Their meeting wasn't meant to go as long as it did, but there the Orioles pitchers were on the left-field grass of the Texas Rangers' Globe Life Park, huddled in a circle as their teammates buzzed batting-practice line drives past them ahead of last Wednesday's game.
The night before, they had turned a 12-5 lead in the ninth inning into a 12-11, stress-ulcer of a win. So after they loosened up and played catch to prepare for Wednesday's game, pitching coach Doug Brocail and bullpen coach John Wasdin called them all together for a message that sparked the best week of pitching this team has had.