Orioles watching innings count for Wells; Hays, Mountcastle sit; Bradish on the mend

BALTIMORE—Through the halfway point of the season, Oriole starting pitcher Tyler Wells has thrown 75 2/3 innings. Wells, who had Tommy John surgery in 2019 and didn’t pitch during the canceled minor league season in 2020, threw 57 innings in 2021 as a Rule 5 draft choice of the Orioles. In 2018, Wells threw 119 1/3 innings, the most he has thrown as a professional.

Manager Brandon Hyde said it isn’t realistic for Wells to pitch another 75 innings this season. His innings count is second only to Jordan Lyles’ 92

“That’s why I’ve tried to shorten his starts,” Hyde said. “It doesn’t seem to be working out real well. He’s just been so efficient.

“We’re measuring a lot of things. We’re measuring the stressful innings. That’s so key is how many times he’s really having to pitch with traffic and runners in scoring position … We’re going to have to monitor him in the second half, for sure. I feel like we’ve handled it really well this year.”

Hyde wouldn’t rule out giving Wells a break to make sure he’s able to complete the season.

“I think anything’s possible,” Hyde said. “We honestly reevaluate after every start. We go in with an idea of what his last outing or previous outings look like. We give him a day off when we can. We might skip a start. We’ll see. We are monitoring closely.”

Hays, Mountcastle out of lineup: Austin Hays, who was hit on the right wrist in Monday’s game against the Texas Rangers, and Ryan Mountcastle, who has a sinus condition, are out of the Orioles’ lineup for Tuesday night’s game.

“The wrist is pretty sore today, so I’m hoping he’s available off the bench, but we’ll see,” Hyde said. “It got him in a tough spot in the wrist, and it’s the same one he landed on in Chicago [on June 23^rd], on that diving play in the outfield.”

Hays, who is celebrating his 27^th birthday, isn’t concerned.

“It’s not feeling too bad. The swelling, it seems like it’s stayed down,” Hays said. “It’s really just certain movements that are what’s bothering it. It’s like a day-to-day thing right now. X-rays were clean. No bad news from that end. I tried to swing in the cage. It didn’t feel like it would be a good idea to push it right now and make it even worse. It’s just day-to-day. I’ll let the trainers do their thing and it should be good to go either tomorrow or the next day.”

Jorge Mateo, who was hit by a pitch in the left leg with the bases loaded in the 10th, is in the lineup.

Bradish improving: Starter Kyle Bradish, who’s on the 15-day injured list because of right shoulder inflammation, is eligible to return on Wednesday. Hyde said that Bradish is improving.

“He had a side either yesterday or today. He’s going to haves a sim game in the next couple of days,” Hyde said. “He’s going to throw to some hitters and we’re going to reevaluate from there, but he feels good, and the shoulder feels great.”

30^th anniversary festivities: The 30^th anniversary of Oriole Park at Camden Yards will be celebrated on August 5^th and 6^th. For the August 6^th game that begins at 5:05 p.m., tickets will be available from $4-$18.

On August 5^th, the Orioles Advocates will hold a luncheon, and former players will include Robert Andino, Chris Davis, Jay Gibbons, Chris Hoiles, Rodrigo Lopez, Jeff Reboulet and Rick Sutcliffe.

Tickets for the luncheon, which will begin at noon on the sixth floor of the warehouse, are available by contacting Keiko Baker of the Orioles Advocates at 443-596-7691 or oriolebaker1@gmail.com

Eddie Murray will be in attendance for the August 6^th game.

After the game, there will be a postgame concert featuring Dru Hill, Sisqó and Smash Mouth. DJ Spinderella will host.

Call for questions: I’ll be answering Oriole questions in the coming days. Please email your questions to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com.