Machado hits grand slam, Wright talks about start (O's lose 10-9)

SARASOTA, Fla. - Manny Machado chose today to hit his first home run of the spring and he decided to clear the bases with it.

Go big or go home.

Machado's grand slam to left field off Cardinals right-hander Jack Flaherty with no outs in the bottom of the third inning gave the Orioles a 4-0 lead and sent a jolt through the crowd at Ed Smith Stadium.

Caleb Joseph reached on an infield hit, Colby Rasmus walked, Jonathan Schoop singled and Machado sent a screaming liner into the seats.

Flaherty had received a mound visit before facing Machado, who's 4-for-9 with a double and home run, and he exited the game after the slam, which came on a 1-1 pitch.

Rasmus has singled and walked in two plate appearances today, as the Orioles vie for their second straight win following an 0-4-1 start.

Yefry Ramirez made his first appearance today and tossed a scoreless third inning, but Yairo Munoz's two-out RBI single in the fourth reduced the Orioles' lead to 4-1.

Ramirez replaced starter Mike Wright Jr., who retired six of seven batters over two scoreless innings. He allowed one run in two innings in his first outing.

Wright threw only 16 of 31 pitches for strikes by my count, and I'm pretty accurate unless I forget to pay attention.

"I fell behind a lot of hitters today," he said. "As far as my stuff, I felt pretty good. I felt like I was right around the zone, right around where I wanted to be. I just, slightly making that adjustment back into the strike zone was a little bit tough in the beginning of the counts, but I threw up zeros, so that was good."

Manager Buck Showalter removed Wright after only two innings despite a workable pitch count. He wasn't supposed to venture into the third.

"I don't think that was in the plans, but obviously I would have liked to go back out there," Wright said. "It's always good to go out there and keep getting work. But like I said, I'm not sure it was in the plans today."

A third inning should come to Wright in his next start.

"Hopefully, next outing I go more than two innings and hopefully next outing I get a little more crisp with some of those pitches," he said.

"I was pretty happy with my cutters today. I threw a couple bad ones, but for the most part when I needed them they were there. A couple ground balls from it. I was pretty locked in down and away but it was a ball and next time work on making that adjustment and just continue to focus on working my pitches and getting more ground balls."

Results matter to Wright, who's out of options and holds no assurances of breaking camp with the team.

"For sure," Wright said. "The only way you make the team is, as a position player if you hit, if you field the baseball, and as a pitcher if you throw strikes and get outs. I'm trying to make the team and the rotation and the only way to do that is to throw up zeros."

Update: Chris Davis just hit a three-run homer to left-center field in the fifth inning to increase the lead to 7-1 and Trey Mancini followed with a solo shot off Daniel Poncedeleon.

Davis has walked, struck out and homered. Mancini has flied out, singled and homered.

Update II: Make it four home runs for the Orioles. Ryan Mountcastle joined the party with a long solo shot to left-center field in the sixth inning that increased the lead to 9-1.

Update III: Munoz led off the seventh with a home run off Andrew Faulkner to reduce the lead to 9-2.

Update IV: Wilfredo Tovar hit a three-run double off Faulkner in the seventh and it's 9-5. Still only one out and Faulker is out of the game.

Update V: The Cardinals scored eight runs in the seventh, with Munoz hitting solo and two-run homers, to tie the game 9-9.

Munoz's second shot came off minor league pitcher Steven Klimek, who was charged with three runs. Faulkner was charged with five.

Update VI: Stefan Crichton allowed the tiebreaking run in the eighth on Alex Mejia's RBI single, and the Cardinals have come all the way back to lead 10-9.

Update VII: The Orioles lose 10-9 to the Cardinals. They are now 1-5-1 in Grapefruit League play.