Baltimore Orioles vs Boston Red Sox: 3 takeaways

David Hess isn’t as ready as we thought

Called up to the big leagues for the first time on May 12, Hess didn’t turn too many heads in his debut, but he did have a solid start: three earned runs, six hits, three strikeouts and no walks over six relatively smooth innings. With that adequate performance, many Birds fans thought he deserved a chance to earn a regular place in the rotation.

Alas, Sunday’s game showed that those fans may have spoken too soon — Hess was in over his head against the Red Sox’s potent offense, and it showed. For starters, he gave up a home run to J.D. Martinez on the first pitch of the second inning.

Take a look:

He ran into more trouble three innings later, surrendering a two-run homer to Andrew Benintendi. Then Mitch Moreland hit a ground rule double, and after another Martinez round-tripper, Hess’ day was over. The total damage: five earned runs over 4.2 innings pitched.

It’s nice to think that the righty could develop into a quality starter down the line, but with a 6.75 ERA in his first two tries, he simply isn’t there yet. A sample size that small can distort any talent, but Hess doesn’t have overpowering stuff, and he walks more than his share of batters.

But hey, at least he’s better than Chris Tillman.