In an effort to get struggling closer Mychal Givens back on track, Orioles manager Brandon Hyde will deploy his most experienced relief arm in lower-leverage situations for his next handful of outings.
Givens has suffered either a loss or blown save in each of his past four outings, allowing three home runs, 13 base runners and eight runs in three innings. He preceded the rough stretch with six scoreless outings to start May, making the past week more confounding.
Hyde pinpointed Givens’ command and confidence, rather than his usage, as the cause of the struggles. He compared Givens’ stats to this time last year and saw fewer innings pitched and fewer appearances with similar walk and strikeout totals.