Mike Wright had the right stuff tonight (plus quotes from Dan Duquette)

SARASOTA, Fla. - Mike Wright allowed two one-out singles in the top of the first inning tonight, got a double play grounder and settled into a nice groove.

Wright retired nine Twins in a row before back-to-back singles put him in a jam in the fourth. Byung Ho Park fouled out to first baseman Chris Davis, who made a nice catch near the stands.

Kevin Gausman was the only Orioles starter to work four innings. Wright completed five tonight, allowing four hits and walking none. He struck out two

Wright surrendered five runs in 2 2/3 innings in his most recent start against the Yankees in Tampa. He needed this outing. It came at the right time, so to speak.

Brad Brach is warming in the bullpen.

Adam Jones broke a scoreless tie in the fourth with a long home run to left field on an 0-2 pitch from reliever Ryan Pressly.

Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette, appearing on the "Hot Stove Show" on 105.7 The Fan, stated that he's still in the market for pitching.

"The thing is, we're building our team all the time," he said. "We're not going to bring in somebody every week, but we're still out there canvasing and seeing what we can add to the team to try to fill out the roster. But at the same time, we've got some players we need to take a look at that are in camp, and Buck (Showalter) does a nice job getting these guys a look in spring.

"Our scouts are, of course, out looking for pitching. We're looking at some pitchers in our rotation here and looking at some pitchers who can be depth starters for us at Triple-A all the time. It's just ongoing."

Duquette indicated that Christian Walker isn't likely to break camp as the starting left fielder despite the hot bat and the organization's interest in experimenting with him at the position.

"He probably has to learn a new job to be the starting left fielder in Baltimore unless we had a bunch of injuries," Duquette said. "We always put a premium on defense. Defense plays every day. The bat doesn't play every day. If your pitchers can keep the ball in the ballpark, that defense is a big advantage that we have in Baltimore.

"In fairness to him, if he's going to be the left fielder, he'll probably have to be the left fielder in Triple-A. But he's shown good athletic ability."

Walker homered again today in Fort Myers and is batting .290 with three doubles, a triple, four home runs, 14 RBIs and an .839 slugging percentage.

"Christian Walker made a couple of adjustments in his swing that are evident in his approach this year and it's going to allow him to be a more consistent hitter," Duquette said.

"I've seen a lot of players come to spring training and lead the team in home runs and then go out and have terrible years, but if you've got a good, sound fundamental approach ... And I notice Walker does. His head is steady, he's balanced, he's swinging at good pitches, he's using the whole field. He's always had great power to right-center field, but he's using the whole field now, so it looks to me that he's made some strides to be able to help the ballclub.

"You get a steady diet of fastballs at the start of spring training, and then you get the veteran pitchers out there and they get their repertoire in shape and you start seeing the breaking balls and the changeups. In the American League, the good pitchers can get their breaking stuff over when they're behind in the count and a lot of times that's a difference maker, but I have seen a much more disciplined approach from Christian Walker this year. To his credit, he worked on it last year at Triple-A with (hitting coach) Sean Berry and it's paid off for him."

Rule 5 pick Joey Rickard looks like slam dunk to make the club. He collected two more hits today, stole a base and continued to impress in the outfield.

"He can swing the bat," Duquette said. "It looks like he uses the whole field. And then yesterday he showed some power. He hit the ball out to left-center field. He just looks like he's a gritty ballplayer. He's like an alert player.

"I think what distinguishes him from our other outfielders is that he can play center field. He's a bonafide center fielder. And generally when you put together a team, you're looking for an outfielder that can help you at all of the positions. In the event of an injury, you need a center fielder, you need somebody who can cover the ground, and it looks like Joey Rickard can do that.

"Not only can he do that, he does it pretty well. It looks like he's got good instincts. He gets a good jump on the ball, he's got an accurate arm, he's an alert player. He knows where to throw the ball and he hits the cutoff man consistently. Those are all good things. And then he works the pitchers. I've seen him work hard to get a couple walks the last week or so and get himself on base. Those are all additive to the team. He has some skills that we need on the ballclub."