Wilson retires all six batters he faces in debut (O's win 2-0)

ORIOLES QUICK WRAP

Score: Orioles 2, Tigers 0

Recap: Tyler Wilson retired all six batters he faced, striking out one and throwing 14 of 21 pitches for strikes. ... Johnny Giavotella singled in all three of his at-bats. ... Ryan Flaherty drove in the first run with a sacrifice fly in the second inning.

Need to know: Jayson Aquino struck out two batters in two scoreless innings. ... Right fielder Chris Dickerson recorded three putouts in the first two innings. He also had a walk and stolen base in the fifth. ... Preston Palmeiro, youngest son of Rafael Palmeiro, played first base in the last two innings.

On deck: Saturday at Pirates in Bradenton, 1:05 p.m.

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LAKELAND, Fla. - Tyler Wilson couldn't ease into his first exhibition start this afternoon. The Tigers were playing their opener in their newly refurbished ballpark and they didn't skimp on the starters.

Wilson didn't flinch.

Rather than be limited to one inning, Wilson came back out in the second with his pitch count at six. He retired all six batters he faced, striking out one.

How's that for a spring debut?

Wilson retired Ian Kinsler on a grounder to shortstop, Víctor Martínez on a fly ball to right and Miguel Cabrera on a liner to right-center field. He registered a pair of one-pitch outs and five of his six pitches were strikes.

Wilson fell behind 3-0 to J.D. Martinez before striking him out. He retired Justin Upton on a fly ball to right - Chris Dickerson was busy - and Omar Infante on a grounder to third.

Twenty-one pitches, 14 strikes, one impressive outing.

The Orioles wanted Wilson to go two innings if he was economical with his pitches.

"Going in, I think that was the plan, so it's good to know what you've got going in. But definitely I think I was happy with the lower pitch count, I was happy to get contact early," he said.

"The M.O. coming into spring training is to always pound the zone because the hitters are trying to get their reps and if you can establish the zone and establish strikes early on, that's the first and foremost important thing about pitching, especially early on in the game. It was hot out there and I wanted to give those guys out there a chance to get in the rhythm of the game and get some good reps and play great defense again like they always do."

More satisfaction came from knowing that Wilson was facing the Tigers' regulars.

"For sure, it's a great challenge out of the gate," he said. "Feb. 24 or whatever it is today, and facing some of the best hitters in the game, a great lineup, that's definitely a great challenge. That's all the more reason to establish strikes early on.

"As much as it's about working on your delivery and timing and proving that you command the zone, at this stage of the game it's also good to be competitive and not fall behind guys like that, because that's when they can embarrass you a little bit."

The Orioles took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on Logan Schafer's leadoff walk, a one-out single by Anthony Santander and Ryan Flaherty's sacrifice fly to left field. The lead grew to 2-0 in the fifth on a two-out error by second baseman Juan Perez that allowed Dickerson to score.

Dickerson led off the inning with a walk, stole second and moved to third on Johnny Giavotella's infield hit.

Giavotella also lined a single into left field in the first inning and a single into right field in the third.

Left-hander Jayson Aquino tossed two scoreless innings with two strikeouts. He gave up a leadoff single to Alex Avila in the third, the Tigers' only baserunner.

Logan Verrett is working the bottom of the fifth.

Update: Verrett, Richard Rodríguez and left-hander Donnie Hart each threw a scoreless inning, as the Orioles maintained their 2-0 lead through the seventh. Verrett walked a batter and struck out one, Rodríguez gave up a hit. Hart didn't allow a ball out of the infield.