BALTIMORE — Hours after the Orioles suffered arguably their worst loss of the season, closer Ryan Helsley threw his first bullpen session since right elbow inflammation landed him on the injured list a month ago.
Manager Craig Albernaz confirmed Helsley threw 15 to 20 pitches Saturday afternoon after the 31-year-old had been throwing from flat ground over the last couple weeks. The two-time All-Star reliever has expressed optimism about returning to the mound for the Orioles by mid-June.
“He came out feeling good [and] threw well,” said Albernaz about Helsley’s bullpen. “We’re excited to kind of get his process going and see what the next steps are.”
Helsley’s return can’t come soon enough after rookie Anthony Nunez walked in the go-ahead run to take the loss in Thursday’s 2-1 defeat to Toronto and veteran Yennier Cano surrendered the tying and go-ahead runs in Friday’s collapse in which Baltimore blew a 5-0 lead in the late innings. After ranking a respectable sixth in the American League in bullpen ERA (4.14) through their first 29 games, the Orioles are last in the AL with a 4.98 relief ERA since Helsley last pitched on April 28.
Of course, the struggles of the starting rotation have often left Albernaz in the challenging position of weighing how long to go with starters and trying not to lean too heavily on his most reliable relievers. That was certainly a factor when the first-year manager admitted to leaving lefty Trevor Rogers in the game too long in Friday’s 6-5 loss.
Right-hander Rico Garcia has done an outstanding job pitching in high leverage with a 0.74 ERA and three saves and Cano had been excellent until his last two outings, but Nunez — the 24-year-old who pitched to a surprising 2.35 ERA through April — has an 8.74 ERA in May despite Albernaz continuing to turn to him in late-inning opportunities. It certainly hasn’t helped that veterans Andrew Kittredge and Keegan Akin — who were supposed to factor into the leverage picture — have each pitched to an ERA above 7.00 since returning from the IL in late April.
Despite the bullpen’s poor numbers in Helsley’s absence, Albernaz is trying to remain positive and even hoping there could be a long-term payoff after the veteran closer returns.
“We ask a lot of those guys. Every major league bullpen, they get thrusted into really uncomfortable and difficult spots,” Albernaz said. “Our guys, since Helsley’s been out, have risen to the occasion and thrown extremely well. It’s also been a blessing in the sense of like we talk about how a lot of these relievers are getting exposed to different situations. Ultimately, it kind of raises the floor of your pen when we get Helsley back. Helsley has been a big loss, but also, our guys have done a great job of navigating it without him being there.”
In 12 appearances this season, Helsley has recorded seven saves and pitched to a 2.53 ERA while averaging 12.7 strikeouts per nine innings.
