Jiménez rebounds after bad first inning, but O's down 4-0

FORT MYERS, Fla. - Orioles manager Buck Showalter mentioned this week that none of his starters have come out of games early because they reached their pitch limits, but Ubaldo Jiménez struggled so badly tonight that minor leaguer Luis Gonzalez began to warm up in the first inning.

The Red Sox sent eight batters to the plate and scored three runs on three hits. Jiménez also walked two batters before getting a called third strike on Bryce Brentz on his 31st pitch of the inning.

Only 16 of Jiménez's pitches were strikes. He recorded first-pitch strikes on only two of the first seven batters.

The struggle was real.

Then it was gone.

Jiménez retired the first two batters in the second inning on six pitches. Chris Young, who had an RBI single in the first, ran the count full before grounding out.

Jiménez also retired the Red Sox in order on 12 pitches in the third innings. He struck out Hanley Ramirez and Sam Travis to run his pitch count to 55 (33 strikes).

Eight straight Red Sox batters were retired. Go figure.

Left-hander Chris Lee warmed in the top of the fourth, but Jiménez came back out and threw three more pitches, all strikes, and departed after Blake Swihart's leadoff single. Jiménez threw 58 pitches, 36 for strikes, by my unofficial official count.

A fourth run scored after Lee walked Deven Marrero with two outs and Francisco Peña's throw on a stolen base attempt sailed into center field, allowing Swihart to come home and give Boston a 4-0 lead. Marrero was out at the plate 8-4-2 to end the inning.

Jiménez was charged with three earned runs and four hits, with two walks and three strikeouts.

Hernandez tripled on Jiménez's second pitch of the night and scored on Young's single. Young stole second base without a throw and scored with one out on Travis' single. Ramirez, who drew the first walk of the inning, scored on Josh Rutledge's bases-loaded grounder to short.

That was the bad Jiménez on the mound, not the guy who suddenly found his groove.

Jiménez worked three scoreless innings in his last start against the Rays in Port Charlotte. He gave the Orioles three-plus tonight when it appeared that he might not make it out of the first.

Rule 5 pick Aneury Tavárez, taken from the Red Sox's organization, had a leadoff single and stolen base in the first inning, a one-out single in the third and an infield hit in the fifth. He's getting the start in center field because the Orioles need to figure him out defensively.

They already know he can fly, as he demonstrated again tonight by going from first to third on Johnny Giavotella's grounder up the first base line.

Ryan Flaherty doubled with two outs in the second off Red Sox starter Kyle Kendrick. Trey Mancini doubled with one out in the fourth and Flaherty walked, but Peña grounded into a 6-4-3 double play.