The Baltimore Orioles this afternoon lost to their division rivals, the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-1, on the road in Grapefruit League action.
Pitcher Wei-Yin Chen for the Orioles had a solid outing on Tuesday; however, he gave a run in three innings of work. So far, he’s thrown very well and has only given up one walk during the spring.
As James mentioned on Saturday, Chen might be a good find for the Orioles. He does not throw hard; however, he hits his spots, exercises some great control and doesn’t allow guys on base via a walk.
I would think right now that Chen might have a spot in the rotation locked up. Overall, the starts over the spring have been fairly good.
That’s a good thing, considering the problems that the Orioles have had with base runners over the past few years. At this point, let’s hope Chen stays durable and transitions well to the American style of baseball.
Armando Galarraga got hit around on the afternoon as he gave up three runs in two innings. The Jays jumped on him in a shaky fourth inning. Overall, he allowed two hits, three walks, but struck out two.
Galarraga is a pitcher who really intrigued me when I read that he was signed to a minor league deal with the Orioles. I thought that Galarraga had an outside shot to make the 25-man roster; however, things are not looking too good for him right now.
Jon Link, Pat Neshek and Stuart Pomeranz each threw a scoreless inning.
Ryan Flaherty – who is vying for a roster spot on Opening Day – plated Baltimore’s only run in the seventh inning, but committed an error in the second inning.
Also, I’m surprised that Ryan Adams got cut. I would think he would have been battling for a bench spot, and he’s got a solid bat; however, his defense comes to question.
Adams, according to Steve Melewski from MASN Sports, was a victim of the numbers game; moreover, he is a guy without an infield position and seems not to inspire much confidence with the front office brass.
Finally, it’s good to see Nolan Reimold doing better after being hit in the face last week. His swelling according to reports has gone down on his face, and should see time on the field this week. For a guy who has been had his share of some ups, and many downs, let’s hope Reimold can put this latest setback behind him.
