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There has been a lot of speculation about the inability of Orioles starting pitchers to go deep enough into games during the first month of the season, but a cursory look back over the course of April reveals that endurance was not the real issue. It's true that last year's starters averaged more innings per start, but the difference between 2012 and 2013 was not that significant. Last year's rotation averaged 6.04 innings per start. This year's averaged 5.72 innings, or an average of about a third of an inning per game. The issue was effectiveness. The 2012 rotation pitched to a 3.63 ERA, allowing nearly a run per game less than this April's 4.55 ERA. Throw in a 20 percent increase in walks per 9 innings and the mystery is solved.
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The Orioles looked like they were in a hurry to make their flight to Southern California on Wednesday night, swinging early, often and ineffectively against Seattle Mariners pitcher Aaron Harang. Maybe they were just over-anxious because Harang averaged giving up a home run every two innings in his first three starts of 2013, because they didn't even make him work up a sweat in the early innings. Or maybe they just like to rest their bats every time Wei-Yin Chen takes the mound.
Each week of the 2013 baseball season, columnist Peter Schmuck gives his take on four subjects involving the Orioles, then clears the bases with a final thought.