Orioles' (mostly) highs and lows in today's exhibition game against Phillies (O's win 7-3)

CLEARWATER, Fla. – Samuel Basallo saw a first-pitch slider today from former Orioles reliever Nick Vespi and lined it into right field for a single at 107.4 mph. An earlier groundout registered at 104.9. Nothing subtle about his offensive game.

Everyone knows about the bat, which creates loud noises in the cage and at the plate. He launched more baseballs this morning in his pregame session at BayCare Ballpark. But the trip marked a special occasion for the 20-year-old Basallo – his first Grapefruit League start at catcher.

Basallo reported to camp last spring with a stress fracture in his elbow, an injury revealed on the first day. He rehabbed it and was limited to designated hitter duty.

Nothing is holding back Basallo this year. He set the target for left-hander Cade Povich and the relievers who followed until the bottom of the sixth inning.

“Thank God that it felt really good that I was able to catch today,” he said via interpreter Brandon Quinones. “Yeah, I felt really good behind the plate.”

Basallo is the top prospect in the organization and 13^th in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline, but he’s still learning. In no way is he a finished product, which should terrify the rest of the league.

“I feel like I’ve been able to mature a lot,” he said. “Being able to look at the game a different way this spring, and I think it also helps that I’ve been able to hit and play defense this spring, as well.

“I feel like last spring I faced a lot of limitations, not being able to work on everything, and this spring I feel like I’ve been able to focus a lot more on my defense and a lot more on those specific details, so it’s been nice.”

One detail that didn’t escape Basallo today was the usage of the ABS system to challenge balls and strikes. He became familiar with it in the minors and the technology was available at the Phillies home ballpark.

Basallo signaled for it on Brandon Young’s 1-0 pitch to Kyle Schwarber with two outs in the fifth. He got the strike and Schwarber grounded out to complete a 1-2-3 inning.

“Today I caught the ball and I thought that it was a strike, so I immediately tapped my mask,” he said. “Last year, I had some experience with it and I used it a few times. I didn’t use it as much as maybe one would think just because I was scared to fail, but I used it on and off a few times.”

Basallo caught Povich for the first time in a game. They were paired in bullpens and live batting practice. It didn’t happen last year at Triple-A Norfolk.

“He’s been great,” Povich said. “Very impressed with his framing. I think even his pitch calling – he only caught me a few times – but for the most part we were pretty on page with what I wanted to throw, and I think that’s just gonna come with reps to where we’re more on the page. But for the few times he’s caught me so far, I’ve been really impressed with his stuff.”

* Povich went seven up, six down this afternoon. Garrett Stubbs reached on first baseman Emmanuel Rivera’s throwing error in the second inning.

How sharp was Povich? The Phillies didn’t get a ball out of the infield.

“First game playing out there, I’m not trying to overdo anything,” he said. “Just command the zone, work on pitch mix. And it was great to see the mix of left and right today.”

Weak contact was all that the Phillies could muster – a grounder to first, strikeout, grounder to second, popup to short, grounder to first, the error, and another popup to short. Povich threw 26 pitches, 15 for strikes.

“That just goes to working on locating well today and then mixing pitches. Got good results, so happy with today,” Povich said.

“I don’t think I threw a curveball today. Would have liked to mix in a couple more changeups, as well. I think as spring continues and I’m going more innings, I’ll be able to work on some of that stuff. And then, I think outing by outing, just increasing the intensity while keeping the kind of control that I had there today.”

* Coby Mayo made his first exhibition start this afternoon after coming off the bench yesterday. And an opportunity to impress arrived right away.

Terrin Vavra led off the first inning with a nine-pitch walk against Tyler Phillips and Colton Cowser was hit by a pitch. Rivera and Heston Kjerstad struck out, the latter on a sweeper, fastball and curveball, but Mayo lined a 94.1 mph sinker into left-center field to give the Orioles a 2-0 lead.

It wasn’t just the location of the ball. It was how fast it left Mayo’s bat – at 113 mph per Statcast.

Mayo replaced Jordan Westburg at third base yesterday against the Pirates in Sarasota and went 0-for-3. He was the designated hitter today against the Phillies.

The hard single didn’t unclog the roster jam, but it really stood out.

* Speaking of standing out ...

Infielder Vimael Machín is in camp as a non-roster invite after hitting .401/.495/.579 with 31 doubles, seven home runs and 54 RBIs last year in 85 games in Mexico. Manager Brandon Hyde remembers “the machine” from their days with the Cubs.

Machín was unforgettable this afternoon, going opposite field on a first-pitch sinker for a home run in the second inning that increased the lead to 3-0, and lining an RBI single over the shortstop’s leaping attempt in the fourth after Nick Gordon walked with two outs and advanced on an errant pickoff throw.

The man was a hitting Machín. He led off the sixth with a double to leave him a triple short of the cycle.

The last major league appearance for Machin came with the Athletics on Oct. 1, 2022. The Phillies selected him from the Cubs in the 2019 Rule 5 draft, and they signed him as a free agent in 2023 before releasing him five months later.

The Orioles signed Machín to a minor league contract in November. He can play anywhere in the infield.

* Rodolfo Martinez brought the heat again today. It transferred from the bullpen and his live batting practice session. But there’s more to the art than velocity.

Christian Arroyo hit a 388-foot home run off Martinez at 106.7 mph off the bat in the third inning. The previous fastball was clocked at 99.2 mph. The next, at 97.7 mph, was hit far enough that left fielder Colton Cowser didn’t budge.

Nick Castellanos flied to the center field track after Schwarber walked, and Brandon Marsh grounded out on Martinez’s 24^th pitch of the inning. Only 11 were strikes.

Martinez also threw an 83.1 mph slider during his outing. One sinker registered at 96.6. He threw three cutters to Marsh between 86-86.7 mph.

* Young allowed back-to-back singles in the fourth and got a double play. He retired the side in order in the fifth, including a strikeout of Arroyo … Cowser was twice hit by pitches today, the last by Vespi leading off the fifth. Vespi threw a wild pitch and pinch-runner Franklin Barreto scored on Rivera’s single … Jordyn Adams had an RBI groundout in the seventh after Jud Fabian and Dylan Beavers walked and moved up on a wild pitch … Dylan Coleman served up a two-run homer to Gabriel Rincones Jr. in the seventh to reduce the lead to 6-3.

* Beavers doubled in the ninth and scored on Adams’ single, and the Orioles won 7-3. Kyle Brnovich struck out four batters in two scoreless innings.

Hyde on Povich:
“He was really impressive. He came in camp ready to go and showed really good stuff today. The changeup has come a long way. That’s continuing to improve. I thought he had good life to his fastball, good off-speed stuff. He did a great job.”

Hyde on Basallo:
“It’s fun to watch him catch. It’s a big target, hit a couple balls hard. I thought he did a great job for his first start in a big league spring training game.”

Hyde on ABS challenge with plate umpire Vic Carapazza:
“I was talking to Vic about the mechanics of … because that was his first time, too. And you guys couldn’t hear. The microphone wasn’t working. He said he wasn’t sure if it was done correctly. We were kind of discussing how that’s supposed to operate.”

Hyde on Young:
“High velo, it was good secondary stuff, a lot of strikes. First time I’ve seen him throw in a game. I liked the tempo. Everything was really good.”

Hyde on Machín:
“Played yesterday, too. I’ve known him for a long time and he’s always been just a good baseball player. He swung the bat really well today. He’s always been a gamer, loves to play, and good day today.”