Domínguez earns Hyde’s trust as Orioles’ closer

BOSTON—Seranthony Domínguez came to the Orioles from the Philadelphia Phillies on July 26^th, and manager Brandon Hyde didn’t think of him as a potential closer.

The 29-year-old right-hander had closed for the Phillies in the past. In his rookie season, 2018, Domínguez saved 16 games and nine more in 2022. Before the trade he had one, but he had fallen to lower-leverage situations in Philadelphia, and with Craig Kimbrel struggling as closer, Hyde tried him there.

“I had no idea,” Hyde said. “It just kind of evolved that way. It’s worked out really well.”

Domínguez allowed game-winning home runs to the New York Mets on August 19^th and 21^st, but other than that, he has been strong.

Domínguez has allowed five runs, all on home runs, on 12 hits in 17 1/3 innings for a 2.60 ERA and has converted each of his nine save opportunities, six in a row, in 18 games. He’s struck out 23 and walked just four.

“It feels really good because if you ask any reliever in baseball, they would like to be there in that situation,” Domínguez said. “It’s really good because it’s important for the team.”

Not every reliever can be a closer.

“It’s way different because you have to see the score, who’s hitting and you know how much room you have,” he said. “For example, if the game is just one run, you know you don’t have too much more. You have to make better pitches, better quality pitches.”

Notes: Hyde said that infielder Jordan Westburg continues to improve. He swung the bat, but not at pitches, for the first time on Wednesday. Westburg is on the 10-day injured list with a fractured right hand. “He’s right on track and I’m looking forward to him taking batting practice here sometime soon,” Hyde said. … The manager also said the team hasn’t decided if reliever Jacob Webb will join the team in Detroit this weekend. Webb threw a scoreless inning for Triple-A Norfolk on Tuesday night, and Hyde said he might need another rehab outing. “We’re waiting to see how he felt today after the outing,” he said. “Also don’t want to throw him up here if he’s able to throw one inning every few days. We want to make sure he’s able to bounce back. We’re encouraged by how it went last night, and we’re taking it from there.”