Baltimore Orioles player of the week: A power outage steals the show

On May 31, 2023 Cionel Perez was called upon to relieve Austin Voth with a runner on first and one out in the top of the fourth inning against the Cleveland Guardians. After getting Jose Ramirez to pop out foul, Perez yielded back to back home runs to Josh Naylor and Josh Bell. That was the last time Perez allowed anyone to hit a home run.

This week Perez pitched 3.0 innings with one strikeout, one walk and one run allowed (the runner was inherited by Yennier Cano and scored after Perez was taken out of the game). He played a very big role in both of the team's wins this week.

His three appearances for the Orioles has extended his streak of outings without allowing a home run to 97 games. The combination of his strong week and impressive streak have earned Perez his first player of the week honors.

During that time, Perez has pitched 84.1 innings and allowed 39 runs (31 earned). He has faced 512 straight batters and kept the ball in the park every time. Perez's 215 batters faced this season without allowing a home run is second in all of baseball. Taking things one step further, the back to back home runs he allowed against the Guardians last season were the only two home runs Perez allowed in 2023 and ended a streak of 53 straight appearances without allowing a home run.

Cionel Perez was dominant for the Orioles this week, extending his streak of no home runs allowed

Perez had a breakout campaign in 2022 with the Orioles when he went 7-1 with a 1.41 ERA in 66 appearances. He hasn't been able to recapture the magic of that season but has been solid over the last two seasons. As of the end of the game on Sunday, Perez has a 3.83 ERA, which is his highest since coming to Baltimore, but he's also holding opponents to a career low .219 BAA.

The advanced metrics suggest that Perez is somewhere in between this season and his 2022 season. His xERA in 2022 was 3.62, which is actually a shade higher than his xERA of 3.58 this season, which would be the lowest of his career. The old adage goes 'better lucky than good' but Perez has been both.

The bullpen has gotten a lot of criticism recently, and deservedly so, but we should also give credit where credit is due. Perez has been a reliable option and could be relied upon heavily down the stretch. With the Orioles struggling to keep their heads above water in the second half of this season, it would be nice if some of that 2022 luck could find its way back to Camden Yards.