Baltimore Orioles: Mike Wright benefits off his second chance

Mike Wright was given a second chance to start for the Baltimore Orioles last night, and he took full advantage – with a little help from his friends.

The Baltimore Orioles had sent Mike Wright to the minors last week after he had been unable to get himself together. However a couple of days later, they suddenly needed another pitcher when O”Day was sent to the DL. Wright was a phone call away, and since the roster move came as a result of an injury, eligible to come back immediately (as opposed to waiting ten days).

Wright’s first start since returning (after spending a few days in the bullpen) was last night, and he took full advantage after being given a second chance. Wright’s line: 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R (0 earned), 2 BB, 4 K. What was different about Wright last night as opposed to other starts? It was something intangible more than anything else; he controled his emotions. Wright’s been known as the type of guy who has a ball bounce the wrong way or throws one bad pitch and he goes haywire. Not last night.

Unfortunately part of pitching and part of baseball is mental. Wright has the abilities in terms of getting the job done, but in the past he’s let himself get off track to the point to where one thing in an inning is derailing an entire start. In fact, he had one little thing happen that was beyond his control last night – and he didn’t let it get to him.

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The score was tied until the top of the seventh with Orlando at third base. Dyson grounded into a force out, which shouldn’t have scored a run. However Schoop’s relay throw from second base hit Cuthbert in the arm by accident, allowing the run to score (unearned). That’s exactly the type of thing that could have derailed things for Wright – something well beyond his control. But he kept his composure and pitched out of the inning.

It’s also typical of the way in which Kansas City has scored runs against the Orioles for the past couple of years. Keep in mind that this is the team that blooped and broken bat singled it’s way past the O’s in the 2014 ALCS. Whereas the Orioles are looking to hit every pitch out of the ballpark, some teams get fluke plays like that which allows them to score runs. Interesting contrast if you think about it.

That run wasn’t in anyway Mike Wright’s fault. However luckily for him his teammates picked him up. In the last of that same seventh inning the O’s got solo home runs from Mark Trumbo and Matt Wieters, and an RBI-double off the bat of Adam Jones. Before you knew if, the Birds led 3-1. One inning later they got another solo homer off the bat of Manny Machado, to cap off a 4-1 victory. 

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Incidentally, Kansas City got a lesson there in how games are won in the AL East. While solo home runs are less-than-desirable, they’re still hitting-for-power. If you can consistently hit the ball over the fence, you don’t have to rely on plays such as bloop singles or someone getting hit in the arm. Again, that’s how you win in the AL East.

After the game Wright summed up pretty much everything I’ve said about controling his emotions on the mound (quote courtesy of Steve Melewski, MASNsports):

"I had some stuff to work on. I didn’t get down to Norfolk to work on it. But you can do a lot of stuff mentally, reps after reps in your head, it’s the same thing."

And I say this as a similar personality to Wright. In my own life if something’s bounced the wrong way here or there I’ve allowed myself to get bent out of shape to the point to where a small problem snowballs into something much bigger. And in this case Kansas City is a team that can do that to you in all of the strange ways that the ball bounces at times allowing them to score runs in various ways. But Wright fixed that to a degree last night. He now needs to ensure that it stays fixed.

Next: MLB Draft profile: Eric Lauer

The series continues tonight at Camden Yards with game two. Ubaldo Jimenez will get the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Kansas City’s Yordano Ventura. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.