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Orioles ace John Means looks to cool off hot Rays bats
Field Level Media
19 May 2021, 17:55 GMT+10
The Baltimore Orioles will turn to ace John Means on Wednesday when they host the Tampa Bay Rays in the middle game of a three-game series.
With their bats coming to life on the last homestand, the Rays carried the momentum north and put up eight runs in the first three innings in Tuesday s series opener, cruising to a 13-6 rout of the Orioles.
Tampa Bay earned its fifth victory in a row while Baltimore lost for the fifth time in six games.
By giving the ball to Means, Baltimore will have its best chance of knotting the series.
Updated: 4:40 PM EDT May 10, 2021 Following his first career no-hitter, All-Star starting pitcher John Means of the Baltimore Orioles was named American League Player of the Week.On Wednesday against the Seattle Mariners, Means delivered the first individual no-hitter for the Orioles since Hall of Famer Jim Palmer in 1969, and the 10th overall in franchise history. His 12 punchouts were the most by an Orioles pitcher in a no-hitter.According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Means became the first pitcher in major league history to throw a non-perfect no-hitter in which the opposing club did not reach base via walk, hit by pitch or error.Means became the fifth pitcher in MLB history to record a no-hitter with at least 12 punchouts while needing fewer than 115 pitches, joining Max Scherzer, Clayton Kershaw, Félix Hernández and Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax (Koufax and Hernández pitched perfect games).Means earned his first career AL Player of the Week Award and is the first Oriol
Ted S. Warren/AP
SEATTLE The Baltimore Orioles already had the feel-good story of the season with the return of Trey Mancini from colon cancer surgery. For more than a month, the youngsters at the core of their rebuild have perhaps surprisingly so played well enough to hang around the .500 mark in the AL East.
And if they needed additional proof they have an ace on their pitching staff, John Means provided it on Wednesday. Throwing the first individual no-hitter by an Orioles pitcher in more than 50 years is plenty of affirmation.
“That’s the feeling you’re getting with John right now is, you go to the ballpark (John’s) on the mound, it’s going to be a fun night,” Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde said. “That’s what you feel like when you have a number one or a top of the rotation guy on the mound is when you get to the ballpark we got a really good chance to win this game.”