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jakerill.bsky.social
Orioles beat reporter for MLB.com
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#Orioles manager Brandon Hyde on Gunnar Henderson: "He kind of just landed on his side and he just felt a little sore in there. In the first inning of a Spring Training game in February, we felt like the best thing to do was just let him go inside and look at it and relax."

#Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said it was a precautionary move to pull Gunnar Henderson, who felt lower right side discomfort after he landed on the ground following his jumping play in the top of the 1st. No MRI. They’ll evaluate him again tomorrow. www.mlb.com/orioles/news...

#Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson exited today's game with lower right side discomfort

Grayson Rodriguez: "It’s about getting ready, not trying to prove anything. Last Spring Training, I think I hit 100 [mph] my first outing and my back was a little sore after that. This year is just all about getting in a rhythm, getting ready, making sure your body feels good."

And Ramón Urías follows with a 2-run home run, his 1st homer of the spring. #Orioles lead Blue Jays 3-0 in 2nd. Strong showing for players named Ramón today in Sarasota.

Ramón Laureano follows with an RBI double. #Orioles lead Blue Jays 1-0 in 2nd.

Ryan Mountcastle keeping his reputation of being Canada's least favorite baseball player by singling in his 1st at-bat of the day vs. Blue Jays in the 2nd inning. Mountcastle just warming up for #Orioles' opening series in Toronto next month.

Final line for #Orioles starter Grayson Rodriguez in his spring debut: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, 1 HBP. 25 pitches, 15 strikes. A sharp outing for the 25-year-old right-hander his first time out.

Gunnar Henderson grounded out to first base during his at-bat leading off bottom of 1st for #Orioles. Not yet sure the reasoning for him coming out of game this early.

Luis Vazquez is replacing Gunnar Henderson at shortstop for the #Orioles to open the 2nd inning

#Orioles starter Grayson Rodriguez with a 1-2-3 1st inning. Gunnar Henderson made a nice jumping play on a liner by Bo Bichette. Rodriguez struck out Addison Barger swinging to end the frame. A sharp 12-pitch inning for Rodriguez in his spring debut.

Today's #Orioles pitchers vs. Blue Jays: Grayson Rodriguez, Justin Armbruester, Dylan Coleman, Roansy Contreras, Colin Selby, Nathan Webb

Félix Bautista’s live BP results: Kjerstad K swinging Sánchez K looking Kjerstad hit/lineout to RCF Sánchez flyout to LF Kjerstad hit to LCF Sánchez groundout to 3rd Kjerstad K swinging The #Orioles closer looked good during the 25-pitch session.

Félix Bautista strikes out Heston Kjerstad swinging in #Orioles live BP

It’s about to be Mountain Time on the backfields as #Orioles closer Félix Bautista warms up for his 2nd live BP session of camp

Félix Bautista will face #Orioles hitters in his 2nd live BP session of camp a little later today

Jordan Westburg has lower back soreness. #Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said Westburg is getting treatment, should swing in next day or two and then get back into games in a few days.

Tyler O’Neill joked that it’s cutoff shirt day with the sun out, will try to get more #Orioles on board moving forward

Today’s #Orioles lineup vs. Blue Jays

Tomoyuki Sugano wasn't nervous for his #Orioles debut. After all, he's among the most accomplished pitchers in Japanese history. The O's see exactly why -- his "elite command" and pinpoint location. "That’s what he’s done his entire baseball career." www.mlb.com/orioles/news...

#Orioles manager Brandon Hyde on Tomoyuki Sugano: "Thought he commanded his fastball well, threw some really good split-fingers. Didn’t seem like he had much rust. ... Elite command of multiple pitches, and when he misses, he misses just off. It’s really a lot of fun to watch."

Tomoyuki Sugano previously faced Andrew McCutchen in the semifinals of the 2017 World Baseball Classic (a 2-1 win for U.S. over Japan). McCutchen went 1-for-2 with a single vs. Sugano in that game. He went 0-for-1 today. "It was somewhat nostalgic," Sugano said via interpreter.

Was Tomoyuki Sugano nervous for his 1st #Orioles start in Grapefruit League action? "No," he said in English with a laugh. That was quite apparent by the way he came out and attacked the Pirates' hitters early.

Here was the pitch mix for Tomoyuki Sugano in his 1st #Orioles start. 2 of his 3 whiffs came from the changeup, which he threw 7 times, most of any pitch. Not a ton of hard contact. Both Pirates balls in play with exit velocity of 100+ mph resulted in groundouts.

Tomoyuki Sugano gets fist bumps and high-fives in the #Orioles’ bullpen after his 1st Grapefruit League start

Line for #Orioles starter Tomoyuki Sugano: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K. 28 pitches, 17 strikes. Sugano pounded the strike zone early and worked with a quick tempo. O’s catchers praised those characteristics early in camp, and they were on display here today.

#Orioles starter Tomoyuki Sugano escapes a 2-on, 2-out jam in the 2nd inning by getting the Pirates’ Darick Hall to ground out to 2nd base.

Tomoyuki Sugano coming back out for a 2nd inning in his #Orioles debut. Unsurprising considering his efficiency in the 1st.

Tomoyuki Sugano’s 6-pitch 1st inning featured: 91.7 mph 4-seam fastball 86.9 mph cutter 90.8 mph 4SFB 86.9 mph cutter 84.8 mph changeup 90.9 mph sinker So we’ve seen 4 of the offerings from his 6-pitch mix.

Tommy Pham legged out an infield single. Then, Bryan Reynolds hit into a 4-6-3 double play started by Jackson Holliday. Andrew McCutchen grounded out to short to end the inning. A scoreless 6-pitch inning for Tomoyuki Sugano in his #Orioles debut. All 6 pitches were strikes.

Tomoyuki Sugano’s 1st pitch in an #Orioles uniform during game action: a 91.7 mph four-seam fastball for a called strike vs. Tommy Pham.

Today’s #Orioles pitchers vs. Pirates: Tomoyuki Sugano, Matt Bowman, Luis González, Andrew Kittredge, Corbin Martin, Rodolfo Martinez, Kade Strowd.

Saturday’s pitching matchup in Sarasota: #Orioles LHP Cade Povich vs. Pirates RHP Paul Skenes. That was also the SP matchup for the inaugural Spring Breakout last March 14. Both were MLB Pipeline prospects at the time who hadn’t yet debuted. Now, they’re big leaguers.

#Orioles guest coach Brian Roberts says players like Gunnar Henderson and Jackson Holliday are so talented they could tell guys like him, "Go jump in the water, I couldn't care less what you say." But they don't. That humility is what impresses Roberts most in camp. Full quote:

Today’s #Orioles lineup vs. Pirates in Bradenton

“Any chance you get to pick his brain about anything about his career is huge. … There are so many things that he does right and so many people that have said great things about Charlie throughout the years. He’s loved throughout the game of baseball.” www.mlb.com/orioles/news...

J.J. Hardy said fellow #Orioles guest coach Brian Roberts gave Jackson Holliday a pointer on double-play feeds earlier today. “1 ground ball later, it looked amazing. I’m like, ‘Golly, to be able just to do it like that that quick is awesome.’ Pretty special.”

Bryan Baker closes it out with a 1-2-3 9th for the save. #Orioles beat Tigers 8-7.

Heading to the 9th inning in Sarasota, #Orioles lead Tigers 8-7. Bryan Baker in for the save opportunity.

#Orioles take an 8-7 lead over Tigers on a 1-out RBI single by Jeremiah Jackson, a non-roster infielder who has reached base in each of his 2 plate appearances today.

#Orioles putting together a nice rally against Tigers RHP Ryan Miller in the bottom of the 8th inning: Dylan Carlson walk Carlson advances to 2nd on wild pitch Enrique Bradfield Jr. 2-run home run Terrin Vavra walk Vavra steals 2nd Daz Cameron RBI double Game is now tied 7-7.

Enrique Bradfield Jr. has only 4 home runs in 579 plate appearances over 2 Minor League seasons. However, the #Orioles OF prospect put on about 12 pounds during the offseason, hitting the weight room hard: www.mlb.com/orioles/news...

Enrique Bradfield Jr. (#Orioles' No. 4 prospect per MLB Pipeline) jacked a 2-run home run to deep right field in the bottom of the 8th inning. Tigers lead #Orioles 7-6.

Jahmai Jones revenge game. He hits a pinch-hit RBI double off Gregory Soto to push Tigers' lead over #Orioles to 5-2 in 5th.

Riley Greene hits a 2-run homer off Seranthony Domínguez with 2 outs in the top of the 4th inning. Tigers lead #Orioles 4-2.

A lot of young #Orioles players have been excited to talk to 41-year-old Charlie Morton this spring. A guy with "infinite wisdom," as Zach Eflin put it. Has Morton enjoyed talking to those younger players and beginning to build relationships with them? His full response:

On 1st day of workouts, #Orioles GM Mike Elias said club didn’t need to see Heston Kjerstad hit the cover off ball this spring, because he’s already done that before. He just might do it again anyway. Kjerstad is well positioned for expanded role in ‘25: www.mlb.com/orioles/news...

And Heston Kjerstad follows with a 2-run home run, his 1st homer of the spring. #Orioles and Tigers tied at 2.

Tyler O’Neill draws a 1-out walk in the bottom of the 2nd, his 1st plate appearance for the #Orioles