Dan Connolly

Ubaldo Jimenez: ‘I didn’t even think about’ facing the Toronto Blue Jays again

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Ubaldo Jimenez got the Grapefruit League start Tuesday against Toronto at Ed Smith Stadium.

Nothing real newsworthy there, except the last time he faced the Blue Jays was a slightly different situation: The AL Wild Card game on Oct. 4, a game in which he allowed a walkoff homer to Edwin Encarnacion in the 11th inning to end the Orioles’ season.

That moment will always be debated in Orioles’ circles; Jimenez, a starter, was summoned in a tied game while all-world closer Zach Britton remained in the bullpen.

Tuesday was a different scenario, different lineup, lots of palm trees.

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Jimenez said there were no flashbacks of that last pitch to Encarnacion (who is now with Cleveland), no turning back the clock in his mind.

“No, no. I didn’t even think about that,” Jimenez said. “I just wanted to go out there and get my pitch count up and throw all my pitches, and I think that’s what I did today, especially after that first inning.”

Jimenez lasted four innings, giving up four earned runs on five hits and three walks while striking out five. The line was a little rougher than the actual outing. Jimenez initially pitched three scoreless innings and, at one point, retired eight of nine. He wiggled out of a two-walk jam in the first with consecutive strikeouts.

But Jimenez was charged with four runs in the fourth, which was set up by a one-out, bases-empty pop-up that fell in between catcher Caleb Joseph, first baseman Chris Davis and Jimenez.

“That’s something that happened in the game, but I was trying hard to get out of that inning without any damage,” Jimenez said. “But that’s how the game goes sometimes. It’s not like I was thinking about it, but I wanted to get out of that inning for us.”

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Jimenez threw 76 pitches – 50 for strikes – and was pleased with his overall performance.

“After the first inning, I was able to throw all my pitches. I was cruising along, attacking the hitters,” he said. “Split, slider, changeup, every pitch was in the strike zone until the last inning. (Then) We got in trouble a little bit.”

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Dan Connolly

Dan Connolly has spent more than two decades as a print journalist in Pennsylvania and Maryland. The Baltimore native and Calvert Hall graduate first covered the Orioles as a beat writer for the York (Pennsylvania) Daily Record in 2001 before becoming The Baltimore Sun’s national baseball writer/Orioles reporter in 2005. He has won multiple state and national writing awards, including several from the Associated Press Sports Editors. In 2013 he was named Maryland Co-Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. And in 2015, he authored his first book, "100 Things Orioles Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die." He lives in York, with his wife, Karen, and three children, Alex, Annie, and Grace.

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  • First signs from Jimenez are good. I remember last year after 2/3 of an inning in the first spring training game, his ERA was a 121.0 or something crazy. Lets hope this contract year for both our best and worst pitcher puts us over the edge. Oh and Gausman looks like he's on fire.

    • Gausman does look good. Though his most recent dominating performance was not against a representative lineup. That said, he really has a certain confidence about him this spring. Hard to explain but he seems a little different. Like he really is expecting big things instead of hoping.

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Dan Connolly

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