John Means on outing against Pittsburgh (O's lose to Bucs)

After his second spring training start, Orioles lefty John Means said his inability to put hitters away when he got to two-strike counts was an issue for him today. He allowed four runs in two innings plus against the Pirates in Bradenton.

After working around a one-out double during a scoreless 14-pitch last of the first today, Means allowed three runs in the Pittsburgh second inning.

Kevin Newman singled to right with one out and Dustin Fowler was hit by a fastball that bore in on his hands. Wilmer Difo then grounded to Pat Valaika at third and he got the out at second base on a force. That left runners on first and third with two outs. A wild pitch scored the game's first run. Then Jared Oliva singled to left for a 2-0 lead and Adam Frazier doubled in a run. It was 3-0 Pirates.

In that inning Means allowed a single and hit a batter when ahead 1-2 in the count, and gave up another single on a 3-2 pitch.

"I felt like the command was there early in counts, I just wasn't putting people away," Means said. "Just taking some long at-bats and getting to two strikes but not putting them away. That's really it."

He faced one batter in the third inning and walked Jacob Stallings, who later scored on Kevin Newman's two-run double off Evan Phillips as the Pirates led 5-0 after three frames.

So Means allowed four hits and four runs in two innings plus one batter. He walked one with no strikeouts, throwing 48 pitches, 31 for strikes. His ERA is 12.27 after two outings.

"I'm healthy and feel like my pitches are breaking well," he said. "Just not executing them as well as I'd like, especially with two strikes. That's the name of the game. You can get to two strikes all you want, but you've got to get them out. I like where I'm at, I like where my pitches are. It's just executing, which is the last step.

"Obviously, swings and misses are what you go for. Haven't gotten many with two strikes, obviously, or any at all. But yeah, I like where my pitches are at and how they're breaking. It's just a matter of executing with two strikes."

Means threw several changeups today and said he wanted to work on the pitch. "I got some swings and misses, but also left some up. Yeah, just trying to get that down, but I think it will be there," said Means, who is expected to start an opening day.

After making some starts last year in sim games on back fields in the spring, Means has pitched twice this year, both times in games.

"I like pitching in games. Spring training is obviously a lot different than in the season," he said. "But I like that adrenaline before the game. I like the routine aspect of it going out there like a real game. It doesn't really matter to me a whole lot whether it's back fields or in a game. In spring training it's all about getting your work in and getting to the season healthy."

The Pirates scored five runs in the last of the fourth, all with two outs, off lefty Fernando Abad to open a 10-0 lead. Fowler had a three-run double and Abad needed 29 pitches in that inning.

The O's got on the board in the fifth when Ramón Urías singled, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on Cedric Mullins' two-out single. Mullins is 2-for-3 on the day and now batting .400.

This entry will be updated later.

Rough day at the office: Pittsburgh added three runs in the seventh off Dillon Tate to complete a 13-1 win over the Orioles. The Birds are 2-5-1 and off on Monday. Tuesday afternoon they play in Fort Myers against the Minnesota Twins.

The O's have allowed double-digit runs in two of the last three games. They lost all three and were outscored 32-10.

Mullins was the only Oriole with a multi-hit game as Baltimore was outhit 15-6 and had six singles.

Shawn Armstrong, Travis Lakins Sr. and Eric Hanhold threw scoreless innings for the Orioles.