Sugano shutout streak survives, Mountcastle stays hot, Bautista goes 1-2-3 and more (O's win 10-0)

SARASOTA, Fla. – Tomoyuki Sugano may never give up a run as an Oriole. That’s the pace he’s on right now. Just let it ride.

Sugano entered tonight’s game with seven scoreless innings in his three outings. He went 3 1/3 against the Twins, leaving after Christian Vázquez’s one-out single in the fourth that was the only hit against him.

The crowd gave Sugano a standing ovation as he walked to the dugout and again as he headed to the clubhouse. Geraldo Ogando stranded the runner and one of his own to preserve a 4-0 lead and Sugano’s shutout streak.

“I feel like I’m handling the ball much better as I progress,” Sugano said via interpreter Yuto Sakurai.

You won't get much more out of him. He has a large repertoire, but his sales pitch is weak.

A star in Japan, Sugano has emerged as a bright spot in an Orioles rotation that’s missing Grayson Rodriguez. No runs, five hits, three walks and 11 strikeouts in 10 1/3 innings. Worth every bit of that $13 million.

Maybe he’s the ace that fans demanded.

“I’m not particularly surprised,” Sugano said about the way he’s retiring major league batters. “This is my second outing against Minnesota. I changed things up and things were working well. I’m happy with it.

“I do feel a lot more confident, but more so better communication with the catchers.”

Sugano retired the first seven batters before Mike Ford walked. He responded by striking out Armando Alvarez and Edouard Julien. Sugano fanned four batters on the night.

Manager Brandon Hyde pulled Sugano at 64 pitches, 39 for strikes.

“I was able to go (further) if needed, but it’s the team’s decision,” Sugano said, “so just follow what they ask me to do.”

Hyde hasn’t announced where anyone slots in the rotation besides Opening Day starter Zach Eflin. Sugano appeared to be fifth, which would give him the March 31 assignment at Camden Yards, but Rodriguez’s elbow soreness likely puts his replacement at the back end.

* Ryan Mountcastle hit his third home run in three games, clearing the fence in left-center field after Jordan Westburg led off the second inning with an infield single.

This one qualified as a no-doubter. It was loud and it traveled.

David Festa was tonight’s victim. Mountcastle lined a homer to right field Tuesday in Tampa and went left-center the following day after coming off the bench in Sarasota.

Mountcastle faced reliever Ivran Romero in the third and lined a two-run double to left field for a 4-0 lead. A four RBI game and halfway to the cycle.

Somebody is heating up.

Mountcastle had nine RBIs in his last seven at-bats. He’s getting ready for the season-opening trip to Toronto, where he’s a career .303/.366/.596 hitter with eight doubles, eight home runs and 26 RBIs in 29 games. He’s slashing .311/.373/.589 with 13 doubles, a triple, 18 home runs and 52 RBIs in 65 games against the Blue Jays.

* Félix Bautista retired the side in order on 18 pitches in the fifth inning. He got a ground ball and struck out the next two batters.

The fastball topped at 98 mph.

The Twins worked the count full in two at-bats, allowing Bautista to get in his work. The ballpark doesn’t provide Statcast data, but Bautista’s velocity read 96 mph, 96, 95, 93 for the first out; 82, 88, 86, 96, 96, 96 for the second out; and 84, 98, 85, 97, 97, 88, 97 and 86 to end the inning.

Bautista was appearing in his fourth game and is on track to make the Opening Day roster.

* Keeler Morfe, the No. 9 prospect in the organization, is starting for the Orioles Saturday night in the Spring Breakout game against the Yankees at Ed Smith Stadium.

Morfe’s 70-grade fastball is the best in the system. The native of Venezuela is 5-foot-8 but his heater sits in the high 90s.

Dominican Summer League manager Chris Madera will manage the Orioles.

The game airs on MLB Network with MASN’s Melanie Newman behind the mic.

* Jackson Holliday laid down a bunt single leading off the bottom of the fourth inning. … Adley Rutschman and Colton Cowser hit two-run homers in the fourth. Rutschman went to the opposite field again. … Livan Soto had a double in the fifth that scored Ryan O’Hearn, who led off with a pinch-hit double. Cedric Mullins lifted a sacrifice fly to score Holliday, who walked after O’Hearn’s double. ... Westburg singled twice and walked before coming out for a pinch-runner.

* Levi Stoudt tossed two scoreless innings in a 10-0 win over the Twins.

Hyde on Mountcastle:
“He’s had a heck of a week. It’s great to see him lay off tough pitches, get balls to drive and put great swings on them. This is the Mounty that we know. He’s such a threat at the plate.

“We’ve seen Mountcastle have these moments. With him it’s swinging at strikes, and when he swings at strikes, good things happen because he’s just got so much power and he’s got the ability to put the barrel on the baseball. He’s been working hard on that for the last few years. He knows the kind of player he can be, and it’s an everyday process of him to make sure he’s in the strike zone.”

Hyde on Sugano:
“Excellent, excellent. Thought he had everything working. I loved his tempo and his command. And if he falls behind in the count, how he gets back in. Just really quality pitches throughout. I thought his fastball had a lot of life to it tonight.

“You never know how it’s gonna look over here. You saw the command on video and our pro scouts saw a guy who’s had a lot of success in Japan. For me, this is what the scouting report said, a guy that’s gonna have great command and good putaway pitch. He just knows how to pitch.”