Zach Eflin enjoys his return to Tampa Bay after leading Orioles to 4-1 win

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida- What happened? It’s been a busy two weeks for right-handed starter Zach Eflin, who was traded to the Orioles from the Tampa Bay Rays on July 26th. His return to Tropicana Field on Friday night was a triumphant one as he pitched seven scoreless innings in a 4-1 win over Tampa Bay.

Eflin won his third straight game since joining the Orioles, becoming their third pitcher to win his first three starts, joining Kyle Gibson (2023) and Jack Harshman (1958). He gave up four hits and struck out seven.

“That’s so good right there,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “A little extra motivation pitching against a team that you were just with, and he’s made three outstanding starts for us. That was textbook pitching. He was ahead in the count, great sinker-cutter, changeup. He just really knows how to pitch, and he was locating well all night.”

Colton Cowser led off the game with a home run. Ryan O’Hearn had a two-run single in the fifth, and Cedric Mullins homered in the sixth.

The Orioles took over first place in the American League East by ½ game as the New York Yankees’ game with Texas was rained out.

Three members of the pitching staff, who are on the 60-day injured list — reliever Félix Bautista and starters Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells — were at Tropicana Field on Friday.

How did Eflin feel about his start? Eflin hadn’t seen his family for nearly two weeks after he was traded. He spent five days in Baltimore, and then went to Cleveland and Toronto before returning a day early on Thursday.

“I got to fly in a little early yesterday and hold my babies,” he said. “It’s been a good while since I’ve got to see my kids, so it was just amazing to be home and be with them. But, yeah, a little different showing up in a car today and kind of walking through. This place holds a special place in my heart.”

Since Eflin last pitched for Tampa Bay on July 24^th, the Rays made trades and added new players, but most of the lineup was familiar.

“It was kind of like an out-of-body experience,” Eflin said. “Being with these guys — what was it, like, 15 days ago? — being in that clubhouse and then showing up and seeing all the workers I was friends with, seeing some of the guys on the team and the staff.

“I have so much respect for that clubhouse and everybody that works for this organization, so it was really cool to step on that mound again and be able to face them on the other side.”

Eflin said that he didn’t disrupt his routine for Friday’s start.

“I treat it like every outing,” he said. “It was nice to get the win, which is what I’m always trying to do. With that being said, I’m glad I threw well.”

What did Hyde and McCann think about Eflin’s start? Hyde got to watch a quick game, two hours, 25 minutes, the briskest Orioles win since June 26^th.

“That was one of our most satisfying games in a while just because the pitching we got and then the defense that we played,” he said. “Timely hits, really good defense, big plays defensively in good spots and outstanding pitching. That was fun to watch.”

James McCann caught for the first time since having nasal reconstruction surgery on Monday and liked what he saw.

“It’s a lot of fun. He’s one of those, I say, old-school pitchers in the sense that he’s pitching to both sides of the plate with all of his pitches,” McCann said. “He’s pitching — he’s not gripping and ripping as hard as he can. And he has a really good idea of what he’s trying to do, and he makes adjustments quickly. It’s a lot of fun to catch guys like that.”

The Orioles had many games like this with an excellent start, timely hitting and strong defense in the first half of the season. They’ve had few in the second half.

“It’s very satisfying,” McCann said.  We’ve talked a lot, obviously, the way we’ve played the last couple weeks is not how you draw it up.

“But this is a young team that’s maturing. Guys are still learning the league. Guys are still learning how to win at this level and understanding that it’s a long season, not allowing a couple weeks or even a month stretch to impact the way you think about the game negatively. And knowing that we don’t want to peak in July or August. We want to pick at the end of September going into October.”

How’s Mayo doing? Coby Mayo didn’t play, so his first major league game in his home state of Florida will wait. He’s hitless in his first 13 at-bats.

“It’s part of being a young player,” Hyde said. “He’s had a couple of tough places to play, and this is another one, especially if you haven’t been here before. But he’s still a really, really young player with a huge future ahead of him. Maybe take a little time getting acclimated to the big leagues.

“Defensively and offensively, trying to give him matchups. He hasn’t played on this surface before. It’s not an easy surface to break in.”

How tough is the turf? For the second time this season, the Orioles are playing consecutive series on the hard artificial turf of Toronto’s Rogers Centre and Tropicana Field.

“Tough on the body for some of these guys,” Hyde said before the game. “We had a couple of guys who were banged up. Artificial surfaces are way different, too. That’s why we’re out here right now, even though we got in super late last night. Some of these guys haven’t played in here. They haven’t seen the roof, try to get acclimated to it. Way different ballpark than you normally see.”

What does it mean? It was a crisp, efficient game, the kind the Orioles haven’t been winning lately.

What’s the word? “It’s like a video game. It’s a lot of fun. You figure out what’s working that night and you’re able to sequence pitches.”-McCann on working with Eflin.

What’s the stat of the day? 11. Cowser’s home run was the Orioles’ 11^th leadoff homer of the season, one short of the franchise record set in 1996. Gunnar Henderson has eight, Cowser two and Jordan Westburg one.

What’s going on in the minor leagues? Justin Armbruester allowed three runs, two earned, on five hits in six innings as Triple-A Norfolk beat Durham, 4-2.

Shortstop Frederick Bencosme hit a grand slam, catcher Samuel Basallo, centerfielder Jud Fabian and first baseman John Rhodes each drove in three as Double-A Bowie beat Harrisburg, 17-8.

Rightfielder Reed Trimble homered twice and catcher Adam Retzbach homered as High-A Aberdeen beat Hickory, 5-1, in a game shortened to five innings by rain.

Braxton Bragg (3-5) pitched five shutout innings, allowing two hits, as Single-A Delmarva beat Salem, 3-1.

The Orioles signed 12-year major league veteran infielder Jean Segura to a minor league contract.

Ryan Watson, the Orioles’ minor league pitcher of the year in 2022, was traded to the San Francisco Giants for cash considerations. Watson was 3-1 with a 2.38 ERA and two saves for Norfolk and Bowie,

Game time change: The Orioles game with the Houston Astros on August 25^th will be shown on ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball” at 7:10 p.m. The game was originally supposed to begin at 1:35 p.m.

What’s next? Corbin Burnes (12-4, 2.63) will pitch for the Orioles on Saturday night. The Rays have not named their starter. Game time is 7:15. The game will be seen exclusively on FOX.

Call for questions: Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com