The Birds got what appears to be some good news about Chris Davis‘ knee just prior to the game, as GM Dan Duquette said that he doesn’t believe Davis will need to go to the DL. Orioles’ physicians will read the MRI (which was conducted yesterday morning) in full on tomorrow’s off day, however Davis was feeling much better yesterday morning. The got off to an early lead when Manny Machado launched a home run in the first inning of yesterday’s game. The Orioles seemed to have guys on base throughout starter Tommy Hanson‘s time in the game, and perhaps more embarrassingly (to Hanson) they seemed to run at will. As good as Garcia was, Hanson seemingly couldn’t find the strike zone. His pitches seemed to tail off to the third base side of home plate, and Oriole hitters were more than happy to take pitches (which is a good sign).

One of the underlying game stories was that through nine innings the O’s were 0-for-10 with runners-in-scoring-position, and they left eight men on base. They were getting guys on base against Hanson, they just couldn’t drive them home. J.J. Hardy added to the Orioles’ lead in the second with a solo home run, Nolan Reimold scored Manny Machado with a sac fly in the fifth, and then hit another solo homer in the seventh. The Orioles led 4-0, and Garcia was cruising…so quickly in fact that suddenly he was throwing a no-hitter in the sixth. The thing that struck me the most about Garcia’s outing was how he was getting his off-speed and breaking pitches over for strikes. The ball must really have been coming off his hand tightly given that those pitches were freezing the Anaheim hitters.

Alex Aybar broke up the no-hit bid in the seventh with a base hit, and then Trumbo’s aforementioned homer cut the Orioles’ lead to 4-2. However Anaheim rallied again in the last of the eighth, starting with a bunt single against the shift in by Hank Conger. That’s the best way to defend against the shift as a hitter, and Conger did it perfectly. Darren O’Day uncharacteristically struggled in the eighth, surrendering two runs (which tied the game at four) and at one point throwing eight consecutive balls. I was a little surprised that Buck Showalter left O’Day in to complete the eighth inning with his struggles, as Brian Matusz appeared to be ready in the Orioles’ pen. However after Mike Trout‘s RBI-single that tied the game (and non-decisioning Garcia who pitched his tail off), O’Day struck out Albert Pujols to end the threat.

Tommy Hunter pitched the last of the ninth, and he promptly walked Mark Trumbo. However with a 2-2 count on Alberto Callaspo Trumbo got greedy and tried to steal. While starting catcher Matt Wieters was on the bench yesterday, Chris Snyder did his best Wieters impression and gunned Trumbo down at second. That’s a play that will go largely unremembered in the overall game story, however make no mistake about the fact that it was huge. When you’re in the last of the ninth or in extras and you erase a base runner like that, you’ve potentially saved the game.

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In the top of the tenth we saw another big play that won’t be remembered. Following a lead off single by Adam Jones, Nolan Reimold grounded into what appeared to be a double-play. However Jones slid hard into second causing just a bit of hesitation on the part of the second baseman, turning a double-play into a fielder’s choice. Reimold would move to second on a ground out, and would then score on Steve Pearce‘s RBI-single. With Jim Johnson on for the save, Alex Aybar grounded out to record the final out in the tenth, and the O’s had a 5-4 extra-innings win in which they battled their own demons…and won.

This was a huge win for the Birds because one would have had to wonder where the team was psychologically had they lost after leading most of the way. It also showed that this team is about as resilient as they come; with Davis out of the lineup with an injury, it was his replacement at first base (Steve Pearce) who drove in the winning run. Perhaps had Davis been in the lineup he would have hit another homer earlier in the game off of Hanson (who was serving it up to everyone it seemed) and this wouldn’t have even been an issue, however the fact is that the Birds managed to fight themselves and the Angels off and find a way to win under adverse conditions. The 0-for-10 clip with RISP is concerning, however if they were only going to hit once with a runner in scoring position, Pearce picked the right time to do it.

The O’s have already guaranteed themselves a winning road trip by winning yesterday, however they’ll attempt to make it a winning road trip at 7-4 with a win this afternoon which would also give them three-of-four in LA. They’ll have Jason Hammel on the mound this afternoon, and he’ll be opposed by Jerome Williams (who’s making his first start of 2013).

Steve Johnson pitched two innings and gave up two runs on two hits. Not exactly a perfect outing, but he pitched out of a couple of jams. Jair Jurrjens turned around and gave up three runs on 2.2 innings pitched. While that could be construed as a problem, the two teams combined for 29 hits in the entire game. The game was only tied due to the fact that Toronto put a run across against Zack Clark in the last of the ninth (previously the Orioles were leading 6-5). We should also keep in mind that ties in spring training games aren’t overly uncommon given that the visiting team (the Orioles in this case) only brings a finite number of pitchers and position players with them for each game. So given that wins and losses aren’t overly important, you might play one extra inning and then call it a day.

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Nolan Reimold returned to the lineup as a DH but went o-for-3 in the game. Conor Jackson and Steve Pearce continue to put up decent numbers this spring, with Pearce homering twice in the game and Jackson once. These guys are making Buck Showalter and Dan Duquette’s jobs very difficult in the sense that they have to eventually decide who’s on the team. Pearce was briefly with the Orioles last season after being traded from the New York Yankees’ organization. Ironically after the O’s released him and after a stint in Houston, he ended up back in New York. He’s since been claimed again by the Orioles. One thing last year’s team was noted for was depth within the entire organization, and at this point it appears that the 2013 Orioles will be more of the same. The Orioles have Jackson, Pearce, Ryan Flaherty, Chris Dickerson, and a few others, all of whom could be stashed in the minors until they’re needed (if they aren’t on the roster when the team breaks camp).

From an organizational standpoint I think the best news out of yesterday’s game was that rookie Kevin Gausman pitched a scoreless inning. He did give up a walk and two hits, but he also struck out two. Gausman pitches to contact, which in theory would indicate that he’d end up with runners on base from time to time. At some point I would think that Gausman will be re-assigned to minor league camp, however this is good experience for him in terms of getting reps in games at the big league level.

The Orioles will be back in Sarasota this afternoon however they’ll be taking on Team Spain from the World Baseball Classic. Buck Showalter said that many of the regular players will not be involved in today’s game. Hopefully the guys that do play will try to go out and win one for the good ol’ US of A!

Jair Jurrjens got the start in yesterday’s game, but obviously did not figure into the decision; Jurrjens’ line: 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 0 K. Jurrjens said after the game that he felt good about the outing, although certainly he didn’t want to give up the one run. Jurrjens’ one run came on a Mark De Rosa RBI-single which cut the Orioles’ lead to 2-1. The O’s had taken the lead on a two-run homer by Steve Pearce, who was about as consistent in all aspects yesterday as one could hope to be in a game of limited appearances. The O’s surrendered the lead when Oriole-killer Jose Bautista proved to be as lethal in Florida as he is in Toronto or Baltimore, knocking a two-run blast of his own off of Troy Patton. In fact, Patton might have provided the one bit of concern that came out of yesterday’s game. Patton’s line: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 0 K. Admittedly that isn’t the worst stat line of all time, however translate those statistics over to a regular season appearance; Patton is a matchup lefty, and that one run could make a huge difference down the stretch in a game. However as much as people need to remember not to take success in these Grapefruit League games too seriously, the same is true with struggles.

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Trayvon Robinson (yesterday’s hero) reached on a double in the top of the eighth, and he was plated to tie the game at three by Jason Pridie. That brought Steve Pearce to the plate once again, who gave the Orioles the lead for good with an RBI-single of his own. Pearce was the star of the game for the O’s, going 2-for-3 with three RBI (including a two-run homer) in the game. As I said, not many of the Orioles’ “regulars” made the trip yesterday, however I think that these kinds of “B games” do show the club the kind of depth that they’re going to have in the organization this year. Having said that, if the results of the first two games are any indication the Orioles would also be hard-pressed to keep Trayvon Robinson and Steve Pearce off of the big league roster. I suspect most of the guys in yesterdays game (with the exception of the Teagardens, Betemits, etc. of the world) will probably end up in the minors, however again…depth.

2012 first round draft choice Kevin Gausman got into the game late, providing us with his first taste of a big league game. Gausman’s line: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 2 K. Gausman did struggle just a bit, but was able to pitch out of a mini-jam. I think the most impressive thing about Gausman was probably his changeup. That’s not something I write very often because a changeup is in theory just a slower version of a fastball. However as great as Gausman’s fastball was (topping out at 98 MPH), his changeup was hitting 83 on the gun. That’s a 15 MPH differentiation. If you throw that pitch in there after a 98 MPH fastball, it would almost be unhittable. After the game Gausman was kicking himself over the one walk, however based on his comments he didn’t appear to feel it was a bad outing in the least.

After the game the Orioles bused home to Sarasota where they’ll take on the New York Yankees in Grapefruit League game three this afternoon at 1 PM, a game that will be shown on MASN for the first time in 2013. I recall that last season MASN actually televised the home opener in Sarasota, and Buck Showalter sent Brian Matusz out to the mound as the starter; he’s doing the same this afternoon. I’m not sure if this is done on purpose so as to showcase Matusz for the hometown fans back in Baltimore, however the fact is that Matusz will be starting in today’s game and it’s on television. Mark Hendrickson, Daniel McCutchen, and Pedro Strop are the only other confirmed pitchers that are expected to be used in the game, however presumably there will be others. New York of course sustained a potentially catastrophic injury in their game against Toronto (who was in a split squad situation with NY and the Orioles) when Curtis Granderson was hit on the wrist and is expected to be out for at least 10 weeks. That won’t really have any affect on this afternoon’s game, however there’s certainly the potential that it does affect the early stages of the AL East race once the season begins. Granderson was expected to be a great source of power for NY’s lineup. Vidal Nuno is expected to start today’s game for New York, against most of the Orioles’ regulars. If you’re unable to watch today’s game on MASN, you can follow along on twitter (@DomenicVadala) for in-game updates, and the game will be replayed in it’s entirety on MASN at 7 PM.