SARASOTA – So this is what it looks like up close when Chris Bassitt is cruising.

And this is how Bassitt reacts to it in spring training. No big deal. It’s more about getting a feel for all of his pitches, familiar with his catchers and ready for his first season with the Orioles.

Bassitt made his second exhibition start today and retired the first nine batters before a leadoff walk and infield single brought manager Craig Albernaz out of the dugout. Yennier Cano entered the game and Iván Herrera scored on Jordan Walker’s grounder.

The run was unearned.

Bassitt threw 43 pitches, 26 for strikes. He went with his sinker, curveball, cutter and fastball through two innings and broke out his changeup in the third.

By the finish, Bassitt had thrown 18 sinkers, 12 curveballs, five cutters, and four fastballs and changeups.

“It was just feeling out mechanics,” he said. “Overall I’d say mechanics were pretty good today. It was just, I would say, a mindset and a couple of the pitches weren’t great. But it’s working with Adley (Rutschman), getting my lanes right, getting the spots, locations right, and just getting comfortable in-game with how we want to work.

“We didn’t really deep dive in like game preparation, but we did a little bit with some hitters. So it’s just how we’re looking at the hitters, how we’re looking at attacking them, and this overall thing is about.”

Shortstop Blaze Alexander charged Herrera’s bouncer and threw him out in the first inning, and Colton Cowser ran down Jeremy Rivas’ 100.9 mph line drive in right-center field to end the third.

Nathan Church drew a leadoff walk in the fourth with the count full and Herrera reached on a bouncer to the right side on Bassitt’s final pitch.

Bassitt allowed two runs in two innings in his debut, the last scoring after he left the game. He’s impressed with the group of starters in camp but won’t go heavy on the plaudits.

“I’m excited,” he said. “I think we’re very underrated, but the games will tell. But yeah, I’m excited for sure.

“We have the guys. It’s just, I’m not gonna get too excited about it just because I don’t want to make no headlines. I would rather be a stealth bomber, so to speak, and not have anybody talk about us. Just surprise people, I guess.”

Third baseman Coby Mayo fielded José Fermin’s grounder, stepped on the bag and skipped a throw past first baseman Ryan Mountcastle, which led to the unearned run. The next two balls also found Mayo, but he fired to Mountcastle twice to record the outs.

Mountcastle singled in his first two at-bats and drove in the tying run in the fourth inning. The lineup listed him fifth in the order after Pete Alonso, but they switched spots. Perhaps just to make sure everyone’s paying attention.

Batting again in the sixth, Mountcastle dumped a single into center field to go 3-for-3, and he’s 7-for-18 (.389) with a .921 OPS this spring.

“Feel pretty good,” he said. “Just getting some bat on ball, trying to swing at all the right pitches. I feel like I’m picking up spin, stuff like that, pretty well right now. So that’s a positive sign.”

Much of the offseason focus for Mountcastle was hitting the ball hard and in the air.

“Get good pitches to hit in the air, as well,” he said.

The Orioles signed Mountcastle to another $6.787 million contract to avoid arbitration, and he could be a dangerous bat coming off the bench or at designated hitter, with Alonso the everyday first baseman. He just needs to stay healthy and carry this exhibition roll to Baltimore.

Alonso flied out twice, the second ball caught at the right field fence, and grounded into a double play.

Albert Suárez allowed two runs and four hits in the fifth inning and surrendered a one-out homer to Nelson Velázquez in the sixth on a high fly ball to left field that kept carrying. He came back out for the seventh and the first three batters went single, single, two-run double (Yohel Pozo).

The next two batters were retired, but Joshua Báez launched a cutter 436 feet to left field at 110.8 mph to give St. Louis an 8-1 lead.

The final line shows Suárez with seven runs and nine hits allowed in 2 2/3 innings and a 10.80 ERA in 6 2/3 spring innings.

The Orioles re-signed Suárez to a minor league deal after non-tendering him and he’s fighting to make the club in a long relief role.

Jhonkensy Noel made a diving stop and throw at first base to record the out and singled to left field in the seventh. His spring work also includes a diving catch in right-center field.

Update: Vance Honeycutt’s home run streak ended at four at-bats. He lined a single into center field in the eighth inning, making him 5-for-5 with four homers and a walk this spring.

“That was a great piece of hitting by Honey right there,” said manager Craig Albernaz. “That was a really good slider and he did a great job of adjusting to it and still keeping his feet and his posture back through the middle. That was a really impressive swing.”

The Orioles lost 10-2 and Noel exited the game in the ninth after being hit on the right thumb by a changeup.

“Immediately he said ‘thumb,’ I was like, ninth inning, we have guys on the bench. Let’s get him out of the game,” Albernaz said.

Here’s Albernaz on Bassitt: “Bassitt looked really good. He looked sharp out there. The curveball looked really good and he did a good job of using all his pitches today and throwing strikes.”

Albernaz on Mountcastle: “In my conversations with him, he’s been great. He’s been putting a lot of quality work in and he’s ready to go. The at-bats have been great, he’s playing a great first base. He’s in a great spot right now.”

Albernaz on Suárez: “It looked like all his off-speed offerings were just a little flat today and out over the plate. But other than that, the fastball looked good. But just the breaking stuff wasn’t as sharp as it has been, which is on brand. It’s still spring training. He’s getting built up, so next outing he’ll be better.”