Jimenez takes a shelling in stride
Right-hander retires just one of seven batters in debut but says he feels good
SARASOTA, FLA. — There’s no question that Orioles right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez’s first start of the Grapefruit League season Wednesday was ugly, but if last year was any indication, there shouldn’t be any concern about his unsightly pitching line.
Making his first exhibition appearance in the Orioles’ spring training home opener, Jimenez retired just one of the seven batters he faced and was pulled from the game with the bases loaded after he had already
Exhibition allowed three runs.
Jimenez yielded two singles and a triple and issued three walks before being pulled after throwing 34 pitches (16 strikes). Right-hander Odrisamer Despaigne allowed all three inherited runners to score, so Jimenez was charged with six runs over one-third of an inning.
His 162.00 spring ERA has nowhere to go but down. But for a pitcher who relies on repeating his delivery, Jimenez’s problems with location and falling behind in counts were worrisome, especially considering that he led the American League in walks for most of his first season in Baltimore in 2014.
“I wouldn’t put a whole lot of stock into the statistical fact,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said when asked about Jimenez’s line. “It’s one of those spring training games where you throw a lot of it out. … I might throw out the second one, too, depending
on the field and the conditions. I don’t pay a lot of attention to it right now.”
Jimenez said he was focused on getting a feel for his pitches — testing a curveball and changeup that he rarely used last year — rather than being preoccupied with results, so he felt that the outing was a productive one.
“It doesn’t look pretty at all, but I think I feel good because myarm feels really good,” Jimenez said. “I was able to work on the things I wanted to. Even before the game. I wanted to throw my changeup and my curve, and I started to throw my split and slider for today and that’s what I did. Actually, two of the hits they got were from changeups. Like I said, it wasn’t pretty, but I felt good being on the mound and trying to get hitters out. ...
“I was around the zone. I know I had [three] walks, but I was close, really close to the zone. They were close pitches. I feel fine, so I’m looking forward to my next one and getting ready. … I feel good. Even from the stretch with runners on base, I was able to go fast to home plate and kept throwing the ball around the zone.”
Jimenez also struggled in his first spring start of last season. He retired just four of the 11 hitters he faced, allowing six runs (five earned) over 11⁄ innings in a 15-2 loss to the Detroit Tigers in Lakeland.
“I even feel better than last year, the first one that I had last year,” Jimenez said. “Mechanically, I’m feeling good, and I went to the mound and I wasn’t thinking about mechanics. I was thinking about throwing inside with the fastball and working on the curve and changeup that I didn’t use a lot last year.”
After struggling in his first start last spring, Jimenez went 3-2 with a 2.88 ERA in his six remaining Grapefruit League starts, riding that momentum into the season. Jimenez was the team’s best pitcher over the first half of the season, going 7-4 with a 2.81 ERA in 17 starts before the All-Star break.
“You never want to go out there and give up [six] runs like I did today, but there are things that are more important, especially [when you’re] starting spring training,” Jimenez said. “And that’s working on the things you need to do. Hopefully, in my next couple of starts, everything will come together so I don’t have to worry about throwing this pitch or that pitch, just getting people out.”
Showalter gave Jimenez a vote of confidence, saying he will become worried about Jimenez’s pitching lines only after the season begin.
“What I’m most interested in is his first start in Baltimore, because that’s when [the regular season] starts,” Showalter said. “I trust him. He’s been around. He’s pitched a lot of innings. He’s been a healthy horse for a long time and we expect him to be again, take the ball every fifth day. There’s something to be said about that. My most interest is when the bell rings.”