masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgAustin Hays is in right field this afternoon and Cedric Mullins is in center as the Orioles travel to Fort Myers to play the Twins.
Trey Mancini is the first baseman and Tyler Nevin is the designated hitter.
DJ Stewart (hamstring) and Chris Davis (back) remain out of the lineup.
Rylan Bannon is starting at third base.
Rio Ruiz is on the bench and struggling at the plate, where he’s gone 1-for-12 with three strikeouts.
Pat Valaika is 2-for-10 with a home run while in the thick of the utility…

Austin Hays is in right field this afternoon and Cedric Mullins is in center as the Orioles travel to Fort Myers to play the Twins.

Trey Mancini is the first baseman and Tyler Nevin is the designated hitter.

DJ Stewart (hamstring) and Chris Davis (back) remain out of the lineup.

Rylan Bannon is starting at third base.

Rio Ruiz is on the bench and struggling at the plate, where he’s gone 1-for-12 with three strikeouts.

Pat Valaika is 2-for-10 with a home run while in the thick of the utility competition. He’s the shortstop today instead of Freddy Galvis.

There also could be starts at third base if he makes the team.

Thumbnail image for Valaika-Takes-Grounder-ST-sidebar.jpg“I’ve never been told one way or the other, starting or utility,” he said this morning in a Zoom conference call. “To my mindset coming in, it’s just prepare to play every day because that’s what kind of my mindset has always been and it gets me ready to be thrown into various situations. So yeah, in my mind I’m trying to be a starter, but I can only control what I can control. Those decisions aren’t up to me, so just going to continue doing my work, putting my work in and focusing on the things I know I can control.”

Right-hander Dean Kremer makes his second start after being charged with three runs in 1 2/3 innings against the Red Sox. Spenser Watkins let an inherited runner score in the first and Kremer returned for the second and surrendered a home run to Jarren Duran.

“I’m not so much concerned about results right now,” Kremer said afterward. “More of just getting acclimated in a game setting and competing. That’s my number one goal. There’s not a huge emphasis on getting out of jams, just not yet. Maybe as we move closer to the season.”

For the Orioles
Cedric Mullins CF
Trey Mancini 1B
Ryan Mountcastle LF
Pedro Severino C
Austin Hays RF
Pat Valaika SS
Yolmer Sánchez 2B
Tyler Nevin DH
Rylan Bannon 3B

Dean Kremer RHP

The Twins also were off yesterday. They’re starting right-hander Kenta Maeda, who was 6-1 with a 2.70 ERA and 0.750 WHIP in 11 starts in 2020 and finished second in Cy Young Award voting after four seasons with the Dodgers. He averaged 1.4 walks and 10.8 strikeouts per nine innings.

In Maeda’s only start this spring, he tossed two scoreless and hitless innings with three strikeouts and a hit batter.

The Orioles were supposed to play the Twins in Fort Myers on March 12, 2020, but the team bus returned to the complex and baseball shut down due to the pandemic.

The Orioles are 2-5-1 this spring. They host the Blue Jays on Wednesday and travel to Bradenton again Thursday to play the Pirates.

Today’s game begins at 1:05 p.m. and is airing on MLB Network and 105.7 The Fan.