Gabriel Ynoa tosses five scoreless innings (Orioles win 6-3)

ORIOLES QUICK WRAP

Score: Orioles 6, Twins 3

Recap: Gabriel Ynoa tossed five scoreless innings with one hit, one walk and three strikeouts. He retired 12 of the last 13 batters ... J.J. Hardy collected his first home run and RBI in the second inning ... Jonathan Schoop homered in the fourth inning in his first game since returning from the World Baseball Classic ... Chris Davis hit a two-run homer in the sixth after Mark Trumbo singled ... Brad Brach hadn't allowed a run in a Grapefruit League game before Tommy Field greeted him with a home run to center field in the sixth ... Zach Britton walked two batters in a scoreless seventh. ... Oliver Drake surrendered a two-run homer in the ninth and now has a 10.32 ERA.

Need to know: In his first at-bat since March 8, Seth Smith lined a double to left field off Twins left-hander Hector Santiago. Smith, a career .202 hitter versus lefties, also singled in the fifth ... Craig Gentry beat out a ground ball to the left side in the second inning, again showing off his plus speed. He was batting .310 before the game. Gentry moved to right field in the sixth, made a diving catch and doubled up the runner at first base ... The Orioles scored their sixth run in the seventh inning when second baseman Niko Goodrum dropped Mark Trumbo's popup and triple-clutched before throwing late to the plate, letting Joey Rickard score ... The game drew a crowd of 8,171, the sixth sellout of the spring at Ed Smith Stadium.

On deck: Sunday, at Blue Jays in Dunedin, 1:07 p.m.
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SARASOTA, Fla. - With no one being assertive in the competition for the fifth starter's job, Gabriel Ynoa decided tonight to seize the opportunity with great enthusiasm and a fastball that touched 95 mph.

Ynoa worked five scoreless innings, the deepest he's pitched in four spring outings, while holding the Twins to one hit and striking out three. He retired eight in a row before walking Ben Paulsen with one out in the fourth.

His next pitch, the 55th of the night, produced a 6-4-3 double play.

Ynoa retired 12 of the last 13 batters before Brach Brach replaced him to begin the sixth. Only one Twins out was recorded by an outfielder, with Jason Castro flying to Joey Rickard in the fifth.

Ynoa joins Kevin Gausman as the only Orioles to make it through the fifth.

Until tonight, Ynoa hadn't gone more than 2 2/3 innings in his most recent Grapefruit League appearance against the Pirates on March 17. His pitch count stood at 42 through the third and made it easy for manager Buck Showalter to send him back out for the fourth.

Ynoa threw 15 pitches in the first, 14 in the second and 13 in the third. He was trending in the right direction. And the Twins were beating the ball into the ground.

It continued in the fourth. Ynoa threw 13 pitches, striking out Danny Santana, walking Paulsen and inducing the double play grounder from Matt Hague. He retired the side in order in the fifth on a fly ball, grounder and line drive to Schoop, heading back to the dugout after only nine pitches and ending the night with 64 (39 strikes).

Ynoa worked around a two-out double by Paulsen in the first inning, getting his outs on a bouncer to the mound and two ground balls to shortstop J.J. Hardy. He retired the side in order in the second on a grounder to second baseman Jonathan Schoop, a strikeout of former Oriole Drew Stubbs and a ground ball to Hardy.

Stubbs was 5-for-35 (.143) with 15 strikeouts this spring as he headed back to the visiting dugout.

Ynoa's fastball was mostly 93-95 mph. He struck out Stubbs on a 94 mph heater.

Hardy gave the Orioles a 1-0 lead in the second inning with his first spring home run and RBI. Schoop, in his first game since returning from the World Baseball Classic, hit his second home run with two outs in the fourth inning to increase the lead to 2-0.

Seth Smith, batting for the first time since March 8, lined a one-out double to left field off Twins starter Hector Santiago in the first inning. Smith is a career .202 hitter versus left-handers, adding a little more significance to his two-bagger.

Smith also singled in the fifth.

Welington Castillo walked in the second inning and was robbed of an extra-base hit in the fourth on a leaping catch by right fielder J.B. Shuck, who held onto the ball after slamming into the fence.

Update: The Orioles took a 5-1 lead in the sixth inning on Chris Davis' two-run homer after Mark Trumbo singled, and a passed ball that let Robert Andino score.

Here's a sampling from Ynoa:

On importance of start: "It is a great start for me as well as the team. I'm here just trying to work hard and earn that fifth spot."

On importance of completing five innings: "I was trying to use my fastball in and out and I was using my sinker, so it was really important for me to go as deep as I could."

On whether this was the best he felt: "Yes, I definitely felt better today. I was used to throwing one or two innings at the beginning of spring. Now, I threw five innings, so I definitely felt better today."

On whether it's tough to not think about fifth starter's job and stay focused: "Honestly, I don't have control of what the team's decision will be. I just go out there, try to perform, try to do the best I can, so whatever the decision they make, it's really up to them."