Tommy Hunter has struggled so far in 2015. (Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports)
BALTIMORE — Orioles right-handed reliever Tommy Hunter allowed a long sacrifice fly to Yankees catcher Brian McCann in the seventh inning of Baltimore series finale with New York on Wednesday.
Hunter then threw a wild pitch to allow another run to score. While Baltimore held on for the 7-5 victory, Hunter’s struggles underscore the problems of the Orioles bullpen so far this season.
“Tommy’s got so much, I don’t know, loose energy,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. “He wants to contribute so bad he kind of gets out of whack a little bit. Gets into overthrow mode. It’s hard to back him off. Got a big strikeout of Rodriguez. He’ll be better. His track record says he’ll go through some bumps and you’ll like him when it’s all said and done.”
Baltimore relievers had allowed at least run in each of the team’s nine games. This is an early area for concern for a team that relied heavily on its relievers to make the postseason twice in the past three years.
The group has already suffered a setback when left-hander Wesley Wright was placed on the disabled list for four to six weeks after an MRI revealed inflammation in his left shoulder earlier this week.
Hunter has particularly struggled, allowing a game-winning pinch hit grand slam to the Yankees’ Stephen Drew on Monday. He has allowed six runs in four appearances (3.2) this season for a 14.73 ERA.
Even the reliable Darren O’Day coughed up a game-winning home run to Toronto’s Jose Bautista on Sunday.
Right-hander Brad Brach was solid last season with a 3.18 ERA, but he has allowed at least a run in four appearances this season. He pitched better in the final game of the series, picking up the win with two scoreless innings.
Young right-hander Kevin Gausman has been groomed as a starter but he has pitched out of the bullpen because he was the odd man out of the rotation when the team broke spring training. He has allowed five in three appearances (4.1) innings for an 8.31 ERA.
The season is still young and the Orioles have proven arms in the bullpen that should allow them to bounce back from the early-season struggles.
The bright spot has been Zach Britton who has two saves in two chances season. He also picked up the first four-out save of his career Tuesday against the Yankees.
“Down in the bullpen, we’ve got some guys that are going to pitch better than they are pitching right now,” Britton said.
