Orioles 8, Pirates 2
Jake Arrieta was hardly concerned about the eight hits he allowed in four innings. It was the six strikeouts with no walks he preferred to discuss.
Arrieta, about to begin his first full season in Baltimore's rotation, was crisp with his control and stayed away from big innings to help the Orioles beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-2 on Monday.
The right-hander made the Pirates earn their runs with hits, which didn't bother him. He pounded the strike zone, consistently registering in the low-to-mid 90s (mph) with his fastball.
''I thought it was a really positive outing,'' Arrieta said. ''A ton of strikes. I felt comfortable with all my pitches, my depth on the breaking ball was very good, same thing with the slider. My changeup is coming along. I don't think I could be happier with the progress up to this point.
''I scattered some hits in there, but was able to avoid the crooked numbers and limited them to one (run) in the second and one in the fourth.''
Orioles manager Buck Showalter wasn't quite as impressed, saying Arrieta kept his team in the game, but could have been sharper.
''He was up with a few pitches,'' Showalter said. ''I've seen him a lot better. We'll take him to five innings next time and see what happens.''
Arrieta was aided by home runs from Randy Winn in the fifth inning, Jake Fox, who hit his fourth of the spring in the seventh, and Nick Green in the eighth. Nick Markakis added a double and two singles as the Orioles pounded out 14 hits.
Right-handers Jeremy Accardo and Jason Berken followed Arrieta, with Accardo tossing two scoreless innings and Berken one.
Pittsburgh starter Kevin Correia went five innings, allowing seven hits and four runs. He became the first Pirates starter to go five innings this spring.
''It was a step forward for him,'' first-year Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said. ''The good part was he got through three (innings) nice and crisp and had to make pitches to stay out there and build up stamina and strength. I thought he showed some improvement across the board again today.''
Pedro Ciriaco, Andrew McCutchen, Steve Pearce and Jason Jaramillo had two each hits as part of a 14-hit Pittsburgh attack.
The Pirates scored single runs in the second on Jaramillo's double and the fourth on Josh Rodriguez's single before the Orioles took the lead for good in a three-run fourth inning. Markakis and Mark Reynolds singled in runs and Vladimir Guerrero added a sacrifice fly during the rally.
Winn homered in the fifth, and Baltimore pulled away with three more runs in the seventh highlighted by Fox's homer and Nolan Reimold's RBI double.
NOTES: Orioles pitcher Justin Duchscherer visited a chiropractor Monday morning because of discomfort in his surgically repaired left hip and was scheduled for an MRA at 4 p.m. An MRA is similar to an MRI, except it also includes an arthrogram, where dye will be injected in the hip. Duchscherer has appeared in one game, throwing two innings against the Phillies on March 7. ... Baltimore 2B Brian Roberts underwent an MRI on his back and will visit a specialist Tuesday. He hasn't played since March 7 because of back spasms. ... The Orioles optioned first baseman Joe Mahoney to Triple-A Norfolk, reducing their camp roster to 45. Mahoney went 7 for 17 in spring games. ... Orioles 1B Derrek Lee (right wrist) hit off a tee and will take soft toss swings with the hopes of taking live batting practice on Tuesday. ... Evan Meek worked a scoreless inning for the Pirates, and Joe Beimel gave up three runs (one earned) on four hits in one inning.