In the second game of the season for the Baltimore Orioles, manager Buck Showalter went to the bullpen in the fifth inning, brought in a young guy/future starter throwing 101 mph. That guy handed the game over to an older guy with a submarine delivery, then the submarine guy passed it on to the left-handed closer -- a converted starter -- who struck out the side for the save.
There is a different combination seemingly every night for the Baltimore bullpen, which is deep, versatile and a big reason that the Orioles won 96 games last season -- and likely will contend in 2015. They have left-handers, right-handers, guys who throw from all angles, guys who throw at all velocities, former and future starters, pure relievers and a manager who knows as well as anyone how and when to use all those moving parts on a nightly basis.
"It's a full buffet," said Orioles reliever Tommy Hunter. "It's such a broad demographic out there. And everyone knows their job."
"We have so many weapons, we're all good in our own way," said Orioles reliever Brian Matusz.
Said submarine reliever Darren O'Day: "No one is similar to the next one. Everyone provides a different look to a hitter. It's a nice variety. We are all really good at what we do. And Buck is the best at putting you into a situation where you have the best chance to succeed."
Last season, the Orioles' pen posted a 3.10 ERA, third best in the American League, and limited their opponents' batting average to .229. In the postseason, their ERA was 2.63, and the opponents' batting average was .209. In the Division Series, the Orioles' bullpen was so good, and the Tigers' bullpen was so bad, the Orioles swept Detroit. What the Orioles have done with their bullpen is what every team tries to do: Load up with as many quality arms as possible, shorten a game to six innings, take pressure off starting pitchers from having to go deep into games, and signal to your offense that scoring early might be enough.
"We know if we get a lead," said Orioles outfielder/first baseman Steve Pearce, "our pen can do the rest."
Indeed. Before Hunter gave up a pinch-hit grand slam to the New York Yankees' Stephen Drew in the seventh inning on Monday night, the Orioles had won their last 44 regular season games in which they held a lead in the seventh inning or later. It was the longest such active streak in the game.
"Baltimore's bullpen isn't as good as Kansas City's bullpen, no one's bullpen is that good, but they provide almost as many challenges with all the different looks they give you," said one AL manager. "It's tough to match up against them."
And no one plays the matchups better than Showalter. Almost every year, he is handed a different set of parts, usually a different closer, and told to make it work. Then he does. Hunter is a perfect example. He was a starting pitcher, but wasn't among the best five, so he was moved to the bullpen. Now, he says, "I just let it go." Hunter usually only pitches one inning; he throws in the high 90s and has touched 100 mph. He acknowledges he couldn't throw that hard as a starter. He closed briefly, but that ended when it became clear he had trouble throwing back-to-back days, and couldn't go three in a row.
So Showalter turned to another former starter, left-hander Zach Britton. Last year, Britton made 71 appearances, threw 76 1/3 innings, saved 37 games and had a 1.65 ERA. Unlike some other closers, he is not a strikeout machine, but his hard sinker can get a ground ball for a key double play, as it did in the playoffs last October against the Tigers. Matusz, like Britton, is a former starter who has turned into an important left-hander out of the pen, but more than just a lefty-on-lefty specialist. He and Hunter agree that having experience as a starting pitcher can make you an even better relief pitcher.
"As a starter, you experience more things, and you're used to facing everyone, left-handed hitters, right-handed hitters," Matusz said. "You are used to pitching from start to end."
"Baltimore's bullpen isn't as good as Kansas City's bullpen, no one's bullpen is that good, but they provide almost as many challenges with all the different looks they give you. It's tough to match up against them." An American League manager
Said Hunter: "There are more ups and downs as a starting pitcher, it prepares you for everything you'll see. We only have two guys that have only relieved (O'Day and Brad Brach)."
Added Showalter: "In today's game, it's hard to carry someone who is only a righty-righty matchup or a lefty-lefty matchup. You have to have guys that can get you through two innings."
The wild card in the Baltimore bullpen is Kevin Gausman, the reliever who entered in the fifth inning of the second game of the season and promptly threw 101 mph. He is a future star of the Orioles' rotation, but for now, at age 24, he is not one of their five starters. So Showalter mixes and matches with him, especially when he needs a strikeout.
"It's beautiful, 100 mph in the fifth," Matusz said of Gausman. "And, a nasty split at 90 [mph]."
"He was fired up, throwing 101," said O'Day, who had a 1.70 ERA in 68 games last season. "We all know that Kevin is a starting pitcher, and is going to be a great starting pitcher one day soon. It's a good problem to have, having too many starters. We are just amazed how he can generate so such more force from [being] 6-2, 200 pounds when other guys that are 6-6 and 250 pounds, can't throw nearly that hard."
Even with all these moving parts, the Oriole bullpen hasn't been as good this season as it was last year. It is without left-hander Andrew Miller, who was acquired from Boston down the stretch last season, and dominated. Miller signed with the Yankees as a free agent. And the bullpen is without T.J. McFarland, who was so good for the Orioles last year (2.76 ERA), but was sent to Triple-A Norfolk this spring in a numbers crunch (the Orioles have a Rule 5 pitcher, Jason Garcia, in their bullpen. They will have to keep Garcia on the roster all season, or offer him back to the Astros). McFarland will be back before long.
"T.J. makes everyone better," Showalter said. "If someone gets sick at 6:30 [p.m.], T.J. can step in and start. He's a utility pitcher. You have to have those guys, especially in our league."
The Orioles bullpen is, in many ways, a bunch of utility pitchers all molded into one deep, versatile unit. They all make the other guys in the bullpen better. They make the Orioles better.