Orioles take good with bad in defeat
SARASOTA, FLA. – Orioles right-hander Alex Cobb bounced back from his rocky spring debut four days earlier with a strong three-inning performance in Tuesday’s 10-4 loss to the PIttsburgh Pirates at Ed Smith Stadium.
Cobb threw 43 pitches and allowed a run on two hits after not surviving the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday. He did allow a run-scoring double to Pirates second baseman Adam Frazier in the third, but was generally pleased with his outing.
“Yeah, just from a comfort level,” he said. “The first time out there is really difficult to prepare for. You throw bullpens, sim games or whatever, but once you get on the mound, the game speeds up on you. I feel like I’m old enough nowthat the game shouldn’t be speeding up on me, but it did a little bit that first game.”
This time, Cobb kept the ball down and got seven groundouts before handing the game off to fourth starter candidate Nate Karns.
“I felt like he had more life on his fastball than his last time out,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “Threw a bunch of really good curveballs. That was his go-to pitch today and it was effective. That was really positive. Threw the change-split that he has, threw a couple good ones, also. I thought it was a better outing than last time for sure. He had better stuff.”
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Givens in review: Givens allowed a homerunonhisfirst pitch after taking the mound in the fifth inning. He also allowed a bloop single, hit a batter and gave up an RBI single before Bell hit a three-run homer to complete the five-run Pirates rally.
It wasn’t pretty and Givens wasn’t happy about it, but the right-hander didn’t seem too concerned. He also gave up a run on two hits in his first exhibition appearance against the Rays.
“I was disappointed,’’ he said. “I don’t like the (excuse) of ‘working on stuff.’ I’m just trying to get through spring training healthy and get my stuff ready for the season. … I was working on some stuff, but even when you’re working on stuff, you’re trying to compete.”
Karns is quick: Karns pitched the fourth inning andretired all three batters he faced, then said afterward that his arm felt fine. He was scratched from his Friday night start against the New York Yankees after reporting “general arm soreness.”
“I felt good,’’ he said. “Quick inning. Located my pitches. Used all my pitches and got a good result. I’m happy for that and ready to move on to the next step.”
Davis scratched: First baseman Chris Davis was scratched from Tuesday’s lineup with a sore left hip flexor, Hyde said, though he noted it was a precautionary move and expects Davis’ status to be day-to-day.
“His hip flexor is a little sore from a throw up the line a couple days ago. It grabbed a little bit, and he finished [the game],” Hyde said.
Davis wasn’t in the lineup for the Grapefruit League road game against the Minnesota Twins on Monday, instead remaining in Sarasota to take at-bats in a simulated game against Jimmy Yacabonis alongside Mark Trumbo.
Davis reported it was “a little sore” Tuesday, Hyde said. “We’re just going to keep him out for precaution,” Hyde said.
Noschedule for Trumbo: Hydesaid there was still norush to get Trumbointogameaction soon, noting it might beaplayer’s mindset to set targets, but he doesn’t want to put that kind of pressure on a veteran player such as Trumbo.
“Mark knows how I feel: I want him to be healthy,” Hyde said. “I think he has a target — a player wants to get back, and I don’t wanttoput a date onit for himbecause I just wanthimto be fully ready to go when he’s ready, and if that’s [March12] or that’s [March 22] or that’s the third week in April ... he had a significant knee injury, and I think everybody has been super excited about howhe’s come back off it, and the work that he’s put in to come back has been unbelievable, and his knee is responding well.”
Staff writer Jon Meoli contributed to this story.