BRADENTON, Florida-What’s happening? Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson says he’s hoping to be ready for the team’s March 27th opener in Toronto. “That’s my plan,” he said.
Henderson strained his right intercostal muscle on February 27th. He’s had just six Grapefruit League at-bats.
“We’re all hopeful he’s going to be ready,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “It’s going to depend on how many at-bats he gets, how this thing reacts after a game, the soreness, all that kind of stuff.
“He still hasn’t had any sort of game action, making athletic plays at shortstop to swinging really aggressively. He has to check all those boxes. He’s got to have at-bats, too. He hasn’t had a spring training. It’s depending on how many at-bats he gets.”
Infielder Ramón Urías has a sore hamstring, Hyde said. He’s day-to-day.
“Got a little bit tight on him yesterday,” Hyde said. “Nothing to be concerned about. He should be back in a couple of days. He went through full defensive work and batting practice.”
The Orioles play split-squad games on Sunday. Zach Eflin, who’ll start Opening Day, starts against the Philadelphia Phillies at Ed Smith Stadium at 1:05 p.m. He’ll be opposed by Jesús Luzardo.
Brett Hollander and Ben Wagner will broadcast the game on WBAL/98 Rock.
Albert Suárez starts for the Orioles in the other half of the split-squad against the Detroit Tigers at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Florida at 1:05 p.m. Jack Flaherty starts for the Tigers.
Bench coach Robinson Chirinos will run the team.
What’s happened? Thaddeus Ward allowed four runs in 2 2/3 innings in the Orioles’ 15-5 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates before 6,789 at LECOM Park on Saturday.
Ward, who was claimed on waivers from Washington last November 1st and now in camp as a non-roster player, gave up five hits, walked three and struck out three.
Gregory Soto made a throwing error to begin the fourth, and he allowed an unearned run.
Seranthony Domínguez allowed three runs in the sixth and his ERA is 23.14. Corbin Martin relieved Domínguez in the sixth after he recorded two outs and threw 38 pitches. Martin gave up three runs in 1 1/3 innings.
Minor league reliever Noah Denoyer gave up a grand slam to the Pirates’ Henry Davis in the eighth.
Dylan Carlson homered to lead off the game. He also singled and drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. Coby Mayo had two hits.
The Orioles did not bring Colton Cowser, Jackson Holliday, Ryan Mountcastle, Cedric Mullins, Ryan O’Hearn, Tyler O’Neill, Adley Rutschman or Jordan Westburg to Bradenton.
What’s up with? Keegan Akin pitched a spotless fifth inning and has a spring ERA of 4.05. He was the only Orioles pitcher not to be scored upon.
Akin is impressed with the quality of arms in the bullpen.
“I think last year when we acquired some of these guys, it was an ‘oh, wow,’ moment, I guess,” Akin said
“There was that wow, and you start looking at it this year, what we have in camp, I think there’s four or five guys that are going to find themselves outside of the bullpen this year that could definitely been in some other bullpens in the big leagues and are definitely going to impact this team at some point this year. It’s definitely exciting to see the depth and the talent.”
Félix Bautista is back this spring after October 2023 Tommy John surgery, and Akin knows how important he is.
“it’s definitely exciting when you’ve got that coming in in the ninth inning,” Akin said. “I understand everybody’s not perfect and he’s not going to go 100 out of 100 if he has opportunities, but I bet he’s doing to be dang close. It’s going to fun to see that again. We’ve been missing that.”
Akin identifies with some of the relievers who won’t make the club, and knows how difficult the competition may be for spots.
“In this industry, you realize that 26 break to go north and at the end of the year, we used [60] different players,” Akin said. “It’s a long season, 162 games, 26 guys can’t stay healthy that long. It takes all of us. It takes a big group of us. It’s discouraging. I get it. I’ve been sent down out of camp, but definitely at some point, there’s going to be a lot of guys, pitchers, position players that are going to come up and help us out.”
What’s what? Hyde has yet to decide on starters following Eflin in the rotation.
“We’re still kicking around the 2 through 5 right now,” Hyde said. “But pretty close. 2 through 4, pretty close. I don’t think we’re close on 5 yet. We’re still going through our options there. Charlie [Morton] is going to be in there at some point. [Tomoyuki] Sugano is going to be in there, and I assume Dean [Kremer], and how we line that up.”
The Orioles are still deciding between Suárez and Cade Povich for the fifth starter.
“They both bring different things to the table for us,” Hyde said. “Albert has some relief experience. Cade throws left-handed. He’d be the only left-handed starter. All those types of things come into play. You can’t option Albert. There’s a lot of factors there. We’re all extremely happy about how both these guys are throwing in camp. We’re going to watch them and talk about it.”
What’s the word? “It’s definitely something we don’t want to linger into the season and throughout the season. Whether it’s an intercostal or an oblique, those side muscles, you want to make sure that’s free and clear. You want to make sure he’s right, he’s not playing through any sort of injury or feeling soreness the first part of the season.”-Hyde on the Orioles’ cautiousness with Henderson.
What’s the number? 10. Orioles pitchers combined to walk 10 Pirates batters. They also struck out 10. Two of their three errors were committed on pickoff throws by Ward and Soto.
What’s the record? 9-11-1. The Orioles will play the Philadelphia Phillies at Ed Smith Stadium at 1:05 p.m. while the other half of the split-squad plays the Detroit Tigers at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Florida at 1:05 p.m.