TORONTO — That Saturday’s brief outing was John Means’ last start of the season left him disappointed, but given the long journey that led him to his status as the Orioles’ ace, he could appreciate what the year as a whole represented.
Baltimore dropped its penultimate game of the season, falling, 10-1, to the Toronto Blue Jays as Means allowed seven runs, six of them earned, on three home runs over three innings in which he pitched with a cold.
“Meansy didn’t really have it today,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “He’s dealing with a little bit of an illness, and it just felt like the fastball velocity wasn’t quite there. He just looked tired, to be honest with you, and a lot of the change-ups kind of cut in the middle of the plate, didn’t have the crispness to his breaking ball, so they got on him right away and pretty hard.”
Added Means: “Just tried to give everything I had today, and it wasn’t very much.”
The result left his season ERA at 3.62, a tick above the 3.60 mark he posted in his All-Star 2019 season that landed him second in American League Rookie of the Year voting.
“It’s hard for me to look back after this one and be satisfied, but I’m happy that I made it through,” Means said. “I’m really proud that I can make it through three years after the way I came up, and so to complete three years in the big leagues is something that was my goal from day one, so I look back and satisfied, but obviously I have some things to work on in the offseason.”
In addition to working to make his mechanics more repeatable, Means, 28, will also spend this offseason eligible for salary arbitration for the first time and thus is due for a large raise. Earlier this week, executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias reiterated the front office would listen to trade offers on any number of players, though he said after this year’s trade deadline the Orioles never got seriously engaged in discussions regarding Means because he will still be under team control when the team expects to contend.
Despite the disappointing finish, Means spent much of this year showing why he would be of interest to other organizations. He had a 2.05 ERA through 11 starts, one of which was a complete game no-hitter against a Seattle Mariners team that five months later is jockeying with the Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees for the AL’s two wild-card spots.
But in his 12th outing, Means exited in the first inning with a strain in his pitching shoulder and missed six weeks. He returned without the same sharpness he had in the first half, struggling to get the desired effect with his signature change-up. In its place, his curveball became a weapon for him, but each of his most used pitches gave him problems Saturday as the Blue Jays went deep once each off his fastball, change-up and curveball.
“He gave us everything he had today, really gave us everything he had this year, so I know this is a small blip on Meansy’s season,” Hyde said. “Happy with his year. He’s still early on in his career as well, looking forward to the adjustments he’s gonna make going into next spring training. He didn’t have a good one today, but he had a really nice year.”
The outing left him with a 4.88 ERA after coming off the injured list, though he entered Saturday with seven straight starts allowing three runs or fewer. The Orioles (52-109) lost 10 of Means’ 11 final starts and 16 of 19 after the no-hitter. Saturday was not the first time Means had trouble keeping the ball in the yard, with the three home runs bringing him to 30 allowed on the year, but it was largely the only time damage was done against him; he ended the year allowing the third-fewest base runners per inning of any pitcher in Orioles history, among those who worked as many frames as he did.
“If you look at the body of work, he’s got a 3-something ERA in the American League East without really having his best stuff in the second half,” Hyde said before the game. “I think that he has pitched at times this year like an All-Star type pitcher. In almost every single start that he’s made this year, he’s given us a chance to win, and that’s what a major league starter does. So, as inconsistent as he’s been a little bit in the second half, he’s had a really good year. Real excited about John going forward.”
Man of the hour
Means’ opposite number, fellow West Virginia product Alek Manoah, shut the Orioles down for much of the day.
The only hit Baltimore recorded off Manoah as he struck out 10 in seven innings was Trey Mancini’s second-inning double. Mancini scored the Orioles’ lone run after advancing on a flyout and a groundout. Richie Martin’s eighth-inning single off Ross Stripling was Baltimore’s only other hit.
“He’s aggressive in the strike zone, got great movement to his fastball,” Hyde said. “He’s got a good slider to go with it. Made it really tough. We’re majority right-handed. That’s a tough matchup for us. Came out with purpose today and he pitched outstanding.”
