Much like with the approaching trade deadline, the Orioles had numerous options to upgrade their rotation this offseason. Monday’s series opener at the Rogers Centre pitted one of the two they ended up with against one of the many they missed out on.
Working into the seventh inning for his third straight quality start, Baltimore’s Kyle Gibson outpitched Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Chris Bassitt as the Orioles won, 4-2, in their final game before Tuesday’s 6 p.m. trade deadline. Over three straight outings on the road against playoff contenders, Gibson has posted a 3.00 ERA with 18 strikeouts against three walks.
Almost eight months after signing Gibson to a one-year, $10 million contract, the Orioles are still looking to improve their starting rotation, and as was the case this offseason, they’ve seen numerous possibilities pass them by. Bassitt was among this winter’s available starting pitchers, inking a three-year, $63 million contract with Toronto. Had he agreed to the same deal with Baltimore, it would have represented the first guaranteed multi-year contract the Orioles have given to a free agent in five offseasons under executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias, and it would have marked the largest financial commitment to a pitcher in franchise history.
On Monday, the Orioles (65-41) jumped on him early, scoring two runs on Ryan Mountcastle’s first-inning double. After Gunnar Henderson homered off Bassitt in the third, Mountcastle added a sacrifice fly later in the inning. With Monday’s three RBIs, Mountcastle has driven in 39 runs in 46 career games against the Blue Jays, batting .313 with a .996 OPS.
Bassitt responded with three scoreless frames, leaving him with a 4.00 ERA that bests the 4.53 mark Gibson left the mound with after six-plus innings of one-run ball. But in a matching number of starts, Gibson has thrown more innings than Bassitt, posting a higher WAR, according to FanGraphs, and a lower FIP — an ERA-like metric that accounts only for aspects in a pitcher’s control such as home runs, strikeouts and walks.
Like Bassitt, Gibson found himself in trouble in the first, but shortstop Jorge Mateo ranged to his left and flipped to second for an inning-ending force out. That began a run in which Gibson retired nine of 10 Blue Jays (59-48), with the only batter to reach against him being shortstop Bo Bichette, who was tagged out between first and second after suffering a right knee injury while running out his hit.
Consecutive singles opened the fifth and led to Toronto’s lone run off Gibson, but he retired six straight hitters before a walk to Matt Chapman ended his outing after 97 pitches.
Gibson has frequently provided the veteran dependability the Orioles hoped for when they signed him in December, but their other four rotation spots have often been filled with starters early in their careers. Already, Tyler Wells has been sent to the minors for a rest and reset, with his next turn in the rotation, scheduled for Thursday’s finale of this four-game matchup, set to be handled by either Cole Irvin, Baltimore’s only other offseason rotation addition, acquired in a trade with Oakland, or another trade acquisition if one comes together by Tuesday’s deadline.
The frames that followed Gibson’s work showed Baltimore’s pitching needs aren’t only in the rotation. Danny Coulombe closed Gibson’s line, issuing a walk of his own before retiring the Blue Jays in the seventh. But working for the third time in four days after pitching with the Orioles up six runs in Sunday’s ninth inning, All-Star reliever Yennier Cano allowed a home run to Whit Merrifield to open the eighth before issuing a pair of one-out walks. Cano, who has pitched in more than half of Baltimore’s games since joining their bullpen in mid-April, has allowed seven earned runs over his past 13 1/3 innings.
Cano’s ineffectiveness prompted manager Brandon Hyde to ask All-Star closer Félix Bautista for a five-out save. He stranded Cano’s runners, then found himself needing to do the same for his own pair after issuing two free passes in the ninth. Left fielder Austin Hays’ diving catch recorded the frame’s second out and saved the game before a strikeout of Santiago Espinal, who replaced Bichette, ended it.
This story will be updated.
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