ORIOLES QUICK WRAP
Score: Orioles 16, Phillies 4
Recap: The bats came out of the deep freeze today, recording 21 hits. Chris Davis hit a three-run homer off Cole Hamels in the top of the first inning to give the Orioles a quick lead. Everth Cabrera walked and Steve Pearce singled before Davis came to the plate. Jimmy Paredes and Davis had RBI doubles in the second. Jayson Nix had an RBI single off Mike Nesseth in the third and Paredes belted a three-run homer. Nolan Reimold hit a two-run homer in the fourth after Delmon Young's second walk of the day. Pearce hit his third homer in three days in the fifth. Paredes had a sacrifice fly earlier in the inning for his fifth RBI of the day. Dariel Alvarez homered in the seventh. Henry Urrutia added a two-run single in the ninth. Miguel Gonzalez retired the first 10 Phillies before giving up four straight singles and two runs in the fourth. He threw 53 pitches today, 37 for strikes. No walks, four strikeouts. Dylan Bundy allowed one run and two hits, with two walks and a strikeout, in 1 1/3 innings. Hunter Harvey allowed a run in the eighth, walked two and struck out two.
Need to know: Davis' home run traveled to left field. The oblique injury robbed him of his opposite-field power last season. Davis has nine RBIs this spring and he came within a triple of hitting for the cycle today. Cabrera hit the Orioles' first spring triple. Phillies second baseman Cord Phelps, a former Orioles farmhand, made a diving stop in the first inning to rob Paredes and get the force at second base. Reimold singled on a hit-and-run in the first inning, and Young hustled from first to third base. J.P. Arencibia had another passed ball. That's at least three this spring.
On deck: Tuesday, vs. Twins in Sarasota, 1:05 p.m. on MASN HD
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CLEARWATER, Fla. - Anyone still worried about the offense?
Manager Buck Showalter emptied his bench in the fifth inning with the Orioles leading 13-2. Dylan Bundy replaced Miguel Gonzalez on the mound and gave up an RBI single to former Orioles farmhand Cord Phelps.
Gonzalez was perfect until one out in the fourth, when the Phillies strung together singles by Phelps, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Grady Sizemore to score twice.
Grady Sizemore is still playing?
Chris Davis went 3-for-4 with a double, home run and four RBIs. Jimmy Paredes was 2-for-3 with a double, home run, five RBIs and three runs scored. Everth Cabrera was 2-for-3 with a double, triple, walk and two runs scored. Nolan Reimold was 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs. Steve Pearce was 2-for-4 with a home run and two runs scored. Jayson Nix was 2-for-3 with a double, RBI and two runs scored.
Cabrera seemed to respond favorably to playing center field. Or maybe it's just a coincidence.
"What made him attractive was his versatility," Showalter said. "I think the only two places I probably wouldn't play him are first base and catcher, and pitcher. I think everything else. I'm hoping if he makes the club, that's what he can do for us."
Showalter said earlier today that pitchers Ryan Webb and Jason Garcia and infielder Paul Janish are "very close to rejoining us."
"Webb threw a side yesterday, so he feels good today," Showalter said. "I feel confident that we'll get those three guys back shortly."
Asked about Garcia's leg injury, Showalter said, "He had something he tweaked and they just wanted to back off him for a couple days. He'll be back in the fray here shortly. He felt it last pitch of his last outing, and Richie (Bancells) and them decided with all the time we have, just to make sure we clear it all the way up."
Bring up pitcher Hunter Harvey's name and watch his eyes light up. He can barely contain his enthusiasm.
The Orioles think Harvey, their first-round pick in the 2013 First-Year Player Draft, has the potential to pitch for them later this summer. They're going to carefully monitor his innings early in the season to make sure he's available later and doesn't need to be shut down.
"You want those guys to experience a long season, but not have that taxation on their arms," Showalter said. "It's not like he's going to go back home to North Carolina for a month. It's just getting ahead of it. Be proactive instead of reactive. Don't wait until the innings are piled up and go, 'Oh my God, we've got to shut him down.'
"We want every one of these guys to be ready to impact. When September and October come, they're going to have innings left. (Kevin) Gausman last year, we backed off him. Everybody's goal is to play into October and play meaningful games in September, so it's crazy if all of a sudden this gets on top of you and have them pitch through it.
"Studies will tell you that you're going to pay the piper. It may not be that one, but you're going to pay. And who we are, we can't afford to have these guys get hurt. We have to be 15 starting pitchers deep in our organization between Double-A, Triple-A and the major leagues, and that's where we're going when someone goes down. We can't go buy another one.
"If you see somebody getting a three-inning start (in the minors), that's not their fault. It's shame on us if we're not ahead of us, because we're not going into somebody's backyard. We're going to Bowie and Norfolk's backyard. And don't get hot in Frederick or we'll get your (butt), too."
Showalter jokes that he's got to get Harvey out of camp soon - it could happen later today - so he's not tempted to take the right-hander to Baltimore in April.
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