Each recent turn through the Orioles’ rotation, manager Brandon Hyde lamented that Baltimore couldn’t provide Jorge López a comfortable to try to free himself of his fifth-inning demons. Often sharp through four innings, the right-hander continually struggled in the median frame, with narrow margins preventing Hyde from giving López a chance to pitch through it.
López finally cleared that hurdle in Monday night’s 4-1 victory to avoid a sweep against the Boston Red Sox, working a season-high 5 u2154 innings. Despite having pitched into the fifth inning in each of his six starts, López completed it only once and had yet to take the mound for the sixth.