Valdez impressive in intrasquad (MASN airing two exhibitions)

Asher Wojciechowski made his latest bid tonight to stay in the Orioles rotation by starting for the orange team, designated as the hosts, in the penultimate intrasquad game at Camden Yards.

Never read too much into a scrimmage, whether or not it's accompanied by recorded crowd noise and walkup music, but Wojciechowski is lined up to serve as the No. 4 starter behind John Means, Alex Cobb and Wade LeBlanc.

Dilson Herrera didn't care. He lined a two-run homer into the left field seats in the second inning after Pedro Severino's standup triple.

Severino really didn't care. He launched a three-run shot deep into the left field seats with the count full and two outs in the third for a 5-0 lead.

Has anyone hit for the cycle in an intrasquad game? Severino fell a single and double short.

Herrera also hit a three-run homer off Hunter Harvey in Tuesday's game, but the power display probably won't get him on the opening day roster with the team expected to carry the more versatile Andrew Velazquez, Pat Valaika and Stevie Wilkerson. But he isn't interested in your projections or mine.

Wilkerson started in center field for the orange team and had an RBI single off Paul Fry in the sixth, Valaika started at second base and Velazquez handled shortstop. Herrera is mostly kept at first base in camp.

Wojciechowski reached his pitch count after striking out Rio Ruiz for the second out in the top of the fifth inning. He allowed five runs and six hits with two walks and four strikeouts.

César Valdez started for the white jerseys and allowed two hits in four scoreless innings. He retired the first eight batters, striking out No. 2 hitter Chris Davis, before Austin Wynns doubled off the fence in front of the bullpen area.

Valdez, 35, is stretched out to start but really seems to be vying for a multi-inning relief role. Chance Sisco was the only other baserunner tonight with a single in the fourth. Twelve of 14 sent back to the dugout.

The Orioles made Valdez a non-roster invite to the summer camp after he threw five scoreless innings with nine strikeouts in four exhibition games. He spent the past two summers pitching in Mexico.

José Iglesias singled in his first two at-bats tonight, singled again in the seventh off Evan Phillips and hasn't stopped hitting since arriving at summer camp - even when his back was sore.

I hear he also plays a pretty good shortstop.

Austin Hays led off again tonight, as he's done in the other intrasquad games. He won't take a major tumble to start the season.

"I definitely feel like he's going to be hitting somewhere in the top of the order," manager Brandon Hyde said earlier today. "I want him to get a lot of at-bats. I love the at-bats that he takes. He has picked up where he left off in September right now. The at-bats so far in summer camp have been really impressive.

"Drives the ball to all fields, exciting. You've seen a couple drag bunts the last couple of days on his own for hits to either start rallies or continue them. So I just like his overall game. I think he's going to be a really exciting player and I'm really excited about the future for him. I'm going to get him as many at-bats as possible."

The Orioles will lean heavily on their bullpen and hope that it doesn't collapse again. Applying too much pressure last summer brought disastrous results.

Richard Bleier is further removed from his lat surgery and shoulder soreness. Cody Carroll is recovered from last summer's back surgery. Cole Sulser appears to be a quality pickup from the Rays. Miguel Castro appears to have improved his command while working only from the stretch. The Orioles can allow Harvey to go full throttle in a 60-game season.

"I think it could be very good," Bleier said. "I think we're looking really good. Yesterday was a nice example of relievers ... (Mychal) Givens I thought looked really good, (Shawn) Armstrong looked really good. And then like Cody Carroll, guys like that who weren't really around last year that I feel like can make an impact in the bullpen in a positive way.

"We saw flashes from everyone who was on the team last year, what they're capable of doing and why they're in the big leagues, and I'm hoping guys take that step forward and are turning those flashes into consistency, including myself. And I think we'll go back to being a strong bullpen unit like Baltimore is known for."

Sulser stranded two inherited runners last night and left the bases loaded tonight, striking out three batters. He fanned two more in his second inning of work.

"That's what we're looking for guys to do is to come in and fill up the strike zone," Hyde said. "We didn't do a good job of that last night and that's a major point of emphasis. It's something that we really, really struggled with last year. I want to believe we're going to be better at it this year. Cole Sulser doing that last night, it was great for people to see what that looks like from our end.

"I like his pitch mix. He's got a nice elevated fastball that he pitches at the belt with, with a nice slider/split combo so he can get righties and lefties out. But the main thing like I tell all of our guys who have the 94-98 mph fastballs out of the 'pen is command and we were behind in the count all year last year, walked too many hitters and fell behind in hitters' counts. And for us to have success this year we're just going to have to do a lot better job of being able to get strike one, to get in advantage counts with the stuff that we have out of our bullpen."

The rotation can ease the strain on the relievers by avoiding the early exits that taxed the unit. Too many innings to cover. Too many implosions.

"If the starters are not going deep into the games, you see how that affects the bullpen," Bleier said. "But I think everybody is pitching pretty well. John is ready to take the next step forward and follow up his All-Star year, Cobb is healthy, Wojciechowski is going to get a full year. And with Wade and Tommy (Milone), those guys are veterans, they know how to get the job done.

"I just feel like we could definitely have a useful unit there. And we have a crazy amount of weapons in the bullpen it seems when everybody is pitching as well as they can. Castro, myself, Givens, Fry, Armstrong, whoever else makes it. It could be impressive to see us roll out quality pitching."

Thomas Eshelman could be competing for a long relief role, though Hyde hasn't announced the composition of his rotation beyond Means on opening day.

Eshelman made the last start in spring training before the shutdown, allowing nine runs and nine hits in two innings at Dunedin. The Blue Jays hit three home runs and doubled twice in the first frame.

"I kind of wish that the quarantine happened a day earlier so I didn't have to start that game," he said today in a Zoom call. "But it was good to kind of hit pause for me, after that one especially, and go back and refine some things. I was given that time to do that, so I took that opportunity and ran with it and it's been feeling good these last couple outings that I've had here."

David Hess replaced Wojciechowski and walked Severino before retiring Herrera on a fly ball. Travis Lakins Sr. replaced Valdez in the fifth and immediately gave up back-to-back singles to Mason Williams and Valaika before escaping with a popup and line drive turned into a double play.

Hess stranded Bryan Holaday in the sixth after a one-out single. Fry worked the bottom half and gave up the run-scoring single to Wilkerson, reducing the white team's lead to 5-1, after Davis singled and Sisco was hit by a pitch. Fry struck out two batters.

Note: The Mid-Atlantic Sports Network is airing the two 6 p.m. exhibition games between the Orioles and Nationals - Monday night in Baltimore and Tuesday night in D.C.

Scott Garceau and Mike Bordick will handle the broadcast duties at Camden Yards. Bob Carpenter and F.P. Santangelo will call the game at Nationals Park.