matchup against the National League Central-worst Cardinals was ripe for the taking, as the Orioles have spent the past few weeks as one of the best offenses in the sport. They scored 48 runs in their previous five games and averaged 7.62 since Aug. 28.
But despite totaling nine hits and five walks, Baltimore couldn’t come through with runners in scoring position, going 1-for-12 in such situations with three double plays and 10 runners left on base. The club entered Tuesday with an .850 OPS in those moments, ranking first in the majors.
“I had a big spot where I didn’t come through,” said catcher James McCann, who grounded into two double plays, once with the bases loaded in the fourth and again in the eighth. “It’s one of those nights. I wish I could change the outcome of my at-bat with the bases loaded. Unfortunately, it is what it is, and you look to bounce back tomorrow.
“We’ve been really good as a team with runners in scoring position, and tonight just wasn’t our night.”
The lone runs the offense managed came off Wainwright in the fifth inning on a single by Anthony Santander and a groundout by Ryan O’Hearn. Wainwright, who pitched five innings of two-run ball, has spent the 2023 season searching for his 200th win, entering the campaign with 195. The 42-year-old’s victory Tuesday was his fourth of the season against 11 losses, making the future Hall of Fame candidate one win away from the milestone.
Baltimore falls to 91-53 but remains three games above the Tampa Bay Rays, who lost to the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday, for the best record in the American League. The Orioles’ magic number remains at four.
Means solid in return
After missing the Orioles’ previous 299 games with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow that required Tommy John elbow reconstruction, Means’ first start back was almost derailed in the second inning.
Toeing the rubber at Camden Yards for the first time since April 13, 2022, Means allowed the first three batters of the frame to reach base on balls hit softer than 75 mph, a string of bad luck that can often spiral into more misfortune. But as the left-hander often did when he headlined the Orioles’ rebuild-era rotation, he didn’t flinch.
He gave up just one run after the bases-loaded, no-out jam — a sacrifice fly to Jordan Walker — en route to a solid five-inning start.
“After getting out there in the first inning, I had a lot more nerves, I think, before the game than I usually do,” said Means, who was activated Tuesday as reliever Joey Krehbiel was optioned to Triple-A. “Kind of felt like the debut again, but once I got out there and started pitching again, it felt natural.”
He filled up the zone as well as any Orioles starter has this season, with 55 of his 75 pitches going for strikes without issuing a walk. Aside from the two bloop singles in the second, the other two hits Means allowed were solo home runs — one in the first inning to Paul Goldschmidt, the other in the fourth to former Towson University standout Richie Palacios.
“I thought he threw the ball well,” McCann said. “He got a lot of soft contact, and he pounded the zone. For me, a guy coming back, who’s been away from the game as long as he has, pounding the zone the way that he did, going right after guys, that was really good to see.”
Means got stronger as the outing progressed, retiring 12 of the final 13 batters he faced. The average exit velocity off him was just 85.7 mph. His fastball averaged 92.2 mph, close to the velocity he showed in 2021.
McCann, a veteran catcher who faced Means seven times before his injury, said the 30-year-old is “right where he needs to be.”
“Having faced him as a hitter, I know how good his changeup is, how good his fastball can be,” McCann said. “Getting to catch him was a lot more fun.
“He looked very much so like the pitcher I remember facing.”
Jorge López followed Means with a scoreless sixth but allowed two in the seventh as the Cardinals (64-81) took a three-run lead. Palacios hit his second solo shot, the first two-homer game of his career, and Lars Nootbaar singled off Cionel Pérez to score a run charged to López. Former starter Cole Irvin pitched two scoreless innings to save the rest of the bullpen entering Wednesday’s series finale. With Kyle Gibson on the mound, the Orioles hope to win their eighth straight series.
Starting pitchers Kyle Bradish, Jack Flaherty, Grayson Rodriguez and Dean Kremer are slated to start the pivotal four-game series against the Rays this weekend.
Whether Means gets another start is unclear, with Hyde remaining noncommittal when asked after the loss. With just 18 games remaining, there could be competition for the last spot in the Orioles’ likely four-man playoff rotation. Means said it would be “unbelievable” to pitch in the postseason after shepherding the club’s starting corps during the rebuild, but he’s mostly just happy to be back.
“It is fun to play for a winning club and be in this clubhouse and be a part of this team,” he said.
Cardinals at Orioles
Wednesday, 6:35 p.m.
TV: MASN
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
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