– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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BALTIMORE — Cole Irvin’s one chance to make a good first impression with his new team went so far off the rails that his time in the Major Leagues was put on hold. The first opportunity he had in his second go-round with the Baltimore Orioles went a lot better, and was more like what the team was hoping they would see when they decided to add him to their promising young rotation during the offseason.
Irvin pitched into the sixth inning allowed just one run on six hits as the Orioles defeated the Kansas City Royals 6-1 to win their third game. Baltimore scored three runs in the first three innings, as Gunnar Henderson continued his hot hitting by launching a solo homer in the second inning, part of a 2-for-5 afternoon. Anthony Santander had two doubles as part of a three-hit day.
Irvin, who was a mainstay on the Oakland Athletics’ rotation over the past two season, was acquired by the Orioles in the offseason and was part of the starting rotation when the team broke camp to start the season. His first three starts, however, could not have gone any worse, as he recorded a 10.66 ERA in those outings in April and, after allowing six runs and two walks in four innings against the Athletics on April 13, Irvin was sent down to Baltimore’s Triple-A affiliate in Norfolk.
Irvin had not pitched in the Minors on a regular basis since 2019, and his ability to handle the demotion well — his ERA was 3.21 in seven starts for Norfolk — allowed him to get another opportunity to show the form the Orioles hoped they would see from the beginning of the season.
Today’s outing was a good step in Irvin’s road to redemption in 2023.
“I just got back to throwing the ball the way I knew how,” Irvin said. “There was a little bit of nerves coming into today. I wanted to perform well and pitch, and I felt like I did that.”
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Friday evening’s contest, with all photos taken by DC-area photographer Clifford Ray Williams. After clicking on the first photo to enlarge the picture, make sure to press the left and right arrow buttons to scroll through the rest of the pictures. There are 24 pictures in total.
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