John Means' dominant outing vs. Guardians dazzles James McCann as ace almost delivers a no-hitter: “He was exactly what we needed tonight”

John Means showed his prowess on the mound in just his third start after returning from a long-term injury. His seven-inning one-hit effort helped the Baltimore Orioles get a 2-1 win over the Cleveland Guardians on Saturday.

Means recently came back from a long injury. The Os starter was out of action since April 2022 when he tore his UCL and had his return further pushed back due to another strain this May during recovery.

In the game against the Guardians, Means pitched 96 times and gave away just one homer against Andres Gimenez in the eighth inning. Before that, he had retired 21 of the 24 batters he faced - a one-out walk to Myles Straw in the third and a hit-by-pitch walk to Gabriel Arias.

In his previous efforts during his Minor League rehab and his two starts, Means didn't go past 86 pitches. But all that changed when he retired the first seven Guardians batters. His backstop in the game, James McCann, was all praise for him, stressing his importance in the Os.

“John was exactly what we needed tonight. Our bullpen has been stepping up huge for us all season long, and they needed a break and that’s exactly what John did," McCann said.

Means' 7.1 innings outing was particularly important for the Orioles bullpen, as the management had used 32 relievers in the last six games for none of the starters could go past five innings. But on that night, Baltimore only needed Yennier Cano and Cionel Perez.

Baltimore Orioles edge closer to AL East victory

The Orioles' win stretched their lead over the Tampa Bay Rays to 1.5 games. The AL East winners will secure a guaranteed first spot in the postseason, but if that isn't secured for the Os, they will get the first Wild Card spot and be ranked no.4. That will secure them an AL Wild Card series at their home.