SARASOTA, Fla. – Tyler O’Neill enjoyed his time with Team Canada in the World Baseball Classic and wished that it could have lasted a little bit longer, but Team USA prevailed in the quarterfinals.

O’Neill got back to business with the Orioles tonight, a nice consolation, and lined a two-run single into right field in the first inning against Yankees starter Paul Blackburn.

Nothing has changed with O’Neill. He left camp on a hot streak and kept it alive upon his return.

O’Neill was 7-for-11 prior to leaving for the WBC, and his single tonight at 103.4 mph scored Pete Alonso and Samuel Basallo for a 2-0 lead. But heavy rains caused a stoppage in the top of the third inning and the game didn’t resume.

Nice workout, though.

Alonso walked with two outs and Basallo singled into left field at 103.2 mph. The runners moved up on a wild pitch and O’Neill raised his RBI total to five.

Zach Eflin got a third up before the storm arrived, with umpires halting play after Spencer Jones’ leadoff single in the third. Eflin retired the first six batters, striking out four.

Eflin threw 32 pitches, 22 for strikes. Players sprinted from the dugout to the baseball operations center while the grounds crew struggled to get the tarp on the field.

The infield dirt on the third base side remained uncovered, along with half of the grass area. The crew applied bags of drying compound to the dirt before finally able to stretch the rest of the tarp in place.

Manager Craig Albernaz, president of baseball operations Mike Elias and assistant general manager Eve Rosenbaum kept inspecting the field and talking to umpires and Yankees coaches after the crew peeled back a portion of the tarp to check whether the surface was playable.

It began raining again and the rest of the Orioles headed indoors.

Eflin pitched in a B game last week after making his Grapefruit League debut on March 5 with two scoreless innings against the Rays in Port Charlotte.

Asked earlier today if he’s pleased with Eflin’s progression in camp, Albernaz replied, “Honestly, I think, my personal opinion and take, he’s kind of exceeded my expectations with just how he’s moving.”

“I think when you have a back issue and you’ve been dealing with it all year, then go into the offseason and then you come into spring training, you just don’t know how a player’s going to respond,” Albernaz said. “I’ve been pleasantly surprised where he’s at, just how he’s moving down the mound, how efficient he is. And he’s been throwing the ball well.”

*Reliever Andrew Kittredge, unable to pitch due to right shoulder inflammation, is throwing off a mound and continuing to make progress in his recovery.

“I think that’s where, we want him to go at his own pace and listen to his body,” Albernaz said. “Yes, he’s an athlete, he’s a competitor, so he has Opening Day as the north star for him, which is awesome. I love that. But also, we want to do right by Kitt, and making sure that he’s at 100 percent going into the season, and whatever that looks like.

“He’s been playing catch, he’s been feeling good.”