For the Orioles, youth was served in Sunday's win over Boston

SARASOTA, Fla. - It was in a spring training game that will soon be forgotten, but some of the Orioles promising young pitchers put up some zeros on Sunday in Fort Myers versus the Boston Red Sox.

And this is after two of their young guns - Hunter Harvey and Tanner Scott - combined to allow three runs (two earned) over the first four frames. It could have been worse for that duo, but they impressively pitched out of a couple jams.

In the last of the fifth, soon to be 23-year-old lefty Keegan Akin retired the side in order on 12 pitches. Wearing a No. 91 jersey, he got J.D. Martinez to ground to third, with Danny Valencia making a nice backhand play. He then fanned Xander Bogaerts on a 1-2 fastball and Rafael Devers grounded out back to Akin. A second round pick in 2016, Akin pitched to a 4.14 ERA last year at Single-A Frederick and to 2.76 in the Arizona Fall League.

Right-hander Michael Baumann, 22, pitched a scoreless sixth. He allowed a Brock Holt single, but Austin Wynns gunned Holt down when he tried to steal second. Baumann, the club's third-round pick last June, went 4-2 with a 1.28 ERA last season, mostly for short-season Single-A Aberdeen.

Brenan Hanifee, a 19-year-old right-hander, pitched around a single in a scoreless seventh. Hanifee went 7-3 with a 2.75 ERA last summer for short season Single-A Aberdeen. Then lefty Zac Lowther and right-hander Ryan Meisinger combined for the last six outs. Meisinger got a four-out save with two strikeouts.

The five young pitchers combined for five scoreless innings, allowing two hits with two walks and four strikeouts in the Orioles' 7-3 win. Keeping with the youthful theme, Chance Sisco had an RBI single and is now batting .400, and Ryan Mountcastle hit a three-run homer in the ninth. It was his second of spring training.

In the night game win at Ed Smith Stadium over Philadelphia, 21-year-old Aussie-born lefty Alex Wells pitched a scoreless eighth. He allowed two singles to start that frame, but then got a double play ball and another grounder to put up a zero. The Orioles' 2017 minor league Pitcher of the Year, Wells went 11-5 with a 2.38 ERA last season for Single-A Delmarva. Over 140 innings he walked just 10, fanned 113 and had a 0.91 WHIP.

From youth to a vet: Colby Rasmus has not been an Oriole even a month yet, but he keeps impressing his manager and he's played well in spring training. The 31-year-old Rasmus drove in a run yesterday and is batting .313 (5-for-16). He has three hits and three RBIs his last two games. He could wind up as the lefty-batting part of a right-field platoon.

"Rasmus is very professional. Each day he really works his (butt) off when he is left back (and doesn't play in a road game)," manager Buck Showalter said. "He gets in the batter's box in the sim games. Each game he has played and each work day has been like this (raises hand little by little)."

Showalter seemed to be indicating that Rasmus' intensity and play are both on the upswing. The skipper clearly is a fan of Rasmus' preparation for the season.

"Yesterday in the infield drills it was, 'Man.' He's got a closet arm (better than you think). I'm telling you. Danny Valencia said he's got the most accurate arm you've ever seen in the outfield. I get to watching him and there's never a ball left or right. It might be a little high or low. He's a fascinating guy. Our guys love him. Absolutely love him," Showalter said.

Cashner's outing: O's newcomer Andrew Cashner had pitched twice in simulated games. But last night he took the stadium mound and the right-hander threw four scoreless on just one hit in a 4-0 win over the Phillies. Cashner, true to his track record, got several ground balls in the outing.

Last year, when he went 11-11 with a 3.40 ERA for Texas, he ranked sixth in the American League in groundball percentage at 48.6. He also ranked ninth in ERA and second in homers/9 innings at 0.89. Cashner averaged just 15.8 pitches per inning, seventh best in the league,.

Cashner, in a small sample, also excelled last year versus the AL East. In five combined starts against Boston, New York, Tampa Bay and Toronto, he was 3-1 with a 2.81 ERA.

RECAP: @RyanMountcastle launches a 3-run homer as the O's beat the Red Sox 7-3 in today's early SS game.

More: https://t.co/oxt95VDN0j#OrangeSpring ⚾️🌴 pic.twitter.com/XvaUn1YDVR

-- Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) March 11, 2018