Baltimore Orioles manager Brandon Hyde is in hot water amid their team's recent struggles, including a brutal 0-10 loss to the San Francisco Giants, due in part to Craig Kimbrel's poor performance, allowing six runs in one outing. The Giants, led by Blake Snell, held the Orioles to only one hit across six innings, with 12 strikeouts, to complete the blanking.
Asked about Kimbrel's dismal performance, Hyde was forthcoming.
“I had a tough time trying to find a spot for him on the roadtrip. He didn't pitch for a week,” the manager said, via Jacob Calvin Meyer on X, formerly Twitter. “There was some fatigue at the end, the velo started getting down. Normally, he's not out there that long. That wasn't his normal stuff at the end.”
The Orioles' pre-playoffs struggles
The team surely didn't expect the 36-year-old pitcher to unravel this close to the postseason. In the offseason, the Orioles signed Kimbrel to a one-year $13 million contract, as the backup option to the injured Felix Bautista. The pitcher had a breakout 2023 season, but a Tommy John surgery put him out for the entire 2024 campaign.
Still, Kimbrel delivered on his contract in the first half of the season, only to crumble as the team returned to the field after the All-Star break. Since then, he has allowed 23 hits in 18 innings, with 17 walks and 23 earned runs.
In the loss to the Giants, Kimbrel had a walk and a sacrifice bunt that resulted in a run. Then he had a walk and a strikeout, though LaMonte Wade, Jr. still singled while Heliot Ramos had a double. In all, he had six runs on his account thanks to a two-run single conceded by Matt Bowman.
The Orioles pitcher gave reporters an idea about what was causing his recent struggles.
“You just can't miss down the middle. I can't say I haven't been missing down the middle, but there's a fine line in between pitches,” Kimbrel said, via a report from Andy Kostka for The Baltimore Banner. “It just gives them a little more time to react. The ball is not by them when they pick up the pitch and things like that. So, it's just pitching accordingly. I can still pitch with it. It's just different.”
Recently, Orioles GM Mike Elias took the blame for the team's recent skid, acknowledging the unfortunate reality of injuries depleting the roster he had put together. However, most Orioles fans would rather see him replace Brandon Hyde with another manager.
Despite Craig Kimbrel's terrible game, the Orioles are in the race with the New York Yankees for the American League East title, though the Yankees now have a four-game lead as of Tuesday.
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