masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgSARASOTA, Fla. – The visiting Orioles swept the home Orioles in this two-game intrasquad series, winning today, 3-2, at Ed Smith Stadium.

J.J. Hardy hit 30 home runs last season, and he’s got one this spring with a bases-empty shot off Armando Galarraga in the first inning. It won’t count in the Grapefruit League standings, but we saw it happen.

“It’s always fun,” he said. “I don’t even know if I’ve hit a homer yet in coaches BP, so it kind of caught me off guard.”

Asked if he’s…SARASOTA, Fla. – The visiting Orioles swept the home Orioles in this two-game intrasquad series, winning today, 3-2, at Ed Smith Stadium.

J.J. Hardy hit 30 home runs last season, and he’s got one this spring with a bases-empty shot off Armando Galarraga in the first inning. It won’t count in the Grapefruit League standings, but we saw it happen.

“It’s always fun,” he said. “I don’t even know if I’ve hit a homer yet in coaches BP, so it kind of caught me off guard.”

Asked if he’s locked in already, Hardy replied, “No, no. Like I said, I don’t even think I’ve done that off coaches BP. Definitely a little bit of a surprise for me. Obviously, I’ll take them, but I’m definitely not coming close to saying I’m locked in. It’s way too early for that. I don’t want to be locked in yet.”

“I told him not to peak too early,” manager Buck Showalter said.

Here’s more from Adam Jones on Dylan Bundy:

“That (guy) is going to be good, as good as he wants. I only saw a few pitches because it was over pretty quick, but … what’s that saying? The sky’s the limit? It’s just a matter of what he wants to do. He’s got great stuff, but he’s going to have to go and face some hitters. And some people are going to hit it. It’s just a matter of how well he reacts to that.

“My prediction is that he just blows by the minors. He should in a couple years and be in the bigs. But he’s going to have to go out and face hitters and see them a second time and see them a third time and then see them next week. But he’s got every tool possible, and he’s unbelievably athletic, which helps out.”

Showalter repeated that he’ll be sending Bundy back to minor league camp. He won’t reveal the exact date, but he indicated that the first-round pick will pitch

“That was good,” Showalter said. “I’m glad he got a chance to throw and we got a chance to see him. I can see why people think highly of him. We knew that coming in. I was happy for him. It’s exciting.”

Bundy is scheduled to pitch in a B game March 11 and a game against the Red Sox, “but that could change,” Showalter said.

“Then he pitches against Minnesota in the home opener in Baltimore.”

Showalter couldn’t keep a straight face. He was joking.

Bundy’s brother, Bobby, pitched a scoreless inning today.

“You had to kind of blink to make sure they weren’t the same guy,” Showalter said. “I don’t care how long you do this, you do kind of take in the moment. You think of the father sitting there and both brothers are pitching professional baseball in a major league camp. That’s pretty neat. And legitimately worthy of it.”

Wei-Yin Chen couldn’t get a third out before leaving the game in the first inning. He allowed one run and two hits, walked a batter and struck out Xavier Avery. Matt Antonelli and Nick Johnson had back-to-back singles and Taylor Teagarden walked. Joe Mahoney followed with a sacrifice fly.

“It was a tough day to pitch with the wind,” Showalter said. “I was impressed with him. He has a mound presence and a lot of deception in his delivery. He’s going to be fine. He’s a strike-thrower.”