BRADENTON, Fla. - Craig Tatum's infield single produced another run in the sixth inning and increased the Orioles' lead to 3-1.
Matt Angle crashed into the center field fence while running down a long drive in the bottom of the sixth. He collapsed to the ground after making the throw, but he stayed in the game.
Koji Uehara ran the count full to the leadoff hitter, Jose Tabata, and gave up a single into center field.
Must be the first exhibition game.
A run scored off Uehara with two outs when second baseman Brendan Harris lost Pedro Alvarez's pop up in the wind and sun. It happens. It also was ruled a hit. Orioles 3, Pirates 2.
Michel Hernandez threw out Alvarez trying to steal second to end the inning.
Brad Bergesen noted that he has a few things he needs to "tune up a little bit," but he seemed happy overall with today's outing.
"Fastball felt OK," he said. "I need to start working down. Changeup actually felt good today and I threw a few good sliders in there. Overall, for my first outing, it was a good one to get my feet wet today.
"It felt good. I don't want to say opening day, but first time back on the mound you've got those little extra butterflies going. There's a little bit of an extra adrenaline rush going, so I've just got to hone in on it and fine-tune these things the rest of spring."
Bergesen was asked again to compare how he feels now to last spring, when he dealt with a sore shoulder.
"My goodness, it's night and day," he replied. "It's just completely opposite to the spectrum of what I feel like right now. Last year, I was just rushing myself, just trying to get my arm in enough shape to be able to pitch off a mound, so it didn't really give me that much time to work on my mechanics or get to where I needed to be. This year, it's a whole other story, and hopefully I can have that time like I've had so far and get ready for the season the way I want to.
"Every year I come in, I've always got something to prove. I think that's what always keeps me going and always makes you better. In this game, you never want to settle or feel comfortable, so for me, especially with a new staff, I want to come in here and do what I'm capable of doing, and also prove a point here.
"I feel less pressure because I'm not dealing with the injuries, so I'm that much healthier right now, but it's a new staff and you've got new people you need to go out and prove and it's a new year. Last year's over with and I'm not going to make a team based on last year. It can help a little in the backs of their minds, but I've got to go out there and prove it all over again now."
Plate umpire Wally Bell had a brief discussion with Bergesen.
"He actually was just talking to me about a balk issue," Bergesen said. "I didn't balk, but he was just saying that it was kind of borderline and it's just something the umpires are looking out for a little bit this year. Very minor, but he was saying something about how I need to be a little more deliberate when I step off the rubber."
Update: Kevin Gregg walked a batter and struck out one in a scoreless seventh. He also induced two ground balls.
Angle singled and stole a base in the top half of the inning, so he's fine.
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