Orioles' Jordan Lyles Narrowly Misses Out on Quality Start Against Tigers
The success of the Baltimore Orioles recently has been due in large part to great pitching performances across the board, and on Friday night, starter Jordan Lyles had another solid outing on the mound against the Detroit Tigers.
Despite giving up four earned runs, Lyles struck out six Tigers hitters over 5.2 innings of work, throwing 91 pitches in the game.
He threw his slider the most on Friday, inducing four whiffs on 26 pitches. He induced nine whiffs in total in the game, topping out at 91.9 MPH.
Lyles mixed in five pitches in his outing, throwing a slider, four-seam fastball, sinker, curveball and changeup.
His changeup looked to be the most effective, generating a 100% swing-and-miss rate as 25% of his changes on the day resulted in a swinging strike.
Lyles hit a road block in the sixth inning, giving up three runs and three-straight batted balls of at least 101 MPH, including a solo home run from Miguel Cabrera.
Leading into the sixth, he was in control, having given up just one run and two hits against a potent offense in the Tigers.
Unfortunately, Lyles didn't get any run support to help his cause despite another near-quality start for Baltimore.
Through three starts, Lyles has been a much more productive an efficient pitcher in May compared to April. He's given up seven earned runs in 19 innings of work in May, striking out 17 and walking seven.
As of right now, Lyles' ERA sits at 4.38 after Friday's outing, but in the month of May, his ERA is just over a run lower at 3.32.
Baltimore's offense didn't wake up until the eighth inning, when Trey Mancini and Anthony Santander each hit solo home runs.
Since 2017, the Orioles are 10-19 against the Tigers and 5-9 at Comerica Park. However, they're 2-2 each of the last two years when they've faced Detroit in Detroit.
