Orioles left-hander B.J. Ryan threw one pitch during Thursday's game. It was a strike.
Talk about relief. The word applies both to Ryan's role on the team and the Orioles' reaction to his short outing.
Ryan is trying to shake a nasty slump that caused him to allow 14 runs in his past 16 2/3 innings, and permit seven of his last 10 inherited runners to score, before retiring New York rookie Nick Johnson on a fly ball.
Ryan was making his first appearance since June 20 in Arizona, when he tossed a scoreless inning. The Orioles purchased the contract of left-hander Yorkis Perez from Triple-A Rochester before Tuesday's game and hoped Ryan could work out his problems in the bullpen and in less-pressurized situations.
He didn't have much margin for error on Thursday. Manager Mike Hargrove called upon him in the ninth inning with the Yankees clinging to a 3-2 lead.
"I told him, 'You'd think after waiting seven days to pitch that you'd throw more than one pitch to the guy and not get him out with the first one,' " Hargrove said. "He did the job. I think it's real important for us to build back his confidence, and that was a good first step."
"That pitch felt great," Ryan said, grinning. "You can take anything out of any outing. It's a 3-2 game, I came in to get one guy and I got the guy out, so that was a positive. And you just try to take it from there."
Ryan appreciated the chance to enter a tight game. "You've got to gain trust and I haven't been throwing the ball good," he said. "To be put in a situation like that is showing that he's giving me a chance to build his trust back."
Said Hargrove: "I'm certainly not afraid to use B.J."
Ryan continues to receive feedback from pitching coach Mark Wiley while attempting to straighten out his mechanics.
"I just need to work on some things," Ryan said. "We've got a lot of guys throwing good in the bullpen right now, so the opportunity hasn't come up to pitch a lot. You just work at what you can work at and control what you can control.
"Nobody has perfect mechanics, so you work on different things and hopefully it will turn things around. It could be a small thing or it could be something big, but right now I'm just trying to stay more on top of the ball and drive the ball downhill. My pitches have been flat. That's my biggest problem."
More testing for Bedard
Orioles pitching prospect Erik Bedard is expected to undergo a magnetic resonance imaging test on Monday to reveal the source of his elbow pain.
Bedard, 23, left Wednesday's start against Double-A Akron in the eighth inning after telling catcher Izzy Molina that he felt a twinge in his elbow. He was checked by Bowie trainer P.J. Mainville before heading to the clubhouse, and turned up at Camden Yards on Thursday for an examination by Orioles physician Dr. Charles Silberstein.
"We won't know a thing until we see the evaluation," said Syd Thrift, the Orioles' vice president for baseball operations.
A sixth-round draft pick in 1999, Bedard is scheduled to represent Bowie in the Double-A All-Star Game on July 10, three days after participating in the All-Star Future's Game at Milwaukee's Miller Park. He's 6-3 with a 1.97 ERA.
It's been a rough week for the Baysox and Orioles prospects. Outfielder Luis Matos, who had surgery to remove a broken hamate bone in March, sprained his wrist while swinging at a pitch during the third inning of Wednesday's game.
Donald Fehr, the executive director of the players union, met with the Philadelphia Phillies yesterday to update them on negotiations toward a new collective bargaining agreement. He'll huddle with the Orioles later this season while the club is on the road.
Fehr repeated that no strike date has been set, but also wouldn't rule out baseball's ninth work stoppage in 30 years.
"There remains a lot of work to do," he said. "A strike is something you hope you never have to get to, and if you do, you hope it's a short one."
Around the horn
Infielder Brian Roberts wasn't available Thursday because of a leg cramp. He remained out of the lineup last night. ... The Orioles have signed University of Texas catcher Ryan Hubele, their eighth-round selection in the amateur draft, and left-hander Matthew Rohr, their 14th-round pick out of Cal-State Bernardino. Rohr has reported to Single-A Aberdeen, and Hubele is supposed to arrive there today.