How Hess, Sucre worked well together (game update)

TORONTO - Last night's no-hitter over 6 1/3 innings by Orioles right-hander David Hess had a lot to do with the pitcher, of course, but also the catcher. Jesús Sucre said this afternoon that Hess let him know before the game he would have full confidence in every pitch Sucre called.

Hess would say, "I'm riding with you," to his catcher pregame and then Sucre had a plan that Hess executed very well. All of this happened for a pitcher and catcher that haven't worked together very long. Sucre was signed by the Orioles to a minor league deal right before spring training began.

"We were really on the same page," Sucre said this afternoon in the Orioles clubhouse. "He told me before the game he was not going to shake me (off) on any pitch. It's easier to call the game when you have a guy on the mound that lets you do what you want to do. I've been in this league a bit and like to watch the hitters. I can tell what they are trying to do. Do they want to pull the ball? Are they trying to go the other way or are they sitting on pitches? You have to have a plan for every hitter. But in the moment, you can tell what the hitter is trying to do."

Sucre read the bats and Hess made the pitches he needed to during his eight-strikeout game. Sucre is the more veteran player here at 30. But when the young pitcher showed such confidence in him before the game, it meant a lot.

"That's kind of special. I feel like that is some respect," Sucre said. "I feel special. I'm here to help every pitcher. Being on this team is special. My whole career, I've been a backup and to have a chance to play every day is special."

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde, a former catcher, said this afternoon it is important for his team that his pitcher and catcher had such a good thing going.

"That shows we're going in the right direction," said Hyde. "That's trust. Suc is obviously earned that already. They trust him because of what he puts into it. They know he wants a zero every inning. He's living and dying with them out there. When pitchers get that feeling about working with their batterymate, positive things are going to happen. Suc was calling a great game and David was executing it and it worked to perfection last night.'

Meanwhile right-hander Nate Karns will start as an opener tomorrow in the series finale and once again the Orioles bullpen will need to cover a lot of innings. On Saturday at New York, Karns went two scoreless innings on 33 pitches. Can he go further when he starts tomorrow's series finale?

"Possibly, yeah. It will be up to how Karns feels. Would I love to extend him past two? I'd love that. I just don't know how he is going to feel," Hyde said.

He added that it's too early to know if Karns will get built up enough innings-wise to eventually join the Orioles rotation.

"I think it's too early to tell," said Hyde. "He bounced back well after the two innings in New York. But he didn't have a full buildup in spring training obviously because of the setback. We're really playing it be ear with him. We want to keep him on the field and healthy. That is our main concern right now," he added.

Another note on Hess: Hess became the second Oriole since 1974 to have a no-hit bid of at least 6 1/3 innings in his first start of a season, per STATS, LLC. Right-hander Jason Hammel had a seven-inning no-hit bid in his first start of 2012 before allowing two hits in the eighth inning.

According to STATS, LLC., Hess' 6 1/3-inning no-hit outing is the fifth-longest hitless start by an Orioles pitcher in team history behind Hoyt Wilhelm, nine innings (Sept. 20, 1958); Tom Phoebus, nine innings (April 27, 1968); Jim Palmer, nine innings (Aug. 13, 1969); and Steve Barber, 8 2/3 innings (April 30, 1967).

No runs early on tonight: The Orioles and Blue Jays are scoreless through three innings. Andrew Cashner has not allowed a hit on 37 pitches, getting hit-robbing defense from first baseman Chris Davis and second baseman Hanser Alberto. The O's had two on and no outs in the third, but failed to cash in on that rally versus Marcus Stroman.

Or through five: The game is still 0-0 through five innings. The Orioles have six hits and Alberto is 2-for-2 tonight and 3-for-3 on the year. But they are 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position. Cashner is at 69 pitches with a two-hitter.

Finally, runs: The O's took a 2-0 lead in the sixth. Dwight Smith Jr. singled to left and scored on Jonathan Villar's triple up the first-base line. He then scored on Trey Mancini's single to left for the two-run lead. Mancini is now 9-for-19 with five RBIs.