The Orioles began their most recent homestand with a bullpen that ranked among baseball’s most effective, while their starters pitched deep enough into games to keep those relievers fresh.
The latter didn’t happen as Baltimore went 1-5 against the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays over the past week at Camden Yards, and as a result, the former didn’t keep up either. Not including position player Stevie Wilkerson’s return to the mound in the ninth inning of Thursday’s loss, relievers were tasked with handling 34 innings on the homestand and surrendered 25 earned runs. An Orioles bullpen that came home with the seventh-best relief ERA in the sport left having jumped beyond 4.