This week, in a perfect illustration of the promise and the peril of rebuilds, the Orioles went 3-4 against Detroit and the Yankees. Two bad starts from fringy lefty Alexander Wells bookended one tough-luck loss by Spenser Watkins, equally inexperienced and fringy of stuff but who’s shown good command and toughness. Matt Harvey, the onetime ace who a year ago considered packing his bags for the KBO, gave the Birds one dominant start and one OK, unlucky one where he left early after a comebacker hit his knee. Between these, John Means, a guy who also famously once believed he had no future in baseball, pitched a dominant six innings of four-hit baseball, and Jorge López, a waiver pickup with the best stuff in the starting rotation, silenced a Yankees lineup fortified with two brand-new All-Star lefty bats.
For the Orioles, 2021 has been The Year of the Audition
