CLEVELAND -- Austin Wynns was more excited about Alex Cobb's complete game than the righty himself, as the O's rookie catcher -- who got raves from Cobb and manager Buck Showalter -- could hardly contain his enthusiasm following Saturday's 4-2 win over the Indians.
And why should he? Wynns, who is in his second stint with the big league club, has impressed the organization in a short period of time.
"The game is starting to slow down for him a little bit," Showalter said of Wynns, who had a key caught stealing on Francisco Lindor in the sixth. "You let the game slow down a little bit, knowing that certain things play up here if you're just consistent with it. You saw the tempo that he and Alex have had the last two outings. … That's been fun to watch the game kind of slow down for him."
Wynns has held his own offensively, compiling an eight-game hitting streak that ended on Friday, but he knows that's secondary to what he does behind the plate.
"That's a mentality catchers have to have. That's something John [Russell] and our catching instructors preach. You may put down 100 fingers, and you've got four at-bats. What do you think is more impactful?," Showalter said. "It's not even close. He gave Alex such confidence throwing the split any time as far as blocking it."
Cobb, who praised the rookie's ability to control the run game, gave Wynns a huge hug after putting the finishing touches on Saturday's gem.
"It feels really good to have that with Wynns behind the plate," he said. "He's learned me as a pitcher and what I like to do, and he's helped me navigate through lineups and [he is] starting to get a lot more confidence back there in his pitch calling, and trusting his eyes too. I told him after the game, that's his. It's nice to see when you have young guys come up, them grow and be able to contribute as quickly as he has."