BALTIMORE — At 3:26 p.m. ET on Tuesday, he walked by means of the doorways of the Orioles’ clubhouse. A wry grin was plastered throughout his face as he strolled to his locker and dropped his backpack subsequent to his chair.
“Ah, there he is!” catcher James McCann stated, giving Means a pat on the shoulder whereas strolling by the 30-year-old left-hander.
It wasn’t the primary time Means stepped foot within the room this yr. He’s been there a lot. But this time was completely different. This was Means’ begin day — his first within the massive leagues since April 13, 2022.
A near-17-month journey again from Tommy John surgical procedure — in addition to a setback brought on by an upper-back pressure in late May — all led to Tuesday evening, when Means made his return. And it was an encouraging one.
Means labored 5 strong innings in Baltimore’s 5-2 loss to St. Louis at Camden Yards. The southpaw allowed three runs on solely 4 hits — two of which have been solo residence runs — because the Orioles misplaced for less than the second time of their previous 10 video games.
The Cardinals had some early success towards Means, who allowed a two-out homer to Paul Goldschmidt within the first and loaded the bases with no outs within the second. However, Means labored out of that jam with just one run allowed, as he set down eight consecutive St. Louis batters earlier than giving up a two-out residence run to Richie Palacios within the fourth.
Means retired 12 of the ultimate 13 batters he confronted, working a 1-2-3 fifth that included his lone strikeout of the evening — a punchout of Lars Nootbaar, who went down a changeup for the second out of the inning. Means departed after throwing 75 pitches, 55 for strikes.
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