In between so many starts in 2014, right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez spoke of the fixes he knew he needed to make to improve his performance.
A superlative 2015 debut, in which he threw seven shutout innings with eight strikeouts and one hit allowed Saturday in a 7-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays, means Jimenez is only looking to maintain that success, a feeling he relished ahead of Friday's scheduled start.
"It's very good," Jimenez said. "Finally, I'm not thinking about my mechanics, having to fix this or having to do that. I'm just worried about getting outs. It feels good."
The Blue Jays scored a combined 22 runs on Friday and Sunday, but scored their only run Saturday once Jimenez left. It was one of his best outings in an Orioles uniform, and one he'll carry into Friday's series opener against the division-leading Boston Red Sox.
Whether he's coming off a strong start or a struggle, Jimenez' between-start routine involves working on his fastball command.
"That's the number one thing, to command the fastball and then you can throw your breaking ball off the fastball," he said. I've been doing the same in the bullpen, working on the two-seam fastball, breaking balls, all the same work."
Jimenez follows up Saturday's success at Camden Yards against a Red Sox team that scored 11 earned runs in 15 total innings over three starts against Jimenez in 2014, with four total home runs allowed. Two home runs were at Fenway Park in Boston, where he twice earned no-decisions in 2014 and has a 9.45 career ERA.
Still, he knows the way he pitched in his first start of 2015 will translate anywhere, and will unlock the success he waited through last year's 6-9 campaign to bring to the Orioles.
"If I'm able to locate my fastball and keep it down in the strike zone, I'm going to get people out," he said.