masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgBRADENTON, Fla. – They are not the only two candidates competing for a potential rotation opening with the Orioles, just the last two to pitch. Left-hander Chris Lee worked three scoreless innings last night and Gabriel Ynoa took the mound today here at LECOM Park.
During a 56-pitch outing, the 23-year-old right-hander went 2 2/3 innings, allowing five hits and two runs. The second run scored on a Michael Zouzalik balk after Ynoa left the game with the bases loaded and two outs in the…

BRADENTON, Fla. – They are not the only two candidates competing for a potential rotation opening with the Orioles, just the last two to pitch. Left-hander Chris Lee worked three scoreless innings last night and Gabriel Ynoa took the mound today here at LECOM Park.

During a 56-pitch outing, the 23-year-old right-hander went 2 2/3 innings, allowing five hits and two runs. The second run scored on a Michael Zouzalik balk after Ynoa left the game with the bases loaded and two outs in the third.

Ynoa showed some mid-90s velocity as he walked one and fanned three. If Chris Tillman misses any starts to begin the year, the Orioles are looking for his replacement, and Lee and Ynoa have had the most recent chances to impress in a starting role.

buck-showalter-smell-baseball.jpg“OK. Lot of deep counts,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said of Ynoa’s outing in the Orioles’ 8-6 win over the Pirates. “Guys have to know what’s going on, he and Chris. Stuff-wise he’s fine. Just needs a little better command of something soft. The arm is not an issue.

“Ynoa, experience-wise obviously, has a little more experience. We have a lot of options and we’ve got plenty of time to shake it out and we’ll continue to do that. That is why we had Mike (Wright) and (Jayson) Aquino and all the guys throwing. We get another look tomorrow in Tampa.

“Let’s keep in mind, Chris Lee, he had a lot of physical issues last year and didn’t really pitch as much and really hasn’t pitched above the Double-A level. You’re talking about the possibility of three more starts for anybody. Keep in mind we’re in the middle of a normal spring training. There’s a lot of time left. We’re talking about over two weeks.”

Young pitchers like Lee and Ynoa are in a unique situation right now. They need to work on all their pitches to set themselves up to have a good year, but they also need to get outs any way they can to impress the brass.

“They’re always (doing both). … They’re doing that in the middle of the season,” Showalter said. “Their arms are in good shape. They’re trying to do both, but we all know in their heart what they’re trying to do is trying to impress and see if there’s a chance to make the club.”

The skipper is trying not to put too much into an evaluation of any player in just one or two outings.

“You try to keep in mind that it’s so challenging because everybody wants to make so much of one outing or one game,” Showalter said. “We’ve got three or four guys take five or six at-bats today. That’s an indication that they’re starting to say, ‘OK, I’ve got to rev it up a little bit. We’re not that far away.’ And we know that when Manny (Machado) and those guys come back, a lot of these looks that we’re getting with these guys are going to go away.”

Today, Trey Mancini continued his strong spring at bat and lefty Zach Britton took another step toward being ready to roll on opening day.

Mancini hit a long solo homer to left-center off Drew Hutchison in the second. He is batting .351.

“He’s had a good spring, offensively and defensively,” Showalter said. “You can tell he’s really calmed down and kind of has his clock right (on defense in the outfield). Which is normal. We saw it with Christian Walker his first spring compared to the next spring. He’s playing with a lot of confidence and knowing that he’s capable of doing this.”

Britton, who gave up two runs in one inning Tuesday in his spring debut, today made his second appearance. He pitched a scoreless last of the fifth. Britton got two groundouts and a strikeout around a walk. He threw 18 pitches, and his fastball hit 95 and 96 mph.

“Zach’s fine,” Showalter said. “I think he (the umpire) missed three pitches on him. I was really impressed with Chance (Sisco) catching him. We wanted to leave him in there to catch Zach, so that was a good look. I thought Chance handled himself real well. Not that he was bad last outing, but you could tell he was a lot calmer back there and you didn’t notice him, which is always a good sign for a catcher.”

The Orioles had eight different players with one RBI each today, going 5-for-13 with runners in scoring position. They improved to 11-8-2 and snapped the Pirates’ seven-game home win streak. Dylan Bundy gets the start on Saturday afternoon when the Orioles play the Yankees in Tampa.