When the Orioles’ rebuilding project truly began in the summer of 2018, a bubble of pitching prospects was either at or getting to Double-A Bowie via promotion or trade, foretelling a season like this one on the horizon.
For the 13th time in their first 34 games, the Orioles gave the ball to a rookie starting pitcher Sunday — a necessary aspect of this phase of their rebuilding project. It’s not the stakes-free environment it could be with the team playing much more competitive baseball than in 2019.
But, simply put, the cost for featuring such inexperienced starters is taking what comes with such opportunities: occasional brilliance, occasional disaster and a lot of learning on the job in between.