More early notes, Wright's spring and today's start (updated)

SARASOTA, Fla. - Could Chris Tillman's bullpen session on Wednesday have been affected by an antibiotic? And have stranger things happened?

Yes to the latter, but the Orioles are withholding judgment on the former.

The Orioles switched Tillman's medication and pushed back his session until Sunday morning.

"He was taking an antibiotic and one of the side effects is some soreness in the joints," said manager Buck Showalter. "They got him off that and changed the antibiotic. They decided to wait an extra day to get that out of his system before he throws. It doesn't affect his schedule as long as everything goes well tomorrow.

"They thought it might be affecting him a little bit, so they're going to change the antibiotic and get him on something that doesn't have those potential side symptoms."

The concern over Tillman's last bullpen session and potential impact on his availability for the regular season still "carries over," Showalter said.

"Let's find out. Let's find out if that's it," Showalter said. "I'm just being frank with you. That's what Richie (Bancells) was talking to me about today. He thinks looking at it that it may have something to do with him not feeling completely normal last time, so he'll get it out of his system."

The Orioles were aiming for a Friday start from Tillman.

"If this goes well tomorrow, he's right on schedule," Showalter said. "If. We'll see."

Outfielder Seth Smith is out with a sore hamstring, but Showalter said the outfielder would have played in the regular season.

"Decided to be careful with that today," Showalter said.

"Seth says he gets this every spring a little bit and this isn't as bad as he normally gets it. I decided with all the time we have just to slow play it a little bit. We'll see what tomorrow brings. A little concerning because he hasn't played in a couple days."

Mike Wright threw 12 of 17 pitches for strikes today in a scoreless first inning, allowing a two-out single to the Pirates' Phil Gosselin. Leadoff hitter Adam Frazier worked him for nine pitches before grounding out.

Wright surrendered a one-out double to Austin Meadows in the second on a fly ball near the left field line and Eury Perez reached on an infield hit with two outs to reduce the Orioles' lead to 2-1. Second baseman Robert Andino charged Perez's ball and reached for it, but the ball skipped under his glove.

Gift Ngoepe followed with a single, Wright committed a throwing error on an attempted pickoff at second base, and Frazier produced a two-run single on the 10th pitch of his at-bat to give Pittsburgh the lead. Frazier has seen 19 of Wright's 43 pitches in two innings.

The Orioles scored twice in the first inning on Chris Dickerson's bunt single, Joey Rickard's walk and RBI singles by Hyun Soo Kim and Mark Trumbo off Pirates right-hander Clay Holmes.

Asked what he wanted to see from Wright today, Showalter replied, "Just continue where he is."

"He's been throwing the ball really well," Showalter added. "Trying to establish in his mind how he has to go about it. Sometimes he gets caught up in power pitching and cross-seam, sometimes he gets into two-seams. It's just trying to stay consistent in what he's got to do.

"It's something Roger (McDowell) has been talking to him about. Who are you and how can you do this best? So I'm hoping that he continues to throw that hard sinker on the outer half and get a lot of ground balls."

This is also how Wright can better defend against left-handers, who batted .345 against him last season.

"Trying to throw a good two-seam fastball down and away," Showalter said. "There are a lot of challenges. It's what keeps starters from being starters and makes them go to the bullpen. It's why Mychal Givens isn't a starter. It's really the separator for left-handed starters and right-handed starters if they can get those people out on the other side of the box."

The Orioles continue to view Wright as a starter instead of a power arm for their bullpen.

"Without a doubt," Showalter said. "He's definitely a starter. Especially with seeing what happens with Chris Tillman the next couple of days."

Wright seems to be in a better place mentally this spring. That can be half the battle.

"Yeah, without a doubt, but there's so many parts of that," Showalter said. "One is in the offseason, another is in spring training, then you get the intrasquad games, then you get these games, then there's another level that your head gets tested."

The tests for Wright stretch beyond baseball. His mother Sherry was diagnosed two years ago with Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD), a rare condition that affects 10-15 percent of dementia patients. A major league paycheck is used for much more than the usual player perks. And his thoughts are never far from her as he also fights to win a roster spot.

"Mike, without getting into it, had some challenges last year that a lot of us don't have to deal with," Showalter said. "I try to keep in mind. Not that it's gone away, but just trying to, you've got that type of pressure on you from a family standpoint, being the guy that has to lead the charge on a lot of decisions with his extended family."

Wright seems to have bonded immediately with McDowell, who replaced Dave Wallace as pitching coach, and bullpen coach Alan Mills. New voices could be exactly what he needed.

"Oh, without a doubt, without a doubt, and it's no reflection on anybody else," Showalter said. "You try to, when someone hasn't done well statistically as you know they're capable, anytime you get a fresh start ... You get a fresh start with a new set of eyes and stuff, so I think without a doubt.

"Not that Mike couldn't have done it with Wally and Dom (Chiti). There's some advantages and disadvantages with all of them. I know Mike loved Wally and Dom, but he's got a different set of eyes and they have a different terminology or something that hits home. There are a lot of things that are new and fresh for Mike. I'm looking forward to him pitching today."

Update: Wright is charged with three runs (two earned) and six hits in 2 2/3 innings.