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Bassitt and the Orioles are getting it together.
The Baltimore Orioles are 26-31 and buried in the bottom half of the AL East, but their rotation has started pitching like a completely different unit over the last week and a half, and Chris Bassitt wants people to notice.
Bassitt gave Baltimore six innings of one-run ball Thursday night against the Blue Jays, the team he pitched for the last three seasons and nearly won a World Series with last October.
He scattered four hits, walked one and threw 80 pitches in a 2-1 loss at Camden Yards that had some extra meaning for the 37-year-old even if the final score didn't go his way.
"You always want to have bragging rights, so to speak," Bassitt said. "So yeah, there's always that extra fun factor in it all."
Bassitt signed a one-year, $18.5 million deal with Baltimore in February, and his early results were rough enough that the Orioles started using Keegan Akin as an opener in front of him.
His season ERA still sits at 5.06, but since April 17 that number drops to 4.01, and he has gone at least five innings in six of his last eight outings.
The improvement goes well beyond Bassitt.
Baltimore's starters have posted a 2.09 ERA over their last eight games since May 20, which would rank near the top of the American League over that stretch.
Compare that to the 5.20 ERA the rotation put up through the first 49 games and it does not even look like the same staff.
Thursday's bullpen collapse showed there are still problems to solve elsewhere, but the starters have done their part lately.
Manager Craig Albernaz was fired up about what Bassitt gave them against Toronto.
"Bassitt was dialed," Albernaz said. "He was ready to face his former team. Velo was up. Did a great job mixing his pitches. He was outstanding."
Bassitt sees something different in the clubhouse now compared to how things felt in April, and he credits the work being done between starts with pitching coaches Drew French and Ryan Klimek as a big reason why the staff has turned things around.
"I feel like we're in a really good place," Bassitt said. "I feel like we're feeding off each other finally. Yeah, I like the work that all the guys are doing in the bullpen, off the field, to stay healthy."
What stood out most was Bassitt admitting that he always believed in this group, even when the results were terrible and the numbers looked like a lost cause.
"Honestly, I've never not been encouraged by this group, even when we were struggling," Bassitt said. "It was just, it took a little longer than I expected to fix the stuff."
None of this erases the hole Baltimore has dug for itself, and one hot stretch from the rotation does not make up for two months of bad pitching.
The offense did not help Thursday either, going 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position while Anthony Nunez walked in the go-ahead run in the eighth with the bases loaded.
But if the starters keep throwing the way they have since May 20, the second half starts to look a lot different.
With Kyle Bradish in the mix and Bassitt settling in after a miserable start to the year, there is at least a version of this rotation that can keep Baltimore in games.
Whether the lineup and bullpen hold up their end is a separate conversation, but the rotation was supposed to be the problem this season and right now it is not.
Continue reading...
The Baltimore Orioles are 26-31 and buried in the bottom half of the AL East, but their rotation has started pitching like a completely different unit over the last week and a half, and Chris Bassitt wants people to notice.
Bassitt gave Baltimore six innings of one-run ball Thursday night against the Blue Jays, the team he pitched for the last three seasons and nearly won a World Series with last October.
He scattered four hits, walked one and threw 80 pitches in a 2-1 loss at Camden Yards that had some extra meaning for the 37-year-old even if the final score didn't go his way.
"You always want to have bragging rights, so to speak," Bassitt said. "So yeah, there's always that extra fun factor in it all."
Bassitt signed a one-year, $18.5 million deal with Baltimore in February, and his early results were rough enough that the Orioles started using Keegan Akin as an opener in front of him.
His season ERA still sits at 5.06, but since April 17 that number drops to 4.01, and he has gone at least five innings in six of his last eight outings.
The Rotation Is Turning a Corner
The improvement goes well beyond Bassitt.
Baltimore's starters have posted a 2.09 ERA over their last eight games since May 20, which would rank near the top of the American League over that stretch.
Compare that to the 5.20 ERA the rotation put up through the first 49 games and it does not even look like the same staff.
Thursday's bullpen collapse showed there are still problems to solve elsewhere, but the starters have done their part lately.
Manager Craig Albernaz was fired up about what Bassitt gave them against Toronto.
"Bassitt was dialed," Albernaz said. "He was ready to face his former team. Velo was up. Did a great job mixing his pitches. He was outstanding."
Feeding Off Each Other
Bassitt sees something different in the clubhouse now compared to how things felt in April, and he credits the work being done between starts with pitching coaches Drew French and Ryan Klimek as a big reason why the staff has turned things around.
"I feel like we're in a really good place," Bassitt said. "I feel like we're feeding off each other finally. Yeah, I like the work that all the guys are doing in the bullpen, off the field, to stay healthy."
What stood out most was Bassitt admitting that he always believed in this group, even when the results were terrible and the numbers looked like a lost cause.
"Honestly, I've never not been encouraged by this group, even when we were struggling," Bassitt said. "It was just, it took a little longer than I expected to fix the stuff."
What It Means Going Forward
None of this erases the hole Baltimore has dug for itself, and one hot stretch from the rotation does not make up for two months of bad pitching.
The offense did not help Thursday either, going 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position while Anthony Nunez walked in the go-ahead run in the eighth with the bases loaded.
But if the starters keep throwing the way they have since May 20, the second half starts to look a lot different.
With Kyle Bradish in the mix and Bassitt settling in after a miserable start to the year, there is at least a version of this rotation that can keep Baltimore in games.
Whether the lineup and bullpen hold up their end is a separate conversation, but the rotation was supposed to be the problem this season and right now it is not.
Continue reading...
