O'Day scratched, five cuts confirmed

SARASOTA, Fla. - Reliever Darren O'Day was supposed to pitch the ninth inning today, but he was scratched because of some tightness in his groin. Oliver Drake worked the ninth and gave up a run in a 6-1 loss to the Red Sox. The Orioles were held to three hits, including Steve Tolleson's leadoff double in the ninth. Tolleson was thrown out at the plate to end the game. He briefly disputed the call. As for O'Day, he said the discomfort surfaced while he was warming up in the bullpen. "There's a little soreness," he said. "I want to be 100 percent when I'm out there." Asked when he'll be ready to pitch again, O'Day replied, "Hopefully soon." The Orioles keep getting pitchers healthy and losing others. Matt Lindstrom, for example, still hasn't been cleared to pitch in a game because of lower back tightness. He hasn't appeared in a game since Wednesday and won't make the trip to Dunedin tomorrow. Speaking of Dunedin, Wei-Yin Chen will face the Blue Jays tomorrow. Outfielders Xavier Avery and LJ Hoes, shortstop Manny Machado, catcher Brian Ward and pitcher Dylan Bundy are included among the first round of cuts, but more are coming later today. Machado wasn't on the camp roster, but he was here every day and manager Buck Showalter included him on the list. These guys can still be summoned from minor league camp and appear in Grapefruit League games. Bundy threw 34 pitches in two innings in the B game and looked very good, according to Showalter and pitching coach Rick Adair. Bundy had good fastball command and mixed in a few other pitches. Chris Tillman's fastball topped out at 95 mph again today during his three scoreless innings. He looks like a different pitcher than the one we've seen in past years. "Tillman was real good today. I'm so excited for him," Adair said. "He has done a lot of work. I'll put it that way." Tillman threw 32 pitches and faced the minimum nine batters, getting a double play. The major difference in Tillman is "he's strong enough to have a better delivery," Adair said. Tillman is able to repeat that delivery more often now. There might have been three instances today, at the most, when he failed to do it.