No one could have imagined 29-year old righty reliever Alfredo Simon being the Orioles’ closer at this point in the season, but he is. Simon has pitched in 27 games (0 starts) for the Orioles this year and he is 2-1 with 13 saves, a 3.14 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. He has walked 15 batters in only 28 2/3 innings this season so he needs to tighten up his control a bit. Simon took advantage of injuries to Mike Gonzalez and Jim Johnson to earn the job as the Orioles’ closer and I think he will keep the job as he has outstanding stuff. But he needs to throw more strikes.

25-year old righty David Hernandez’ overall numbers are not that impressive. He has pitched in 18 games (8 starts) for the Orioles this season and he is 2-6 with 2 saves, a 4.64 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP. But he has taken to his new role in the bullpen where he doesn’t have to pace himself letting him attack batters with his 95+ plus fastball. Hernandez has pitched 10 games out of the pen and he is 1-1 with 2 saves, a 2.25 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. He also has whiffed 13 batters in only 12 innings out of the pen. It looks as if the Orioles have found a role that Hernandez can excel in, making the pitching staff as a whole better.

26-year old righty reliever Jason Berken doesn’t look anything like the rookie starter he was in 2009. Last season Berken pitched in 24 games (all starts) for the O’s in which he was 6-12 with a 6.54 ERA and a 1.74 WHIP. He walked 44 batters and gave up 164 hits in only 119 2/3 innings last season which is awful. He seemed nervous on the mound often trying to nibble at the corners. But this season he is attacking hitters and they results have been outstanding so far. Berken has pitched in 12 games (0 starts) this season for the Orioles and he is 0-0 with a 1.50 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. He has only walked 4 batters in 24 innings this season for the Orioles. He is challenging hitters and letting the defense help him as he has only whiffed 11 batters this year. It looks like the Orioles have fould the right role for Berken to excel in and they hope he keeps up the good work.

Mike Gonzalez and Jim Johnson have both been injured most of the season so the O’s called up 29-year old righty reliever Alfredo Simon and they started pitching him in the 9th inning and he is responding well so far. Simon has pitched in 8 games for the Orioles this season and he is 0-0 with 5 saves, a 0.00 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. He will need to start throwing more strikes to keep the closer’s job as he has walked 5 batters in only 8 innings this year but he has 9 whiffs so he does have the stuff to succeed. This is coming as a bit of a surprise as Simon pitched in 6 games (3 starts) for the Orioles in his first two years with them in which he was 0-1 with a 7.45 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. The Orioles really hope that Simon keeps up the good work because they can’t afford to be giving any games away.

The Orioles traded for 35-year old righty starting pitcher Kevin Millwood over the winter to give them a anchor to the starting staff. He has done his part this season but the offense isn’t doing their part when he’s on the mound. Millwood has started 8 games for the Orioles this season and he is 0-4 with a 3.69 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. He has whiffed 41 batters while only walking 15 in 53 2/3 innings this season as he is coming right after hitters. He is showing a good example to the younger pitchers on the Orioles and he’s eating innings so despite not having any wins he’s still helping the Orioles.