Pressure of postseason stage awaits O's bullpen

This story was excerpted from Jake Rill’s Orioles Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

MINNEAPOLIS -- There are differences between managing games in the regular season and the postseason. Just ask Orioles bench coach Fredi González, who has 10 years of big league managerial experience and was the skipper for five playoff contests over his six seasons in Atlanta from 2011-16.

For one, the leash on starting pitchers is required to be much shorter, because a game can’t get out of hand early when the stakes are much higher.

“Decisions are going to be a lot quicker. You can’t sit there and go, ‘Oh, let’s see if he can get out of this jam,’ in the fifth, or the fourth,” González said. “I think you go to the bullpen a lot quicker.”

Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde and his staff will need to toe that line next week while playing a best-of-three American League Wild Card Series. The O’s will face either the Tigers or Royals in a set that will be played at Camden Yards.

The Orioles can line up their top three starters to take the mound in order -- Corbin Burnes in Game 1, Zach Eflin in Game 2 and Dean Kremer in a potential Game 3. So ideally, each of them will pitch deep and not require much out of Baltimore’s bullpen, which has been inconsistent.

In the second half, the O’s have a 4.97 bullpen ERA (118 earned runs in 213 2/3 innings), which ranks third worst in MLB during that time.

The back half of the Orioles’ relief corps may be difficult to trust in the postseason. Hurlers such as left-hander Cionel Pérez (10.13 ERA in 10 September appearances) and righties Matt Bowman (five runs allowed in 1 1/3 innings over his past two outings) and Bryan Baker (7.71 ERA in two games this month) have hit rough patches.

If the O’s hope to have success, they’ll likely need to lean even more on their high-leverage arms -- righties Seranthony Domínguez and Yennier Cano and lefties Danny Coulombe and Keegan Akin. Coulombe should provide a huge boost, as he’s tossed 2 2/3 scoreless innings in three outings after missing more than three months following left elbow surgery.

After Craig Kimbrel was removed from the closer’s role -- then subsequently designated for assignment and released -- Domínguez became Baltimore’s primary ninth-inning option. The 29-year-old, who was acquired from the Phillies on July 26, is 10-for-11 in save opportunities with a 4.09 ERA in 24 appearances since joining the Orioles.

Not only does Domínguez have postseason experience, but he’s been dominant in October. Over the past two years, he recorded a 1.13 ERA in 15 postseason appearances for Philadelphia. He tossed 5 1/3 scoreless frames during the Phils’ run to the National League Championship Series in 2023.

“It’s the same game. Only a couple things change, like more fans, more energy,” Domínguez said. “It’s like really, really more important.”

Cano has been one of Baltimore’s best relievers the past two seasons. However, the 30-year-old setup man’s ERA has risen from 2.67 to 3.20 since Sept. 10, as the 2023 All-Star has recorded a 9.00 ERA over his past seven appearances.

“We’ve got to get his confidence back. He’s a huge weapon for us,” Hyde said. “He’s had a couple rough ones, and we need to get him going, going into the playoffs.”

The Orioles are confident they can get what they need out of the back end of their ‘pen in October, and Domínguez feels a deep postseason run could be imminent.

“Good group, they want to win. I’m here to win, too,” Domínguez said. “I know we’re going to compete.”