Lance Lynn took the mound against the Orioles and stuck to his usual approach—fastballs in the zone, challenging hitters to beat him. He mixed a cut fastball, two-seamer, and four-seamer, rarely wasting pitches. In the third inning, Baltimore tried to bunt their way on, but Lynn just kept pounding the zone. It didn’t work. He made quick work of the lineup, brushing off anything that didn’t look like a real threat.
Freddy Galvis gave him a bit of a battle, fouling off several pitches after falling behind 0-2. Lynn stayed aggressive and mixed locations, but the ump missed a borderline call that led to a full count and a runner in scoring position. Lynn wasn’t rattled. He powered through with another well-placed fastball to end the threat.
By the fifth, his last inning, Lynn had found a rhythm. He repeatedly hit the edges and forced bad swings. One at-bat ended with three fastballs right down the middle—none of them touched. With runners on second and third and a one-run lead, Lynn stayed calm and pounded the strike zone again. He didn’t get a call on strike three, smiled in frustration, then went up top with a fastball to end it. Lynn didn’t mess around. He threw strikes, challenged hitters, and got out clean.