A Tale of Two Orioles Pitchers

There were two story lines for Orioles pitchers tonight – one depressing, one encouraging.

The first is Hunter Harvey. The Delmarva standout was shut down for the season with a flexor mass strain. If the phrase “flexor mass strain” doesn’t ring a bell, let me break it down for you. It means this pitcher needs Tommy John surgery, but we don’t want to admit it to ourselves yet.

The Orioles announced the move, but assured us that surgery was not necessary – just rest. If this sounds familiar, it should. It’s what we heard with Dylan Bundy and Matt Wieters. I’m not a doctor, and I’m not claiming to be knowledgeable on Harvey’s case, but it is not a stretch to think that Tommy John might be on the way. Why? Because Orioles prospects.

Timing could not have been worse, as the announcement came the day before the non-waiver trade deadline. Rumors swirled that the John Lester talks stalled once the Orioles discovered that this particular trade chip was unavailable.

But it wasn’t all bad news. Kevin Gausman pitched seven strong innings tonight, six of which were immaculate. Gausman took a no-hitter into the 5th inning. He had everything working for him, and looked like the future ace the Orioles (and fans) hope he’ll be some day. Of course. the 5th inning was… unpleasant.

Gausman walked three straight batters (with the help of home plate umpire Mr. Magoo), and gave up three runs. After sailing through four innings on 37 pitches, he labored through an additional 39 in the fifth. Things could have spiraled out of control in a hurry. This, after all, the way rookies grow, right? As the saying goes, he bent, but didn’t break. After surviving an umpire-aided loss of control, Gausman returned for a scoreless sixth and seventh inning. The end result was three runs over seven full (a quality start!), but the impressive part was the recovery.

Kevin Gausman worked his way through adversity, and gave his team what it needs most in this stretch run: wins.