Highlights and lowlights from the Orioles' 8-5 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in Jupiter, Fla.

Calvin Pickering: After over-swinging and hearing a collective yell from the Orioles' dugout, Pickering shortened his swing on the next pitch and crushed an opposite-field homer.

Chris Fussell: Needs more seasoning in the minors. His stuff is too good to be struggling like this.

Mike Murphy: Destined for a starting job in Triple-A, but the outfielder made his mark yesterday with two hits and two RBIs.

Jerry Hoffberger: Whenever the former Orioles owner shows up for an exhibition game, the club scores a lot of runs. Manager Ray Miller spotted him in the crowd yesterday and smiled.

Brady Anderson: An RBI double, two walks and two runs scored. This leadoff stuff is pretty simple.

Gabe Molina: Strikes out the side in the ninth.

The bats

The Orioles didn't get a hit until the fifth inning and finished with seven. "We didn't get a lot of hits, but we got big hits," Miller said. The biggest: run-scoring doubles by Anderson and Jerry Hairston, a two-run single by Murphy and Pickering's two-run shot. Esteban Beltre singled and scored twice, and Albert Belle singled.

The arms

Sidney Ponson allowed two runs -- both on homers by light-hitting David Howard -- and five hits in three innings. His slider and changeup were good, but the curveball wasn't there. Rocky Coppinger gave up one run in two innings, a long homer by Eli Marrero, and received the win. Fussell allowed two hits and two runs in two innings, as St. Louis whittled a 6-3 lead, but Mike Timlin and Molina slammed the door.

The rest

Albert Belle almost hit his first homer as an Oriole, but his third-inning drive to left died at the fence. Cardinals left-hander Kent Mercker, who was abused by his former team last spring, didn't allow a run in 2 1/3 innings, but walked four. Former Orioles farmhand Garrett Stephenson took the loss, allowing six runs (two earned) and five hits in two innings. The Cardinals made two errors on one play in the sixth that tied the game and doomed Stephenson. Umpire John Shulock became ill before the game and was replaced by Bob Williams.

Quote of the day

"I don't know where that one went. My car wasn't in danger. I know that." -- Miller, on the long home run St. Louis catcher Eli Marrero hit off Rocky Coppinger.

Pub Date: 3/10/99