Wrapping up a 4-4 10-inning tie

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - The Orioles' first exhibition game is in the books and it goes down as a 4-4 tie in 10 innings.

Free baseball on the first day. What more could you want?

Hyun Soo Kim hoped for a better debut. He went 0-for-3 in five innings and made one play in the field, catching A.J. Pierzynski's line drive with two runners on base and no outs in the fourth.

"I could have done better. I didn't put my best performance out there. I wish I can do better next time," Kim said through his interpreter.

"I believe there aren't that many things that are too much different from Korea. But I assumed there would be much different going into the game. Next time, I'll be looking at more balls and getting used to it.

"I was nervous a bit and I had too much thinking going into the plate. I was thinking about too many movements of the pitcher's pitches, and I wasn't able to really perform the best things I really have up on the plate. I'll try to do and show my best performance through what he has been doing."

Kim is going to get plenty of opportunities. He's expected in the lineup Wednesday for the home opener against the Braves and will make other trips. The gray pants won't stay on a hanger.

"I'm very excited to play in many games," he said. "They are giving me an opportunity to play in these spring training games. I'm very excited and whatever I'm lacking right now will be adjusted throughout the games."

Kim was asked about the differences in the environment between the U.S. and Korea.

"The fans were pretty open-minded and they were able to show whatever they want to say and express whatever feelings they have," he said. "For me, and the stadium, transporting myself from Sarasota to here, it was very convenient. It was very comfortable. Everything was OK."

Kim had his own cheering section.

"I wasn't really expecting to see a lot of fans that were here to see me performing," Kim said. "It was a pleasant surprise and I will try actually to show what I can do to return what the fans are giving me throughout the baseball games."

One way is to start spraying line drives and getting on base, his trademark in Korea.

"Defensive-wise, I was OK," he said. "Reaching base was not really a concern because it happens a lot in Korea, too. Some days, I don't reach base at all. Sometimes, I do reach base, but the one thing was because of too much thinking going to the plate, I was not really able to swing at the right time. Throughout the games, I'll make sure to get on time."

Manager Buck Showalter glanced at Kim in the dugout to check his reactions, to soak in the moment. It was one exhibition game, but Showalter understood and appreciated the significance.

"Oh yeah," he said. "We were talking before the game about how long spring training is. It's almost three months. It starts in January and they go to two different cities. He's going to get a lot of time to make the adjustment and today starts. You keep finding out things that are different because you need to know those things as a manager and coach.

"It's good to get this one under his belt. He'll probably play again tomorrow."

Showalter noted that Trey Mancini, a replacement at first base, didn't shy away from Braves catcher Ryan Lavarnway while chasing a popup. They collided and Lavarnway was ruled out. Mancini stayed in the game.

"Trey was impressive," Showalter said. "Little things you can't get on a stat sheet. Most people shy away from the runner. He ran and if the guy happened to hit him, he hit him. And then he got up and didn't lay on the ground for three hours waiting for an ambulance to come.

"He threw a guy out at third, or ended up (holding him) at second. Then he dove back at first. Those are the little things you take, a snapshot, that if you're not at the game, you're not seeing those things. You don't get that about players. A lot of guys would have run around the guy and the ball would have fell and he would have laid on the ground if he got hit.

"I asked him when he was getting ready to hit, 'Is that guy OK over there?' He said, 'I doubt it.'"

Mancini replaced Christian Walker, who lifted a sacrifice fly and belted a two-run homer.

"We were talking earlier," Showalter said. "He seems a lot more ... what's the word? Connotation of comfortable or relaxed. 'Settled' is a good word. You can tell he looks so much more fluid defensively and he's always driven in runs. It's just something that's followed him around, and today was a good example of that."

Ryan Flaherty went to the opposite field twice, collecting a single and home run from the leadoff spot.

"Ryan's in, what, his fifth year with us?" Showalter said "He's a guy you can trust. He knows how to play and you know what you're going to get from him. Those guys are hard to find. One of those things that analytics doesn't show up is the trust factor, where their fingers don't shake when it's on the trigger, and Ryan's one of those guys."

Told that Markakis advised Flaherty not to forget about left field, Showalter replied, "Nick's got a job after he's done. Nick would know. He does it well."

Showalter also was pleased with most of his pitchers, starting with right-hander Mike Wright, who threw two scoreless innings.

"Mike was good. I thought both of those guys early on threw the ball well. First time out. Good look, good look," Showalter said.

"I thought Parker (Bridwell) threw the ball well. (Andrew) Triggs, interesting. (Chris) Lee. This guy's in A ball last year and he's pitching in an opener. It's nice to see.

"I thought those guys, especially the first five or six guys, were pretty good. (Pedro) Beato threw the ball well."