Sugano is superb in Orioles’ 4-3 win over Twins

SARASOTA–What’s happening? Grayson Rodriguez has right elbow inflammation and has received a cortisone shot. He’ll be shut down for seven-to-10 days and then begin a throwing program.

Two weeks from now, the Orioles will play their final Grapefruit League game. On March 24^th, the Orioles face the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park, and three days later, the season opens at Toronto’s Rogers Centre.

“Things like Grayson’s situation comes up and you’re holding your breath every day right now,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “You’re trying to get your team as prepared as possible to get ready to play in Toronto and trying to stay as healthy as possible.”

Players will begin to play in consecutive games. Heston Kjerstad, Ryan Mountcastle and Cedric Mullins made the trip to Clearwater to face Philadelphia in a split-squad game.

Matt Bowman will start for the Orioles when they play the Pittsburgh Pirates at LECOM Park on Monday night at 6:05. Bowman has allowed three runs, two earned, on three hits. He’s struck out five and walked two. Pittsburgh will start Mitch Keller.

The game will be televised on MASN. Brett Hollander and Ben McDonald have the call.

What’s happened? Tomoyuki Sugano retired all nine batters he faced in the Orioles’ 4-3 win over the Minnesota Twins before 6,520 at Ed Smith Stadium on Sunday.

The 35-year-old Japanese pitcher struck out five in 46 pitches. In his three starts, Sugano has thrown seven shutout innings, allowing four hits, striking out seven and walking two.

“It wasn’t perfect, but it was 90 percent,” Sugano said through an interpreter. “I was able to execute according to my game plan, so everything went well.”

Three of Sugano’s strikeouts were looking, and to left-handed batters, something that pleased him.

“I was able to attack and execute according to what we discussed with [pitching coach Drew French] and catcher Gary Sánchez.

Sugano is still getting used to pitching to major league hitters.

“It’s early to decide on whether it’s working or not. These are all new hitters that I’m facing,” Sugano said. “Overall, I’m doing what I’m able to do. It’s working out.”

First baseman Ryan O’Hearn was impressed.

“Today was beautiful,” he said. “It’s a ton of strikes. It’s a great tempo. It’s a great pace to play defense behind. He throws harder than I thought he did. I’m really excited about him, and today he looked great.”

Hyde enjoyed watching Sugano.

“I thought the fastball command was excellent to both sides of the plate,” Hyde said. “Really good split, worked ahead of hitters. I thought the fastball had life to it. I thought he was really, really sharp.”

O’Hearn was 1-for-3 with an RBI single in a three-run third. He’s batting .211.

“Every day, just trying to feel a little bit better, trying to see the ball have good at-bats,” O’Hearn said. “At this point in spring training, it’s as much about the takes as it is about the swings. Your eyes are adjusting, making late decisions and then just put your body in a position to make good swings. I think I’m progressing the way I want to be and obviously want to be crushing balls all over the yard. I’m right on the verge of that.”

Jackson Holliday had an RBI single.

Bryan Baker, who had retired each of the nine batters he’d faced this spring, allowed three home runs in 1 1/3 innings. Keegan Akin allowed two hits in 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Luis González, Corbin Martin and Carlos Tavera pitched scoreless innings.

Thaddeus Ward started and allowed three runs in the Orioles’ split-squad 12-2 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies in Clearwater. Relivers Rodolfo Martinez (three runs, three walks in 2/3 innings), Raul Alcantara (four runs, two hits in an inning) and Nathan Webb (two runs in 2/3 innings) were ineffective.

What’s up with? Franklin Barreto is hoping to play in the major leagues for the first time since 2020. From 2017-2020, Barreto played 101 games for Oakland and the Los Angeles Angels, hitting .175 with nine home runs and 29 RBIs.

Barreto, who was an infielder then, is an outfielder now. Last year, he hit .343 with a 1.006 OPS in the Mexican League with 16 home runs and 63 RBIs last season. At 29, Barreto thinks he’s a different player than he was when he last played in the majors.

“I think my age and experience. I think being able to control what I can control, playing with a lot more peace just taking things one day at a time and showing that I can play baseball in this country,” Barreto said through a translator.

He’s hitless in eight at-bats this spring.

“A lot more mature and with a lot more confidence right now,” he said. “I think that’s going to help me be a lot more calm when I have to go out there and play and show that I can go out there and contribute.”

What’s what? O’Hearn doesn’t focus on the injuries to Rodriguez, Andrew Kittredge and Gunnar Henderson. Kittredge had left knee surgery on Friday and Henderson might not be ready for the season because of a right intercostal strain.

“We don’t really talk about it,” O’Hearn said. “Everybody knows that those are impact guys on our team and you just hope for the best, and you let the training staff and the doctors do their thing, and hopefully we’ll have those guys sooner rather than later.

“I’ve spoken, especially on the position player side about the depth that we have. I think that’s a really good thing that’s going to keep us in a strong position until we’re at full strength. I’m hoping for full strength on Opening Day, but that’s part of the game.”

What’s the word? “To be more specific, quality of each pitch, especially the fastball.”-Sugano on what he needs to improve.

What’s the number? .115. Coby Mayo had an RBI double in the Orioles’ 12-2 loss to the Phillies as part of their split-squad. He’s batting .115 (3-for-26).

Mayo got a broken bat single in his final at-bat on Saturday.

“As much as you don’t look at spring training results, I think obviously for a player, it feels a lot better when you’re not 0-for-2 or 0-for-3, but 1-for-2 or 1-for-3,” Hyde said. “It’s a better feeling when you leave the ballpark whether it’s a spring training game or a regular season game. It’s nice for him not to take a right turn into the dugout, but able to get on base and get a single [on Saturday].”

What’s the record? 6-8-1 The Orioles will play the Pittsburgh Pirates at LECOM Park in Bradenton, Florida Monday at 6:05 p.m.