CHICAGO — Facing a Chicago Cubs lineup of nine right-handed hitters, Orioles left-hander Cole Irvin’s secondary pitches were going to be “important,” manager Brandon Hyde emphasized before the game. One of them let Irvin down repeatedly.
In Friday’s series-opening 10-3 loss at Wrigley Field, Irvin allowed three solo home runs in the third inning, all on his change-up, before Chicago broke the game open against three Baltimore relievers with a six-run sixth.
“Interesting just to see my second-best pitch, arguably — I rely on my fastball, but my change-up’s kind of the bread and butter,” Irvin said. “Just the command there wasn’t good with it.”
