Wright has eventful opener
Dark-horse bullpen candidates Araujo and Rodríguez stand out
SARASOTA, FLA. – Right-hander Mike Wright Jr. saw plenty of action in the Orioles’ 6-3 exhibition loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday afternoon, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t pitch well in his 2018 Grapefruit League debut at Ed Smith Stadium.
He opened with a 12-pitch walk to Rays leadoff hitter Micah Johnson and allowed a slow bouncer that found its way through the right side of the infield to set up the first Rays run. Wright was in the strike zone consistently during his two-inning appearance and retired the final five batters.
“That first batter obviously put a really good at-bat out there, but I felt like I was throwing some pretty good pitches,’’ Wright said. “They just need to be a little bit more crisp and I would have got them.”
The second inning was a one-man show. He struck out leadoff batter Johnny Field, fielded a swinging bunt in front of the mound to get the second out and caught a popup near the mound to end the inning.
“Yeah, I mean, anytime you can get three easy outs and get a double play in an inning, anything like that is very big,” he said.
His line: Two innings, one run, one hit, one walk, one strikeout.
Manager Buck Showalter was impressed with the way Wright maintained his composure after the difficult first inning.
“That was a good outing because that’s something he’s going to have to do,” Showalter said. “You’re going to have a guy foul off six, seven or eight — whatever it was. You’re going to have a guy roll a ball through the hole, and now what are you going to do? He kept it to one run and kept us very much in the game. That’s good to see. Didn’t let his emotions get in the way of him. That was a good, calm professional outing.”
It was the second time in three years that Wright was chosen to start the Orioles’ first exhibition game. He’s out of minor league options and must make the team or be exposed to waivers, so every outing is important.
“I’m out of options, so I’m trying to make the team and obviously [either] in the bullpen or the rotation, I’m in the big leagues, but things like this are key because I want to be in the rotation,” Wright said. “I think that’s where I’m best at and that’s where I want to stick at, so that’s what I’ve been working on all offseason.”
He also has added an additional pitch, which he worked on at Norfolk last year and unveiled here Friday.
“Yeah, it’s been multiple years that Buck’s said I need to get lefties out,” Wright said. “I need to have something for lefties and I think that cutter is kind of big. I think it really complements my sinker.” Unsung relievers stand out: Trying to sort out the Orioles’ 37 pitchers in big league camp officially began Friday with the team’s Grapefruit League opener against the Tampa Bay Rays at Ed Smith Stadium.
With four pitchers (Dylan Bundy, Kevin Gausman, Andrew Cashner and Chris Tillman) pegged for the rotation, and four bullpen spots likely set on the Opening Day roster (Brad Brach, Mychal Givens, Darren O’Day and Richard Bleier), that leaves 29 pitchers competing for one starting spot and three or four relief spots.
In Friday’s opener, two dark-horse relief candidates drew notice as Rule 5 draft pick Pedro Araujo and nonroster invitee Joely Rodríguez each tossed a scoreless frame.
Mike Wright Jr. has eventful debut in Orioles' Grapefruit League-opening 6-3 loss to Rays
“Araujo was good today. That was good to see,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. “Joely Rodríguez has been impressive all camp. It was good to see him out there.”
Araujo, the 24-year- old who pitched mostly at the High-Alevel last year in the Chicago Cubs organization, retired the Rays in order in a clean fifth inning, inducing a 4-3 groundout from former Orioles minor leaguer Johnny Monell, then striking out Adam Moore and Micah Johnson, both swinging.
Rodríguez, a former Philadelphia Phillies left-hander who had a strong 2016 season but had difficulty last year, displayed a mid-90s fastball with life. He retired three of the four batters he faced in a scoreless sixth, inducing nothing but weak contact on two groundouts and a lazy bloop single. He also struck out Jake Bauers swinging.
“We can say what we want to, but if they start making a case out of the chute, we’re going to have to start cutting down the numbers here at some point,” Showalter said. “There’s nothing imminent. But that’s how you get an opportunity and how you continue to have an opportunity.”