Means takes no-hitter into 6th in final start

It’s tempting given the circumstances, John Means admits, to mentally toss out his first five starts of this season and head into the winter considering only the rest. The reason is nuanced. Limited early by arm fatigue and the death of his father, Means was not built up properly until early September, which, this year, marked the halfway point of 2020’s 60-game sprint of a season.

By then Means had an 8.59 ERA, though he’d thrown just 14 2/3 total innings. But his stats indicated a departure from his breakout 2019 season, when he ascended from obscurity into an All-Star.

After each of those starts, Means pledged to return to his 2019 form. He’s delivered on that promise, and then some.

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The latest example came Saturday, when Means carried a no-hitter into the sixth in the Orioles’ 5-2 loss to the Blue Jays, excelling despite taking the loss in his final start of the season. Means struck out nine and allowed just one hit in his season finale -- a solo homer to Cavan Biggio that spoiled his no-hit bid with two outs the sixth. Besides that, Means was as dominant as at any point since reaching the Majors early last year, and successful in finishing the season strong despite trying circumstances.

“I wish there were 100 games left,” Means said. “I just felt like me. It’s been a nice breath of fresh air.”

Coming off a career-high 12-strikeout performance against the Rays, Means retired 16 straight at one point in flirting with history at Sahlen Field. It was a continuation of efforts he’s put together since ramping back up to full strength at the beginning of this month; though Means finished the year with a 4.53 ERA, he posted a 2.48 mark over his last five starts, striking out 31 in 29 innings.

“I am going to take this momentum into the offseason. I want to trap this mentality that I’m in right now,” Means said. “I like where I’m at and I don’t really want to look back.”

Said Orioles outfielder Austin Hays, who collected three hits Saturday: “This is as dominant as I’ve ever seen a pitcher.”

Over the past few weeks, Orioles officials have admitted the difficulty they’ll face this winter in evaluating the progress of young players, given this season’s odd 60-game sample. They won’t encounter any such challenges with Means, despite his pedestrian final stat line.

The focus instead will be on the plus stuff Means showed from the outset, and the way he rebounded down the stretch from both professional and personal obstacles. Sidelined with arm fatigue out of Summer Camp, Means then missed time due to the death of his father, Alan, taking weeks to ramp back up after returning to the team.

But over the season’s final month, Means looked like an emerging ace. There were warts in his surprise 2019 performance, notably a lack of a second breaking ball and the inability he showed, at times, to put hitters away deep in counts. Those now feel far away. Means’ curve has morphed into a trusted fourth pitch. He’s showing increased fastball spin, has sliced his walk rate and bumped his putaway percentage from 13.8 last year to 17.3 this September.

“He’s pitching like a top of the rotation guy,” O’s manager Brandon Hyde said. “That wasn’t John Means the first few starts. This was him and this is the kind of guy he’s going to be. And he’s only going to get better.”

It’s progress that’s been overshadowed at times by the impressive debuts of young pitchers Keegan Akin and Dean Kremer. But put together, they point to an Orioles rotation full of potential impact arms in 2021 and for years to come.

“This year was one big learning experience,” Means said. “I experienced a lot this season that is pretty tough. To get through that and find myself again, it was a struggle. I think it's going to help me a lot. I was horrible for so long and to come out of that and have some success, it’s been huge.”