Despite allowing two runs and four hits in three innings, Jeremy Guthrie was pleased with his command. Guthrie threw 31 of his 41 pitches for strikes and satisfied his goal of working the corners more.
"The quality of pitches was much, much better today," he said. "I probably would have been better off had I missed the middle of the plate. They may have hit it at somebody instead of off the end. The execution was much, much better today. That's good, that's a positive. I really haven't felt that command last game or in my bullpen [session], but today, I felt comfortable that I can actually throw to both sides of the plate with a couple of different pitches. I threw the fastball and the slider as well to both sides. The next step from what I said last time definitely happened today, so that's a good thing."
Guthrie was particularly pleased by his command of his slider, though he did hang one to Danny Valencia, who drilled it into left-center field for a two-out double in the first.
Rick VandenHurk followed Guthrie, and his command certainly wasn't as good. VandenHurk, bidding to make the club either as a fifth starter or long reliever, allowed one run on two hits and four walks while striking out two over three innings. He has walked five batters in five innings this spring. VandenHurk allowed an RBI triple to Tsuyoshi Nishioka in the fifth to make it 3-0.
That's where things stand in the bottom of the seventh with Wynn Pelzer on the mound for the Orioles.
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