SARASOTA – The second one was worthy of a bat flip.

Orioles catcher Samuel Basallo stayed hot on a chilly and windy evening at Ed Smith Stadium, homering twice against the Pirates.

Basallo lined a Cam Sanders sinker foul to the opposite field in the first inning and drove the next pitch, a 97.1 mph fastball, over the fence in right-center. Statcast calculated the exit velocity at 106.3 mph.

The seven-pitch at-bat left Basallo 10-for-30 this spring with four doubles and two home runs. The OPS grew to 1.079.

Pretty good, right?

Well, Basallo stepped to the plate in the third against Mike Clevinger, swung at a first-pitch changeup and lined it over the right field fence at 110.6 mph – his highest of the spring – for a two-run shot. He almost hit the Von Paris moving and storage truck parked outside the baseball operations center.

Basallo held the bat in his right hand after making contact and chucked it toward the dugout to begin his jog around the bases. The lumber spun end over end.

The updated stats put Basallo’s average at .355 and OPS at 1.203.

Really good, right?

Well, Basallo led off the sixth with a single into right field to make him 3-for-3. The sweeper from left-hander Hunter Barco left his bat at 104.7 mph.

“I think that’s something to do with the fact that I’m pretty big, so I think anytime that I put the ball in play, I hit it pretty hard,” he said via interpreter Brandon Quinones. “It’s not that I’m trying to go up there and hit like a crazy chicken and go crazy out there in the batter’s box. Just trying to stay focused on my approach and do what I can to put up a good at-bat.”

The updated stats put Basallo’s average at .375 and OPS at 1.225. Get him to Baltimore for Opening Day. He’s ready.

“Feeling ready, feeling confident,” Basallo said. “I think that’s one of the biggest things that I feel like I lacked in last year was that confidence, so going into this season, I feel just really confident and ready to go.”

Adley Rutschman caught in Tampa and had a run-scoring single. He’s 11-for-38 with two doubles, two homers, a .342 on-base percentage and .500 slugging percentage.

It’s easy to understand why manager Craig Albernaz likes the idea of having both of them in the lineup.

“We’re very fortunate and lucky to have two really good catchers on both sides of the ball,” Albernaz said. “To see both of them kind of come into their own, I would say, in spring training at the right time, and both of them have been working so hard with our hitting group, and also the defensive side. It was a great showing by both of them tonight.”

Jeremiah Jackson keeps getting starts at second base, the only pause due to a mild calf strain. He led off the second inning with a single and singled again in the sixth to move Basallo to second base.

Jackson, Luis Vázquez, Bryan Ramos, Weston Wilson and Thairo Estrada are tussling for the last infield spot and they bring varying tools. Jackson has the advantage of an impressive August after the Orioles selected his contract from Triple-A Norfolk, but he played only right field and third base.

Spring training is giving the club a chance to determine whether he can fit a utility role. He seemed to be a favorite at the start of camp, fell back and is making a strong push.

The Blaze Alexander trade that appeared to hurt his chances initially isn’t a detriment. Alexander is going to start at second or third base with Jackson Holliday and Jordan Westburg injured.

“Big Christmas” had a big fly ball after Jackson’s single. Jhonkensy Noel hit his first exhibition home run for a 3-0 lead.

Noel cleared the center field fence on a sinker from former Orioles left-hander Gregory Soto, with an exit velo of 106.1 mph. He was 7-for-17 with a 1.121 OPS.

Left-hander Trevor Rogers will be working on six days’ rest for Opening Day after allowing two runs and seven hits in 5 1/3 innings, with no walks and seven strikeouts. He shut out the Pirates over the first four innings, but Ryan O’Hearn had an RBI grounder in the fifth and Bryan Reynolds followed with a two-out RBI single.

Albernaz gave Rogers another up and he struck out Spencer Horwitz before exiting.

Rogers threw 82 pitches. He finishes with a 2.51 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and .232 average against.

“I think every time he steps up there on the mound he looks incredible,” Basallo said. “We talk before and after his starts and I think he looks just as good as last year, if not better.”

“I’m ready,” Rogers said. “I think spins were a big point of emphasis this outing, and really pleased with how both of my spins played today. A lot of weak contact out in front, a lot of good swings and misses. Just getting that sixth up there in the sixth inning was huge. Now, I’ve got two extra days rest to recover and get going for the games that matter.”

Said Albernaz: “It was a great camp for Trevor. Coming back from his injury two years ago, and last year being his first time back, and now going full healthy offseason and seeing what he can do now, it’s awesome. His buildup’s been great. His communication has been outstanding.”

Rogers issued only one walk in his 16 2/3 innings.

“Might be one too many, but I’ll take one,” he said.

“That’s my point of emphasis, attacking the strike zone, not giving free passes. You know, there’s points in the game where it might be smart to pitch around a guy, but in spring it’s kind of no point.”

Making every start this spring is a big deal for Rogers after his past health issues.

“I haven’t done that in a year and a half, two years, so that’s huge for me,” he said. “Availabilities are the best abilities, so that’s something I try to preach on. So if I can take the ball every five to six days, it’s huge, and getting over the middle part of spring and getting through those ramp-up periods was huge for me.”

Rutschman will be behind the plate on Opening Day, but Basallo will get his chances to catch Rogers.

“Wow,” Rogers said of Basallo’s offensive night. “You see how hard he hit those balls. He was awesome. He’s slowly maturing into a really good professional player, and I mean, he’s only, what is he, 14, 21, something like that?

“All joking aside, he really impressed me tonight. There was a situation where I was thinking a pitch based on the last pitch and he called it right away. Like, he’s seeing things, and just being able to do what he does on both sides of the plate and kind of separate those two and not taking his at-bats behind the plate, I’m super impressed with him and I’m glad he’s my catcher.”

Ryan Helsley and Grant Wolfram each struck out two in their scoreless innings. Jackson Kowar earned the save in a 5-2 win after stranding two runners in scoring position.