Povich reflects on earning home opener nod

Cade Povich looked sharp yesterday. 

No hits, no walks and no earned runs at Nationals Park for the final exhibition game of the season. 

“Really good. Wanted to get the guys in, get them out quickly and get to Toronto,” Povich said with a laugh. “Everything felt good.”

The goose eggs on the box score would’ve looked better if there was a box score. The rain in the nation’s capital didn’t let the Orioles and Nationals take the field for their final tune-up of spring training. There wasn’t a game, but Povich did look sharp. 

His outfit did, at least.

“It was a great opportunity to get a somewhat spring training start in, but in a big league stadium. Kind of center myself and what it’s going to be like,” Povich told the media in D.C. yesterday. “You’ve gotta make adjustments. It’s going to happen in the season. Nothing I can control about it.”

But as Povich’s first outing is still about a week away, there won’t be any major adjustments to his throwing schedule. 

“Maybe tomorrow we’ll just increase it (the workload),” Povich added. “There’s plenty of time to make adjustments. It’s not like if it were five days where it might be crammed.” 

That start next Monday, of course, is the first game of the season at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. 

The battle for the fifth spot in the rotation came down to Povich and Albert Suárez. But as the O’s open the 2025 campaign with a four-game set north of the border, that competition also happened to be for the home opener. The former was the priority. 

“Just being able to get to Opening Day and being in the rotation with this team is an honor in itself,” the lefty said. “Being able to start our home opener as well is truly another honor. I’m super excited.”

That excitement was shared through many Povich circles. 

“I got tons of texts, I think it spread out pretty quickly. Tons of congrats, tons of excitement. Definitely have everybody on my side, really rooting for me as they have.”

There are plenty of happy feelings to go around, but this isn’t a “feel-good” story. The soon to be 25-year-old put together an outstanding spring, and showcased his improved command and confidence. 

“Command is better, the changeup is a lot better, just more consistent with it,” Brandon Hyde said of Povich yesterday. “He’s had a really good camp.”

That improved changeup could make a big difference in his numbers against right-handed hitters. 

Righties had an .815 OPS against Povich last season. Taking a look at the lefty’s arsenal, it’s easy to see why. 

Povich’s three main offerings last season, a four-seam fastball, curveball and sweeper, all moved to his arm side, or from left to right. He threw those pitches nearly 75 percent of the time, according to Statcast. That doesn’t leave much room for anything moving away from right-handed batters. 

About 20 percent of the time, Povich threw his sinker or changeup, two pitches that move away from righties. Those two pitches combined to have a run value of -2, and opponents slugged .542 off the changeup. A new and improved version of that offering would be a welcomed sight. 

“The whole point of an offseason is to figure out what you need to get better at and in order to help the team get to where they want to,” Povich said. “That’s what I did, and I was happy I was able to take that into the spring training games.”

But one big question still remains: What song will Povich take the mound to? 

Last year, it was “Piano Man.” And for this season, Povich took to the artist formerly known as Twitter to see if fans wanted him to stick with the Billy Joel classic, or to opt for “The Real Slim Shady,” a track more appropriate for his nickname “Slim.”

“You know, it’s tough, because it’s very close,” Povich said with a smile. “One side goes with the nickname and then the other one I had a little bit last year and it wasn’t too bad for me. There’s a lot of comments too that have me going back and forth on whichever one wins. I don’t know yet.” 

Who knows what kind of vibe Slim will curate at Camden Yards this season. But after a great spring training, he’s got us feelin’ alright.