Fans of the Baltimore Orioles have been accustomed to history being made, and records being broken. But not from the mound, where Cole Irvin is dealing his way through MLB ranks.
He’s pitched 20.2-straight innings without giving up a run in three consecutive wins.
Irvin talked with MASN Sports about his streaking play after his latest performance in a May 3 win over the Cincinatti Reds.
“I have a lot of fun out there no matter what,” Irvin said after the 3-0 victory. “I’m just blessed to be in the major leagues and be able to wear the uniform. I’m going to enjoy every bit of it. While I’m playing, I’m going to have a blast. I love what I do.”
Jacob Calvin Meyer of the Baltimore Sun reports that the lefty is en route to making Baltimore history.
“He’s pitched at least 6 1/3 scoreless innings in three straight starts – a feat only five other pitchers in Orioles history have achieved, and none in the past 30 years,” Meyer wrote on May 3. “The others on the list are: Fernando Valenzuela (1993), Jim Palmer (1978), Tom Phoebus (1967), Milt Pappas (1967), and Jack Fisher (1960).”
It’s been that kind of a run for Cole Irvin.
Hyde, O’Hearn Applaud Irvin
While the respect of Orioles fans has been a more uphill climb, Irvin certainly has the respect of his skipper and teammates.
Team manager Brandon Hyde talked about the team’s hottest arm with MASN after the win over Cincinatti.
“It’s just a little bit of what he’s been doing the last couple starts,” Hyde said. “Just great pitch mix, working ahead of hitters, keeping guys of fbalance, slider looks really good, throwing his changeup at the knees and below, two-seam has some sink and run to it. He’s just really pitching. He did a great job.”
Baltimore first baseman Ryan O’Hearn, who hit the team’s lone home run against the Reds, says Irvin has been “tough as nails.”
“Man he’s been nails,” O’Hearn told The Baltimore Sun on May 3. “Seems like his last three or four outings he’s just been nails, throwing strikes, attacking guys, getting a lot of outs, a lot of ground balls. We need him to be good. He’s become a big-time pillar in our rotation and he’s got to keep that going.”
There’s no denying Irvin’s performance. Where he stands in a constantly changing Orioles’ rotation is to be determined.
Orioles Starting Lineup Still Taking Shape
Baltimore started the 2024 season down two starting arms in John Means and Kyle Bradish, before losing a third in Tyler Wells just 13 games into the year.
Grayson Rodriguez has joined the club, after being put on the 15-day Injured List.
Needless to say, whatever the Orioles’ starting rotation looks like in September and October will only roughly resemble that of May.
With 2023 ace Bradish back in the fold, Corbin Burnes and Dean Kremer seem the only comfortable locks for Baltimore.
And after bouncing back and forth between the Triple-A affiliate Norfolk Tides and the majors in 2023, this is just the kind of play that could secure Cole Irvin a starting spot.
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