Worth the wait: Suárez wins first game since 2016 in solid performance

ANAHEIM -- Life comes at you fast. In the case of Albert Suárez, that might be an understatement.

After going nearly seven years between MLB outings, Suárez threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings on April 17 in his first start with the Orioles. While his first MLB win since 2016 eluded him in that outing -- the Orioles won on a walk-off home run from Cedric Mullins -- Suárez successfully secured that victory on Monday night.

Suárez tossed 5 2/3 scoreless innings in a 4-2 Orioles win vs. the Angels at Angel Stadium and won his first MLB game since June 23, 2016, when he was with the Giants. The 34-year-old right-hander struck out five, walked two and allowed four hits. Suárez generated 16 whiffs -- eight on four-seamers, four on changeups and four on cutters -- out of the 89 pitches he threw.

“It feels good to get a win,” Suárez said following his first win in nearly eight years.

Suárez went 2,860 days -- or seven years, nine months and 30 days -- between MLB wins. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Suárez became just the second pitcher in the last 70 years to go that many days between MLB wins, with both coming as a starting pitcher. The only other pitcher to do so was Travis Blackley, who went 2,906 days between wins as a starter (2004-12).

Then there’s the fact that Suárez has tossed consecutive scoreless outings going five-plus innings. That, too, is even more impressive from a historical context. According to Elias, Suárez became the first pitcher since 1893 -- when the mound moved back to its current distance from home plate -- to have consecutive outings of five-plus innings and no runs in his first two appearances after not appearing in the Majors in five or more years.

“I thought he made some nice adjustments in the game,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said about Suárez’s performance. “Him and [catcher James] McCann started working well together. They started throwing a lot more changeups and cutters. Hitters couldn’t just sit fastball on him. Once again, he gave us a great start.”

Suárez received plenty of offensive support from an Orioles lineup that continued to produce. Colton Cowser added to his breakout season with his sixth home run, while Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman each recorded multihit performances and James McCann hit his first home run of the season.

The game nearly got away from the Orioles at the end, however. With a two-run lead entering the bottom of the ninth inning, Craig Kimbrel found himself in trouble when he loaded the bases. After getting Nolan Schanuel to pop up, that presented a bases-loaded, two-out situation with Mike Trout up to bat.

Kimbrel made quick work of Trout on four pitches and got the Angels star to look at three fastballs for called strikes to end the game. In the process, Kimbrel recorded his 423rd career save, moving him past Billy Wagner for seventh on the all-time AL/NL list.

“I definitely didn’t make it easy on myself tonight,” Kimbrel said about his outing. “But I was able to pitch myself out of the situation without giving up any runs and helping secure the game, which is all that really matters.”

Ahead of Kimbrel on the all-time saves list is John Franco (424) and the still-active Kenley Jansen (425). Kimbrel doesn’t take for granted the significance of being mentioned in this same discussion of all-time great closers.

• MLB all-time saves leaders

“It’s still kind of hard to wrap my head around it,” Kimbrel said about these new milestones. “It’s nice to be able to sit here and talk about these numbers every single time. At the same time, it’s not about the next save to go up a milestone. It’s about the next save that I can get to help this team win a game.”

As if Suárez’s long-awaited win and Kimbrel’s milestone save weren’t enough, the day also began with more Orioles accolades.

Jordan Westburg took home AL Player of the Week honors after posting a 1.413 OPS and driving in eight runs last week. Cowser took home the same honors the previous week when he homered four times and drove in 12 runs. It was the first time since 1981 that the Orioles have had back-to-back AL Player of the Week recipients (Eddie Murray in two straight weeks).