CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) - Yovani Gallardo brushed off his rough debut.
Gallardo allowed three runs and four hits in the first inning in his first start for the Orioles, Darin Ruf hit two homers for Philadelphia and a split squad of Phillies beat Baltimore 8-4 Wednesday.
The Orioles are 0-9-1, the only team without a win this spring training. South Korean outfielder Hyun Soo Kim remained 0-fer with the O’s, hitless in 21 at-bats.
Gallardo settled down and tossed a 1-2-3 second after giving up a pair of doubles and a homer in the first. The right-hander signed a $22 million, two-year deal with the Orioles after camp opened two weeks ago.
“Obviously, if the results are there it’s a good thing, but the most important thing is building up to that 100 pitch count,” Gallardo said. “I was able to get two innings and get those two ground balls in that second inning, which is a good sign.”
Manny Machado hit his first homer, a two-run shot just inside the left-field foul pole off starter Alec Asher. Xavier Avery added a two-run drive for Baltimore in the eighth.
Gallardo, who is 102-75 with a 3.42 ERA in his career, has thrown at least 180 innings and started at least 30 times for the last seven seasons. He was 13-11 with a 3.42 ERA for the Rangers last year.
Signing the 30-year-old Gallardo cost Baltimore it’s first-round pick, No. 14 overall. The sides had agreed to a $35 million, three-year deal before it was changed to two years with a team option for $13 million in 2018.
“It was a little bit of a different offseason for me this year,” Gallardo said. “I (couldn’t) wait to get the first one out of the way.”
Ruf connected off Gallardo in the first and Vance Worley in the fourth. He hit a two-run homer Tuesday against Pittsburgh.
The right-handed hitting slugger is expected to platoon with Ryan Howard and start against left-handers. Both of his homers on Wednesday came off right-handers.
“I just try to have a consistent approach whether it’s against a lefty or a righty,” he said. “It’s still early in spring. It’s nice to have good at-bats and see some positive results.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Orioles: INF/OF Jimmy Paredes, who injured his right wrist last Friday at Tampa Bay, doesn’t have a fracture. Paredes has already begun swinging one-handed, and manager Buck Showalter hasn’t ruled out his return before the end of spring training. … LHPs Brian Matusz (back) and T.J. McFarland (elbow) are progressing and Showalter said both have a chance to break camp with the team.
Phillies: RHP Jeremy Hellickson was scratched from Wednesday’s start because of the flu. … OF Aaron Altherr had surgery on his injured left wrist on Wednesday. He is expected to be out 4-6 months. … OF/INF Cody Asche is getting closer to returning from a right oblique injury. He hasn’t appeared in a game yet this spring, but has started hitting.
UP NEXT
Orioles: RHP Tyler Wilson pitches when Baltimore hosts a split squad of New York Yankees on Thursday. RHP Brian Mitchell is New York’s scheduled starter. RHPs Chris Tillman and Kevin Gausman will pitch in a “B’’ game in Sarasota.
Phillies: RHP Aaron Nola starts against Detroit. He allowed four hits and four runs in two innings in his first start.
SETTING THE TONE
The Phillies are 7-3-1 in spring after two split-squad wins. For a team that finished with the worst record in the majors last year, exhibition wins aren’t quite as meaningless.
“When you have a lot of young kids, it’s good to win and give them a taste of what it’s like,” said bench coach Larry Bowa, who managed the team vs. Baltimore.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.