Davis hits three-run homer, Ripken meets with media (O's blank Jays 5-0)

ORIOLES QUICK WRAP

Score: Orioles 5, Blue Jays 0

Recap: Chris Davis belted a long three-run homer in the third inning to break a scoreless tie and Jonathan Schoop hit a two-run homer in the seventh after striking out in his first two at-bats. Manny Machado singled twice from the leadoff spot. Miguel Gonzalez retired six of seven batters faced, just as Wei-Yin Chen did against the Rays earlier today in Port Charlotte. Darren O'Day struck out the side in the fourth and Zach Britton breezed through the fifth. Brian Matusz and Tommy Hunter also had scoreless innings.

Need to know: Gonzalez said he threw only four off-speed pitches. He was focused on fastball command. Ryan Lavarnway singled and, more importantly, threw out a runner attempting to steal. Gonzalez and Lavarnway also were paired up in the Red Sox minor league system. Mychal Givens retired the side in order in the seventh. He made the trip to Port Charlotte today but didn't get in the game. Mike Yastrzemski had a sacrifice fly in the first game and pinch-ran tonight after Steve Pearce singled.

On deck: Friday, at Blue Jays in Dunedin, 1:07 p.m.
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SARASOTA, Fla. - Chris Davis hit a three-run homer off Blue Jays right-hander Chad Jenkins with two outs in the bottom of the third inning to give the Orioles a 3-0 lead.

Davis jumped on a 2-0 pitch, driving it far beyond the fence in right-center field.

Brian Matusz made his first spring appearance, allowing one hit and striking out one in a scoreless third inning. Catcher Josh Thole singled with out one.

Darren O'Day, also debuting, struck out the side in the top of the fourth. Zach Britton will pitch the fifth.

Miguel Gonzalez threw 33 pitches tonight, 22 for strikes, over two scoreless innings. He worked with catcher Ryan Lavarnway, just as he did as a Red Sox minor leaguer.

Gonzalez was working on his fastball command and estimated that he threw only four offspeed pitches. I'll add his quotes later tonight.

Update: :"First one out, got ahead of guys and worked well with a lot of fastballs, and fastball command in and out," Gonzalez said. Felt good out there."

Gonzalez will mix in the off-speed and breaking stuff later.

"Really, it's just how you feel," he said. "Obviously, you don't want to show every pitch to guys you're going to be facing a lot, so especially early in camp, just go out there and work on your fastball command. And you know, it really worked out tonight."

Asked about Lavarnway, Gonzalez said, "He caught me in the minor leagues when I was with him in Boston. He was like, 'Well, I'm trying to get to that point again and get to the same page.' I thought he did a good job out there."

Lavarnway lined a single into left field with two outs in the bottom of the second, but Jonathan Schoop struck out.

Manny Machado has singled twice from the leadoff spot. Adam Jones has singled and walked, but Delmon Young has struck out twice behind him.

Cal Ripken Jr. threw out the ceremonial first pitch, met with the media for about eight minutes and headed to the concourse to sign autographs of his new children's book, "Out at Home," the fifth in a six-book series.

"Out at Home" chronicles the struggles between two rivals who must learn out to work together as teammates in order to avoid sabotaging the Dulaney Orioles' championship season.

"Loosely based on Brady Anderson, I'd probably say," Ripken quipped. "I had him coming down the ramp in rollerblades with his uniform underneath his sweats one time. In the book, I edited that. So, obviously, it's not about Brady Anderson."

Here are some quotes from Ripken for your reading enjoyment:

On what made him want to write these books:
"I was always a reader around that age. When you see something in print, it's a whole lot more meaningful and real to you. And the issues we deal with, they almost seem insulated from them because it's somewhere else. It's in a group of teammates. And it kind of gives solutions on how to help you as a coach, as teammates, that kind of stuff. It's a good learning environment. I always liked having that influence with kids and it's just another way to do that stuff."

On fan reaction to the team over past few years:
"It's been fun. They've made good baseball decisions, it's a good baseball organization. Buck (Showalter) is always extremely organized and it's fun to be around him. And then when you have success, that breeds confidence and then you start to expect good things to happen, so it's a good, positive environment."

On the Orioles not making many moves this winter:
"Putting my fan hat on. Things have turned around a lot the past couple years. It's almost like you should be willing to extend some trust in the decisions and direction of the team is as such that we're a playoff-caliber team. And I think that's the best anybody can ask for going in. We lost a lot of offense in Nelly Cruz. We lost a good two-way player in (Nick) Markakis. I think the easy answer would be having (Matt) Wieters and Machado, who were out most of last season. There's some logic and reasoning as to what they've done and what they haven't done. I still look at this team as a good caliber playoff team. From a fan's perspective, I believe in it. I'm not too worried."

On the impact of a nice facility in Sarasota:
"Well, the Orioles' success way back when they were at the Miami stadium, they had a field and a quarter or a field and a half. In the end, it's about what you know and how you assemble a team and how you practice your execution. But having said that, I would have loved to have a facility where you could work more and spend more time in the cage and work on things off on your own. This complex is fantastic. There's a lot of reasons to wish you played in this era, but we went through most of my career where we were kind of a nomadic team running around spring training. I would have loved to have a facility like this where you can get work in. It's a great work environment, so it has to be advantageous. It has to be."

Update II: Jonathan Schoop hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh after striking out in his first two at-bats, increasing the Orioles' lead to 5-0.

Steve Pearce reached on an infield hit before Schoop cleared the left field fence.