Orioles observations on Tyler Wells’ efficiency, another offensive explosion and more vs. Rays

SARASOTA, Fla. — Tyler Wells was so efficient Tuesday that he ran out of innings to throw all his pitches.

The Orioles right-hander made his second Grapefruit League start of the spring in the team’s 12-8 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday and filled up the strike zone, allowing just one run on 41 pitches in four innings. For the rest of the Orioles’ scheduled pitchers to get their work in, Wells had to finish his day in the bullpen, throwing another 20 pitches to build up his arm for the regular season.

“I’ll always take that,” Wells said. “Efficiency, to me, being able to go deeper into games, later in the season, it’s a lot nicer. Obviously, in spring training, having to come and throw and finish the bullpen and stuff like that, it’s a little bit different. But to get that during season, that’s really always the goal to be able to go out and get a lot of innings and take it off the bullpen’s arms.”

Wells, 29, is getting the chance to earn a rotation spot this spring after the injuries to Kyle Bradish (UCL strain) and John Means (elbow discomfort). He averaged 5.4 innings per start in 2023 when he appeared to be headed for a breakout season until he started to experience fatigue in mid-July, went down the minor leagues then transitioned to a bullpen role.

The Orioles hope Wells can take what he did over the first three months of last season — when he posted a 3.18 ERA through July 8 — and carry it over into 2024. Being as efficient as he was Tuesday would go a long way in helping him build off his career-high 118 2/3 innings from a year ago.

“I feel like once you do it once, you can do it again,” Wells said. “It’s all about just keeping a consistent mindset, I think. That’s going to be the biggest thing for me this year, is just being in tune with myself and in tune with my mind and body, and that’s what I worked really hard on this offseason, especially on the body aspect.”

Another offensive explosion For the third time in four days, the Orioles scored double-digit runs as their stars young and old(er) filled up the box score. Shortstop Gunnar Henderson and catcher Adley Rutschman, batting leadoff and second, respectively, combined to go 5-for-8 with two RBIs and three runs scored.

“Two really good players and two different type of hitters but guys that can hit the ball out of the ballpark, guys that are going to put the ball in play,” manager Brandon Hyde said of hitting Henderson and Rutschman back to back. “Both are going to be high on-base guys in their careers but exciting players and so to have them in some place in the top half of your batting order, it’s a good feeling.”

Tampa’s originally scheduled starter, Taj Bradley, was scratched moments before first pitch, prompting journeyman Erasmo Ramírez to take the mound. He was tagged with eight runs in the first two innings as Baltimore’s lineup, which featured nine players from last year’s roster, started 8-for-12, including a three-run home run by second baseman Jordan Westburg.

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The Orioles tacked on three more runs in the fifth behind a solo homer by third baseman Ramón Urías and RBI singles from Rutschman and center fielder Jorge Mateo. After Hyde pulled the starters, outfielder Daniel Johnson got in on the parade with a solo shot in the seventh.

Baltimore’s surge the past few days has pushed their run total in the spring up to 109, which are the most in the Grapefruit League and trails only the Los Angeles Dodgers (119).

Around the horn • During his pregame news conference Tuesday, Hyde said that viable paths to playing time for some of their top prospects will be a factor in the team’s decision-making when filling out their opening day roster: “Bottom line is there’s going to be guys going back to Triple-A that had a really good year at Triple-A [last year]. That’s just where we are.”

• The Rays scored seven runs in the final three innings, including two against reliever Jacob Webb in the seventh. Webb is a candidate for one of the Orioles’ final bullpen spots who is out of minor league options. He’s allowed four earned runs in five appearances.

• Mateo made his second start of the spring in center field but didn’t see a fly ball hit to him. His ability to play center is one of the key aspects of Mateo’s game that the Orioles identified as a priority heading into spring.