Ondrusek hoping to make better impression in second stint

WASHINGTON - Reliever Logan Ondrusek is back with the Orioles today, sporting the same look in the clubhouse but hoping to resemble a different pitcher than the one who earned a demotion to Double-A Bowie.

Ondrusek was sent down on Aug. 11 with instructions to work on rediscovering the feel for his splitter and regaining his edge against left-handed hitters.

The overall results don't necessarily impress if judged by his 6.75 ERA in three appearances, but he retired all five left-handers he faced and struck out three of them.

Left-handers were 4-for-8 with two doubles, a home run and two walks during his brief stint with the Orioles, but right-handers collected only one hit in 11 at-bats.

"I went down there to work on a couple pitches and reset a little bit," said Ondrusek, who signed with the Orioles on July 29 after pitching in Japan.

"It was a big rush coming back from overseas and everything. Just trying to get back on track and get back to pitching like I know I can."

Ondrusek had to adjust again to throwing the slicker baseballs in the U.S.

"The baseballs over there have a little more tack to them than here and obviously I struggled with that a little bit on a couple of pitches, my split especially, being able to throw it down in the zone and have it finish like I needed it to," Ondrusek said.

"Going down there in the minor leagues, that's kind of what I focused on every day. Just making sure I was throwing that and had a good feel for that, and hopefully it translates back to up here and I'll have more success."

The Orioles didn't judge Ondrusek harshly after he allowed four runs and five hits in 5 1/3 innings over his six appearances. They were sympathetic to his circumstances and figured a stint at Bowie would benefit him physically and mentally.

"It was more of getting back to throwing like they know I can, like they said to me before," he said. "I kind of pressed a little bit up here trying to show them this is what I've got, and I doing a little too much. It was more to catch your breath a little bit, because it was a whirlwind couple weeks there. Mainly it was just getting back on track and doing the best you can."