Cade Povich tweaked his routine to kick off his third stint in the major leagues Saturday. He ditched the long pants and instead opted for knee-high ones to pair with long black socks. He also had a new warmup song. The Camden Yards crowd that stuck through a 1-hour, 16-minute rain delay sang in unison to “Piano Man” as the rookie left-hander got loose.
He also debuted a new nickname.
“Different alter ego,” he said. “The other games were Cade. I went down, talked to some people [about] mental stuff. Some of the guys down here call me ‘Slim.’ So I kinda took that attitude into this game. Different mindset, different person.”
When Billy Joel faded out, Povich tossed the first pitch of what became his best start of the season.
Povich checked off each obstacle that ailed him throughout 2024. He worked efficiently through the early innings. He struck out six and didn’t issue a walk. And he pitched into the seventh inning for the first time this year.
“Attacking the zone with everything, getting ahead early,” Povich said of the adjustments he made since his last appearance in the majors. “Probably one of my best games. When you’re able to execute early on it, definitely helps out a lot.”
His impressive return led the Orioles on Saturday night, but his efforts were spoiled by another bullpen collapse and a quiet offensive output in a 5-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox.
Baltimore’s second straight defeat in the four-game set gives the New York Yankees a one-game lead in the American League East. Still, Povich stood out through the unfavorable result. He was optioned to Triple-A after the start and his future is still uncertain, but the 24-year-old lefty showed the lessons he learned from his first two stints with the Orioles (72-52) might have finally stuck.
“Obviously been up and down, had some struggles up here overall with the last few starts,” Povich said. “That crowd, I had the chills coming off a little bit.”
Povich entered Saturday having allowed 15 earned runs in the opening two frames of his eight starts, a 9.00 ERA that kept him from pitching deep into games and had been a major hurdle he hadn’t yet overcome.
He finally did Saturday. The left-hander finished a perfect first inning on just eight pitches, capped by his first strikeout, then added another punchout in the second and finished the frame with nine pitches. Povich twirled a three-up, three-down third with another strikeout, then another perfect fourth.
“I thought he had a really good changeup. I thought he was ultra-aggressive in the strike zone. It was great to see him throw multiple pitches for strikes and really attacking them,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “That was awesome to see.”
His efficiency dipped in the fifth as he worked around a two-out single to escape the frame without damage while adding two more strikeouts. Povich entered the sixth with just 61 pitches, but he started to stumble as the Red Sox’s contact grew louder.
Boston scored its first run with one out on Tyler O’Neill’s RBI single, one of three hits off Povich in the sixth inning, before he got Rafael Devers and Danny Jansen to pop up to end the threat. Povich returned to start the seventh, recording a strikeout and allowing a single to Triston Casas before giving way to Yennier Cano.
After giving up a double off the left-center field wall to Masataka Yoshida, Cano let an inherited runner and one of his own score on a two-run, two-out single by Jarren Duran. That put Baltimore down again, a deficit that widened after Burch Smith allowed a two-run homer to Devers in the eighth, and the Orioles’ quiet offense never clawed back.
The circumstances weren’t ideal for Hyde’s bullpen. It was taxed in Friday’s loss, in which ace Corbin Burnes completed just four innings. Cano pitched Saturday for the third time in four days. Smith has pitched each of the past three days, which Hyde rarely asks of his relievers.
Walks derailed Povich earlier this season. The young left-hander allowed 23 of them in eight starts with Baltimore — a rate of 5.5 per nine innings — compared with only 27 across 15 minor league games. He threw 63 of his 89 pitches Saturday for strikes. It was the second time he didn’t walk a batter in a major league start, and his six strikeouts tied a season high.
Povich now returns to the minors with a confidence he previously lacked. And with Baltimore’s pitching health constantly in flux, his efforts Saturday will keep his name in consideration for more opportunities that will surely arise.
Red Sox starter Brayan Bello was just as dominant as his counterpart Povich, who kept his team in the game despite their offensive shortcomings. Bello held the Orioles hitless until the sixth inning — walks from Ryan O’Hearn, Cedric Mullins and James McCann were Baltimore’s only base runners until then.
“He’s just really good,” Hyde said of Bello, who entered Saturday with a 4.97 ERA. “He’s got a sinker that he throws to both sides of the plate that’s firm. He’s got a great changeup, and he can throw his slider.”
Gunnar Henderson got his barrel on a changeup from Bello that hung too high in the strike zone, sending it over the right field wall for a solo home run. The Orioles’ only score of the night broke up the 25-year-old right-hander’s no-hit bid.
Henderson entered Saturday hitting .306 with a 1.069 OPS over his past six games as he pushed his post-All-Star break slump behind him. He’s now homered in three of his past four contests after hitting just one in the 23 games following the week off.
He’s led a resurgent lineup over the past week. Jackson Holliday, Cedric Mullins and Adley Rutschman, who returned as a pinch hitter Saturday after being scratched Friday with lower back tightness, are all experiencing scorching stretches. Saturday’s loss didn’t feature any heroics from that group.
The Orioles’ best chance came when Anthony Santander stepped to the plate with the bases loaded in the seventh, but his weak grounder to second base ended Baltimore’s best chance at a comeback.
Baltimore Sun reporter Jacob Calvin Meyer contributed to this article.
Red Sox at Orioles
Sunday, 1:35 p.m.
TV: MASN
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM