Wright impressive through four innings (O's win 3-0)

Mike Wright recorded his first major league out and strikeout, gave up his first hits and escaped his first jam.

He's packed a lot into four innings for the Orioles.

Wright retired the first nine batters before Kole Calhoun led off the fourth inning with a single. Didn't Calhoun do the same thing to Ubaldo Jimenez last night?

Albert Pujols doubled with one out to put two runners in scoring position, but the game remains in a scoreless tie. Erick Aybar grounded to Manny Machado, who threw home to get Calhoun in a rundown, and Johnny Giavotella struck out on an 88 mph slider.

The crowd erupted as Wright calmly walked off the mound, his fourth strikeout in the books. He's thrown 50 pitches, 32 for strikes, in four innings.

Wright's first pitch of the day was a 93 mph fastball. He hit 97 with the third pitch before retiring Calhoun on an 85 mph slider that resulted in a broken-bat pop up. Mike Trout struck out on a 98 mph fastball and Pujols flied out on a 95 mph heater.

Wright retired Aybar leading off the second on a bouncer to the mound on a 79 mph changeup. He also threw an 82 mph curveball in the inning and struck out David Freese on a 97 mph fastball.

Marc Krauss ended the third by fanning on the same pitch.

The Orioles still have been held to two runs in the series as the bats remain slow to heat up, an issue that players are taking seriously.

"They do dwell on it. I want them to. They do," said manager Buck Showalter.

"We've got obviously some different guys. We didn't have (Alejandro) De Aza except for a couple months last year and Travis (Snider) is new. Delmon (Young) is playing more than he did this time last year. But they do. I see them. They're not happy about not being able to get outside today (for batting practice). Guys want to do well every at-bat, every pitch. They do. They don't say, 'Oh, it's just something we're going through and it'll work itself out at the end.'

"When I guy comes up to me or I hear a guy quoted, 'Well, my numbers will be there at the end of the year,' strike one. That ain't how it works. 'The finished product will be fine.' How about right now?' That's the world we live in. They know that."

So far, the play in the field has been crisp. No errors or missed cutoff men. No lapses that have plagued the Orioles in uncharacteristic fashion under Showalter.

"The execution hasn't been what we need it to be all the time," Showalter said. "That happened at times last year. We've got some new people playing some new positions. We kind of invented Steve Pearce at second base. There's some things we need to do better. No doubt about it. Consistently.

"It just reminds you of how good Manny is. The play that deflected off his glove (last night), most third basemen don't even get leather on it. He gets penalized. The error's probably given to him because everybody, including the scorer, is used to him making that play. A lot of guys don't even get leather on it and they don't get an error. But we're used to him making that play.

"We're used to having some balls that we're not catching being caught. We've got to get back to that."

Update: Adam Jones reached on an infield hit in the fourth inning, took third on Delmon Young's single and scored on a wild pitch by Angels starter Garrett Richards.

Wright has retired 15 of the first 17 batters.

Update II: Wright left to a standing ovation after 7 1/3 scoreless innings. He allowed four hits, walked none and struck out six, and the Orioles continue to hold a 1-0 lead.

Wright threw 90 pitches, 59 for strikes.

Brad Brach struck out both batters he faced to preserve the lead.

Update III: Adam Jones' two-run double with two outs in the eighth extended the lead to 3-0.

Big tack-on runs.

Manny Machado and Jimmy Paredes singled with two outs. Paredes legged out an infield single.

Zach Britton will go for his eighth save.

Update IV: The Orioles defeat the Angels 3-0 and avoid the sweep.

Wright gets his first major league win. Britton gets this eighth save after allowing three runs last night. He stranded two runners today.