Dan Connolly

Key results in Miley’s first Orioles’ outing: Competitive enough and dodges injury

By Dan Connolly

Posted on August 4, 2016

Assuming Wade Miley wakes up Friday and his lower left calf feels fine, then his Orioles’ debut Thursday can be viewed as acceptable.

It wasn’t particularly good. He allowed four runs on eight hits in five innings in a 5-3 loss to the Texas Rangers at Camden Yards.

It wasn’t as bad as those numbers may indicate, though. He struck out five and walked none. He had allowed just two runs in his first four innings against a tough Rangers’ lineup before an unlucky fifth.

Miley gave up four hits in that inning, but one RBI single was a bloop just beyond Jonathan Schoop’s grasp and the other was a hit in which first baseman Chris Davis was shielded by baserunner Shin-Soo Choo.

“I didn’t have very good command at all. Had to battle to make some pitches. Tough luck in the fifth inning. It happens,” said Miley who was acquired in a trade with the Seattle Mariners on Sunday. “Overall, it’s not exactly how I wanted to go out and throw but … you’re never going to do your best every time out.”

Miley came advertised as a competitor who is going to battle and keep his team in most games. He did that, for the most part, Thursday.

“I thought it was competitive,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. “Plays we normally make we didn’t make. The runner did a great job of shielding Chris on the one and some ground balls snuck through. But I liked what I saw.”

Perhaps the most important aspect of Miley’s debut is that he should make his next turn in the rotation. There was a scary moment on the last out of the fifth when a Rougned Odor comebacker smashed off Miley’s left leg and ended up ricocheting to Schoop.

Miley limped off the mound and was immediately greeted by the athletic training staff in the dugout. He already had thrown 91 pitches, so he didn’t re-enter the game. No X-Rays were taken and he said he’s not worried about his leg, which didn’t show much swelling.

“It’s going to be fine. I don’t think it’s a big concern at all,” he said. “It just got real tight. It was really tight. But after I walked it off a little bit, it kind of released and it really hasn’t bothered me since.”

Losing Miley to an injury now would be a tough blow to the Orioles. But since the 29-year-old lefty says he’s fine, Thursday’s performance can be filed away in the “nothing-to-see here” category.

“It’s something to build on and get the first one out of the way,” he said. “Obviously, I wish the results would have been a little better. But I did, I had some jitters. After the first inning, everything kind of went away, just baseball. I just really didn’t have good command tonight.”