SAN FRANCISCO — The Orioles recalled left-handed reliever Donnie Hart from Double-A Bowie before Friday's series opener against the San Francisco Giants as the club continues to search for situational bullpen help against left-handed hitters.
Hart had a nine-day stint with the major league club last month, throwing 2 2/3 scoreless innings before he was sent back to Bowie when right-hander Darren O'Day returned from the disabled list on July 24.
He pitched almost exclusively to left-handers while with the Orioles, holding them to one hit in six at-bats with one walk and a strikeout. At Bowie, Hart has held left-handers to a .188 batting average.
Though his first stint with the Orioles was brief, Hart said he returns to the majors having learned a lot.
"I think the biggest thing is that these hitters are going to hit mistakes, but if you make your pitches you're going to get outs," Hart said. "Even when you do make your pitches, you might get hit, but [getting] strike one, that's the biggest thing on my mind. I've got to get ahead of guys here and if I can do that I think I'll give myself a chance to have some success up here."
The Orioles needed to make an upgrade heading into this weekend's series — the Giants can stack seven to eight left-handed hitters in their lineup — and they optioned right-hander Logan Ondrusek to Bowie after he continued to struggle getting lefties out.
Ondrusek, who was signed after pitching in the Japanese Central League for his ability to get lefties out, allowed six of the 10 left-handers he faced to reach base. Lefties were 4-for-8 with three extra-base hits (two doubles and a homer) and two walks against Ondrusek.
Manager Buck Showalter said one of the reasons Ondrusek struggled was because he couldn't get a feel for his splitter after being accustomed to smaller baseballs in Japan.
"When we first acquired Logan, we were hoping he'd be able to get some innings down below, but because of some of the contractual situation he had to be in the big leagues first," Showalter said. "It's kind of a roster issue, too. He's having a little trouble adjusting with the baseball. A lot of people forget about that with the Japanese baseball. The split was a big pitch for him and he was having trouble getting a feel for it with the baseballs."
Hart didn't pitch well after returning to Bowie, posting a 4.91 ERA in 7 1/3 innings. He has allowed four earned runs in his past three outings spanning 3 1/3 innings following four scoreless appearances after being optioned to the minors.
"Honestly, there was one outing where I really didn't have my stuff," Hart said. "The other two outings when I gave up runs, it was kind of one of those deals when I came out because of pitch count, 20-something pitches, an inning plus, and the runs ended up coming across. Other than that, I felt really good. … It wasn't something where I was all over the place throwing bad pitches. It was just one of those days."
Wilson in San Francisco on taxi squad
Right-hander Tyler Wilson made a cross-country flight from Norfolk to join the club in San Francisco in case he's needed in Darren O'Day's absence. Officially, he was on the team's 24-hour taxi squad, meaning the Orioles must recall him over the next day or return him to the minor leagues.
Wilson has been up and down between the majors and Norfolk often this season, and he's one of the first pitchers the Orioles have called upon when they've needed an extra arm, whether for a spot start or relief.
"It's happened quite a bit now," Wilson said. "That phone call never gets old. It's always great to be here and be a part of the great things this team is doing right now. Whatever happens the next day or 24 hours or whatever, it's just the beginning. We're at a good place as a team, and I'm just happy to be here to be a part of it."
Wilson has spent most of his time since the break at Norfolk — he was brought up to pitch once, and tossed four scoreless innings in relief on July 26 against the Colorado Rockies. He has been shortened up in his starts at Norfolk so he's more readily available for a big league call-up. When the Orioles sent Wilson to the minors in early July, Showalter said to ease off his workload to keep him fresh.
"It felt great," Wilson said. "Physically I felt really strong. My arm feels great, and each outing I've gone out down there, I've just gone out and tried to work on something and get better. But most importantly just compete and not worry too much about the pitch count or whatever could come on any given day, and really just try and keep those competitive juices flowing and be ready for when that call does come."
Wilson hasn't thrown more than 72 pitches in any start over his recent Norfolk outings, and has held opponents to two earned runs or fewer in each of his past three starts there, posting a 1.98 ERA over that span.
"He's been crisper," Showalter said. "A little more finish on his fastball. It's been good for him. We kind of knew it would reach that point at some course of the year anyway, so we had to back off him and tried to shorten him up with some of his starts down there. He's stayed around 75 pitches. He's had two days off; this would be his third, so he'd be ready to go tomorrow."
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