CLEVELAND -- At this point in the season, it’s impossible to talk about the Orioles without talking about the July 31 Trade Deadline.
Not only are plenty of players from the roster all over seemingly every list of available players and every TV segment about the Deadline, but almost every media scrum ends with questions about how a player’s performance (good or bad) could impact things ahead of July 31.
Wednesday was no exception.
After spending a little less than a month on the injured list with low back discomfort, starting pitcher Zach Eflin (one of the more tradeable pieces on the Orioles) returned to the team on Wednesday with a solid effort in Baltimore’s 3-2 loss to the Guardians at Progressive Field.
“That’s probably as good as we’ve seen him since he went seven innings against the White Sox [in May],” interim manager Tony Mansolino said. “He exceeded all expectations.”
Eflin wasted no time getting back into the saddle, as he opened the game with three perfect innings and didn’t allow a baserunner until Steven Kwan reached on a walk in the fourth inning. He had his work cut out for him against the Guardians’ red-hot offense (Cleveland entered play on Wednesday with a .378 on-base percentage over the past week), and was still able to put together a solid outing.
Eflin threw all six of his pitches and was able to generate five whiffs with his curveball and three with his cutter. His four-seam fastball averaged 93 miles per hour, which is a little more than a tick above his season average.
“I felt healthy and I thought [catcher Jacob Stallings] executed the game plan,” Eflin said. “Overall, I felt really well.”
Cleveland’s lone runs against him came in the fourth inning. After Kwan took his aforementioned walk, he moved to third on a double from José Ramírez and came in to score on a two-run single from Kyle Manzardo.
“[Ramírez] is an incredible hitter; I wish I would have thrown my curveball to him in the dirt instead of just below the zone,” Eflin said. “He’s one of those guys that’s so good both in the zone and out of the zone. You just kind of tip your cap.”
Those were the only two hits Eflin allowed. It was also encouraging to see him only walk one batter after allowing multiple walks in two out of three of his starts before going on the injured list.
“I was able to jump back into it and some additional conditioning thanks to my two rehab starts,” Eflin said.
Eflin will now likely get one more start with the Orioles before the Trade Deadline -- assuming he isn’t moved by then. Although he’s in the midst of a down year, Eflin was one of baseball’s best pitchers in 2023 and ‘24 and is on the last year of his contract.
He’s no stranger to the Trade Deadline (the Orioles acquired him from the Rays at last year’s Deadline), but he said postgame that he's going to keep his focus on what he can control.
“I’m focused on the moment I’m living in currently, and that’s doing everything we can for everyone here,” he said.
The Orioles scored their first run on a sacrifice fly from Ryan O’Hearn in the fourth inning, and they tied the game on a solo home run from Jackson Holliday in the sixth inning. He now leads the O’s with 14 home runs.
“I’m super proud of him and the journey he’s on,” Mansolino said.
The Orioles were down a key figure in their bullpen when Félix Bautista sent a message to the dugout in the seventh inning that he was unavailable on Wednesday due to an injury.
Instead of Bautista working late in the game, Andrew Kittredge and Yennier Cano worked for a second day in a row in the middle innings before Colin Selby came in in the eighth inning and surrendered the go-ahead hit to Kwan.
Bautista hasn’t appeared in a game since he picked up a one-inning save on Sunday against the Rays. If he had to miss any time, Seranthony Domínguez or Cano would likely work as the team’s closer(s).
“We’ll have more information tomorrow,” Mansolino said. “He played catch fully today and looked great in the pregame work. Everything was normal. [This was] not expected.”