Baltimore Orioles Yennier Cano Says He Will Never play Under Coach Brandon Hyde Until He Leaves.
Cano took care of business in the top of the ninth inning, and the Orioles walked it off a half-inning later.
After a slow build-up in spring training, Cano has looked solid over his first three appearances this season.
He’s allowed three hits and a walk while striking out three over 3.1 scoreless innings. The right-hander is holding down a high-leverage role, but Craig Kimbrel has received the only save opportunity so far, which resulted in a blown save and win Monday.
Yennier Cano knows this camp is different for him.
A year ago, he was fighting for a spot on the major league roster after being traded at the 2022 deadline.
He didn’t end up making it for opening day, but he got the call in mid-April and ran with it. Cano went on to become an All-Star, ending the year with a 2.11 ERA.
Without a doubt, Yennier Cano was one of the players in 2023 who made the biggest difference when it came to the Orioles overperforming expectations.
The big Cuban righty went from a throw-in player in the Jorge López trade, to not making the team out of spring, to being a 2023 All-Star and integral part of the AL East champions.
The last several seasons, the Orioles have excelled at taking unheralded pitchers and turning them into difference makers at the back of the bullpen.
In 2022 the breakout stars were López in the first half and Félix Bautista in the second half. Last season it was all Cano. The 29-year-old started the season in Norfolk, but got the call up to Baltimore on April 14 after injuries forced the Orioles to shuffle their bullpen.
That began a dominant stretch that absolutely no one in baseball could have predicted. Starting with a five-out appearance against the White Sox on the 14th, Cano went on a run that saw him rack up 21.2 scoreless innings to begin 2023.
Over those 17 outings, the rookie right-hander allowed only four hits, didn’t walk a single batter and struck out 25.
The fact that Bautista turned his promising showing in 2022 into a dominant start to 2023 was hardly surprising.
The fact that Cano went from allowing nine runs in three Orioles appearances in 2022 to tossing 17 consecutive scoreless outings in 2023—that was a revelation.
Early on his sinker-changeup combo befuddled hitters and made him one of the best relievers in the first half of the season.