In first day as new O's catcher, Welington Castillo played key role

If catching five different pitchers over 11 innings and facing a tough lineup like the Toronto Blue Jays was a test for new O's catcher Welington Castillo, he passed.

Kevin Gausman, Mychal Givens, Brad Brach, Zach Britton and Tyler Wilson gave up 11 hits but just two runs as the Orioles won on opening day, 3-2 in 11 innings.

Toronto's top three hitters each got six plate appearances, making if even more difficult for the O's staff to navigate its way through that game. But the Blue Jays went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left 13 men on base.

Britton gave Castillo high marks for his work behind the plate yesterday.

"Absolutely," Britton said. "I thought he did a great job. About as good as anyone is going to be the first time catching someone (with a sinker) like that. The swing and miss to (Darwin) Barney was kind of a tough pitch to hang onto and he hung on to it. He blocked a couple of balls for me in the dirt, which was big. Happy with him. He's going to be good for the team. Not only defensively but offensively, too."

Britton said Castillo made a lot of progress in a short period of time working with Orioles pitchers this spring. And Castillo is not hesitant to make a suggestion to a pitcher. Even if that pitcher is Britton and the suggestion is about his sinker, one of the best single pitches for any hurler in the game.

"Absolutely. He wants to learn every guy," Britton said. "Tonight he came out during the game and one time he thought maybe I needed to start my sinker a little higher. That is the kind of feedback that you want. He could see where it was starting when I was missing down and said to aim a little higher. That is what you are looking for in a new catcher and he is getting comfortable with us already."

Castillo also went 2-for-4 with a double. But he did get doubled off first base when right fielder Jose Bautista made a diving catch in the bottom of the ninth.

Castillo, who hit 14 homers with 68 RBIs last season for Arizona, might help the Orioles offense if he gets off to a fast start like he did last year. In 19 games last April he hit .286/.341/.558 with three doubles, six homers, 12 RBIs and a .900 OPS.

Even though he missed time away from the Orioles for the World Baseball Classic, Castillo's crash course in learning the staff has gone well.

"I am really comfortable," Castillo said. "The pitching staff that we have here, everyone knows what they are doing. They tell me, 'Hey, I like to do this or I like to do that.' When we were out there everything went smoothly. Everyone is open to talking, so I feel comfortable with them."

The Orioles led 2-0 yesterday before Toronto scored once each in the fifth and sixth to tie it. But Britton said the bullpen did a good job in holding it right there, giving the offense enough time to get the one big swing from Mark Trumbo to win the game.

"With our lineup, we are one swing away," Britton said. "Not just in extra innings games. Get a couple of guys on and we are one swing away. Our pitching staff knows that. Shutdown innings are big. Everyone in our division can kind of do that. You know that as a reliever coming into the game. Some of these guys are a swing away in the other lineup and you pitch accordingly."

More notes from the opener:

* Monday's attendance was 45,667 and that was a sellout. The Orioles had two sellouts in 2016 - on April 4, against Minnesota (opening day) and June 24 versus Tampa Bay.

* Since 2014, the Orioles and Blue Jays have played to a 29-29 record. In their last 20 meetings the two teams have each won 10 games. This was the first time they have ever played on opening day.

* The Orioles have won seven consecutive opening day games since a 4-3 loss at Tampa Bay on April 6, 2010. During the seven straight wins, O's pitchers have allowed two runs or less four times and have given up just 14 total runs. They have won 14 of their last 17 openers and are now 42-22 all-time on opening day.

* Trumbo's game-winning homer came off a 1-2 slider from Jason Grilli. Trumbo's blast had an exit velocity of 105 mph and traveled 386 feet. Trumbo also homered last October in the wild card game.

* Adam Jones started his 10th consecutive opening day in center field. Those 10 center field starts rank second all-time in team history behind only Paul Blair's 12. Jones went 1-for-4 with a double. In 10 career openers, Jones is a career .359 (14-for-39) hitter with three walks, six doubles, a triple, a home run, six runs scored and seven RBIs.

* Toronto's Steve Pearce singled in his first, third, and fifth at-bats for a three-hit game. He had five three-hit games in 2016 and it is his 99th career multi-hit game. Pearce is a .421 (8-for-19) hitter against the Orioles in seven career games.