April showers brought anything but May flowers for the Baltimore Orioles. The team stumbled badly, landing in the AL East cellar with a concerning 11-18 record. This was more than an unlucky bounce; fundamental issues plagued the O’s. Pitching often struggled, especially early, and put immense pressure on a very young offense.
The low point came Tuesday night under the lights of Camden Yards. Veteran Kyle Gibson started for the Orioles after rejoining the roster. Before the outfielder Cedric Mullins could even settle in, he glanced up at a daunting 5-0 deficit. Gibson was absolutely pummeled by the visiting New York Yankees. Four of the first five Yankee hitters launched solo home runs. He gave up a fifth home run an inning later before manager Brandon Hyde pulled him after just 3.2 innings. The scoreboard read 9-0 at the time, and the game would end as a crushing 15-3 loss.
In the immediate aftermath of that nightmare outing, Gibson provided some important perspective on the team’s mindset. He acknowledged the difficulty of constantly playing catch-up. “The hard part to do now is not sit here and think you’ve got to get it all back in 10 games,” Gibson said bluntly. He emphasized the necessity of a tight focus in the downturn. “That’s a tough mental battle to fight. I think the best thing you can do is look at tomorrow… You can’t just do it 10 games at a time. You’ve got to do it one at a time.”
Gibson was hardly alone in realizing the psychological cost of those early holes. Manager Brandon Hyde echoed the sentiment. “It’s happened to us quite a bit so far this year,” Hyde said. “We’re having a tough time keeping teams down early in the game.” He noted hitters might be pressing, working too hard to eliminate deficits quickly.“You want guys to continue to fight… But you got to try to stay in the game somehow, try to take selfish at-bats,” Hyde explained.
Hyde’s frustration is obvious and understandable. It’s toward his starting rotation, and it’s entirely justified. The Orioles’ starters were a collective disappointment until late April, with an ERA pushing 6.00. Perhaps more telling, they ranked last in the majors by striking out just 6.4 batters per nine innings. Falling behind so often puts much more of a burden on the whole team, especially young hitters still trying to settle in at this level. It builds those mental hurdles Gibson and Hyde mentioned.
Rotation meltdown fuels Orioles’ early struggles
But what were the factors fueling this rotation-wide collapse? There were several. Offseason addition Charlie Morton struggled immensely, posting an ERA over 10.00 early on. Dean Kremer also endured rough outings during this challenging stretch. Key starters Zach Eflin, Grayson Rodriguez, Tyler Wells, and Kyle Bradish all reside on the Injured List. Losing that much rotation firepower has exposed a potential lack of depth.
Despite the lopsided score on Tuesday, the Orioles’ offense showed faint signs of life late. Emmanuel Rivera walked in the sixth, finally giving Baltimore a baserunner. Jorge Mateo followed with a double, snapping Carlos Rodon’s no-hit bid. Gunnar Henderson later mashed a home run, preventing a shutout. Ryan Mountcastle hit a sacrifice fly in the ninth. It was far too little, far too late, but as Mountcastle said, you “take small victories” during tough times. Showing fight, even down 13 runs, offers a sliver of hope.
Those small victories haven’t changed the standings yet, however. The Orioles sit last in the AL East at 11-18, already 6.5 games behind the Yankees. Their run differential sits at a painful -50. Still, bright spots exist: Cedric Mullins and Ryan O’Hearn are hitting well, and Felix Bautista’s return adds depth to the bullpen. Getting injured pitchers like Zach Eflin back soon is crucial. Can Baltimore take Gibson’s advice and win the “tough mental battle” and get back into contention one day at a time?
The post “Tough Mental Battle to Fight” – Orioles’ All-Star Pitcher Gets Real on Mounting Struggles After Crushing Loss to Yankees appeared first on EssentiallySports.
