Pregame Orioles notes on Povich, Henderson's preparation for Home Run Derby, and Smith's return to majors

Cade Povich brings a certain level of curiosity into tonight’s start against the Yankees.

Specifically, how will the rookie respond to his worst outing in the majors, when he failed to retire a batter in the second inning in Oakland and was charged with eight runs.

Povich has surrendered six runs in the first inning and six more in the second over his six starts. Three runs scored in the first in his last outing and the Athletics tacked on seven more in the second, with Dillon Tate unable to stop the bleeding.

So yes, manager Brandon Hyde is curious about tonight.

“I think we’re going to find out in the first inning,” Hyde said. “His first innings have been a little rocky, where he has a tough time kind of finding his command. So hopefully tonight he finds that command early.

“Even the games when he’s gone deeper in the game, the first inning is a lot of high pitch counts, but hopefully he’s got his command right away.”

This isn’t an unusual dilemma for a young pitcher in the majors. Hyde doesn’t have an answer for it.

“I’m not sure,” Hyde said. “I don’t know if he’s over amped. I think in Oakland he just had a tough time finding it. You saw a lot of arm-side up misses. It was spray right away. Hopefully tonight he feels good coming out of the bullpen.”

* Corbin Burnes said he still hasn’t decided whether he’s attending the All-Star Game, which requires leaving behind his wife Brooke and their twin daughters.

Gunnar Henderson knows that he’s starting at shortstop and participating in the Home Run Derby. He practiced yesterday with Triple-A Norfolk manager Buck Britton pitching to him.

“Not too bad,” Henderson said when asked about the session. “We were just trying to figure out kind of the pace of things and trying to figure out where the honey hole would be. And then also trying to not get too tired for the game. So just kind of a nice little warmup session.”

The format for the Derby has been tweaked.

Each batter will face 40 pitches or get three minutes at the plate in the first round and the semifinals, depending on which comes first. In the final round, the pitch count is reduced to 27 and the time to two minutes.

“We were mainly trying to just go in increments of like 10 and kind of figuring out the time limit and that nature of things,” Henderson said. “So I feel like that’s the biggest thing is just trying not to go too fast in a sense.

“I figured he’d do really well in it, so it should be a fun time.”

Henderson is a newbie to structured home run hitting contests. He hasn’t done it at any level.

“This will be my first one actual competition,” he said. “I’ve done like a couple just with some of the guys in BP and stuff, but never I guess to this magnitude.”

Henderson has sought out Adley Rutschman for advice. Rutschman hit 27 last year in the first round in Seattle but Luis Robert Jr. eliminated him under the old setup that pitted batters against each other.

“Just not to try too hard, but it’s a little bit different, like format obviously this year,” Henderson said. “Last year you could just go up there and swing as many times as you can, try to put up as many as you can, but this one you’ve only got 40 pitches, so you’ve pretty much got to swing at everything.”

* Reliever Burch Smith was at his locker today, enabling the media to meet him and toss out a few questions.

Smith had his contract selected yesterday while Dillon Tate was optioned. The Orioles signed him on June 28 after the Marlins released him, and he tossed two scoreless innings with Norfolk.

“Really excited,” he said. “I’ve been watching this team for a couple years now. A lot of good players. Really exciting. It’s a good environment. Got a lot of good people here, so definitely excited to be a part of this team.”

Smith made it back from Tommy John surgery and a fractured elbow during rehab that cost him two years. He began his major league career with the Padres in 2013 and didn’t return to the majors until 2018 with the Royals.

Taking a similar path as Albert Suárez, Smith pitched in Japan in 2022 and Korea in 2023. They chatted earlier today.

“It was difficult at times,” Smith said of returning to the majors. “There’s a lot of fun times, too. It’s a little bit different journey, but really all you can do is take it a day at a time. Just try to maximize each day, get as good as I can and prepare for each game the best I can and just let the results be as they are.

“I wouldn’t rather be doing anything else. I love this game, I love the relationships I can have with everybody here. It’s maybe not the most traditional path that my career has taken, but I’ve definitely enjoyed it and every step of the way.”

That’s it for me tonight. I’ll be back Saturday.