SARASOTA, Fla. -- The pitcher-catcher relationship has been an important part of Tomoyuki Sugano’s first Spring Training in the United States. The 35-year-old Japanese right-hander has focused heavily on building rapports with Baltimore catchers Adley Rutschman and Gary Sánchez, knowing he’ll need to lean on them during the 2025 season.
What better way to build a bond than a round of golf in sunny Florida?
“I went golfing with him the other day. He’s a funny guy. Just a cool dude,” Rutschman said of Sugano.
“I know with the language barrier, it’s kind of tough sometimes to make those connections. But seems like a really down-to-earth guy, works his butt off every single day he’s out there. Just to see a guy like that in a new environment and just getting comfortable and doing his thing has been really cool for me to watch, and I think everyone else.”
The in-game results weren’t as strong for Sugano on Thursday night, when he made his final Grapefruit League start of the spring in the Orioles’ 9-7 loss to the Yankees at Ed Smith Stadium. After tossing 10 1/3 scoreless innings over his previous four outings, the righty allowed five runs on six hits and two walks with four strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings.
But spring stats can be deceiving. Sugano and Rutschman went into the outing planning to work on the hurler’s splitter, and they both felt the goal was accomplished.
“My last outing, my splitter wasn’t quite there,” Sugano said via interpreter Yuto Sakurai. “So for the past week, I have focused on throwing the splitter. I was able to do so this game. It went well.”
The next time Sugano takes the mound will be for a regular-season game. It seems likely he’ll make his MLB debut during the first four-game series in Toronto, likely either March 29 or 30.
Maybe there’s still time for Rutschman -- who hit a three-run homer on Thursday – and Sugano to squeeze in one more round of golf before camp ends on Sunday. If so, they both know how it’s likely to go, considering they were in agreement on who the better golfer between them is.
“He is. He’s really good,” Rutschman said.
“Me,” Sugano said in English with a smile.
Morton tabbed for Game 2
After right-hander Zach Eflin makes his second career Opening Day start on March 27, the Orioles will send veteran righty Charlie Morton to the mound for the second game of the season vs. the Blue Jays on March 28 at Rogers Centre in Toronto.
Morton, 41, is entering his 18th MLB season, but it will be his first with Baltimore. He has pitched well this spring, tossing six scoreless innings over three Grapefruit League starts. His most recent scheduled outing (Tuesday vs. the Blue Jays) was changed to a backfield session that was targeted for about 80 pitches over six “innings.”
“He’s been everything,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “He’s been an amazing influence on our team so far already. Just with his interactions with guys, he’s throwing the ball extremely well, he looks great. That’s just Charlie Morton. The stuff he’s thrown out every time out has been really good. He’s brought a lot to our team already.”
‘Running out of time’
With only three Grapefruit League contests remaining on the Orioles’ schedule -- as well as a Monday exhibition at Nationals Park in Washington -- it’s becoming less likely that star shortstop Gunnar Henderson (mild right intercostal strain) will be ready in time for Opening Day. The 23-year-old has been taking batting practice and fielding ground balls, but it’s still to be seen whether he’ll get into game action, a necessary final step.
“We’re still hopeful, but we are running out of time right now,” Hyde said. “We haven’t made a final decision on that.”
Baltimore has also not yet decided whether All-Star closer Félix Bautista (Tommy John surgery recovery) will be on the Opening Day roster. The 29-year-old right-hander has made four Grapefruit League appearances and has also had multiple backfield outings, but the O’s don’t want to be overly aggressive in his buildup.
“We’re still talking about our roster,” Hyde added. “We haven’t solidified anything there yet.”
Spring Training sellout
The announced attendance for Thursday’s game was 8,498, the fifth sellout at Ed Smith Stadium this spring. It was the largest crowd for a Grapefruit League game here since March 20, 2019, when there was an attendance of 8,623 for a Red Sox-Orioles matchup.
Jake Rill covers the Orioles for MLB.com.
