SARASOTA, Fla. -- Tyler Wells threw the final pitch of the Orioles’ 3-2 split-squad victory over the Blue Jays on Saturday at Ed Smith Stadium, getting Dylan Rock to look at a called third strike.

The game was over. Wells’ night was not.

Because Wells was so efficient -- tossing 66 pitches over 3 2/3 scoreless innings -- the 29-year-old right-hander needed to throw about 15 more pitches to get to his target number. Typically when that happens for a starter in Spring Training, he goes to the bullpen to throw until hitting his goal.

But on this night, Wells wasn’t the starter. He pitched in relief of ace Corbin Burnes, whose scheduled start Friday was rained out. Baltimore thus had to piggyback its starters on Saturday.

So when the conclusion of Wells’ final Grapefruit League outing coincided with the ending of the game, the Orioles had to get creative. The wrench in their plans? A postgame fireworks show, which would have been quite difficult for Wells to pitch through.

Instead, Wells waited it out. He signed autographs for kids. He laughed and smiled near the dugout. He watched the fireworks. And then, as soon as they were done, he returned to the stadium field -- along with catcher James McCann -- and got back to throwing.

“It’s weird. It’s interesting,” Wells said. “But we had to get our work in, and I had to get up to a certain pitch count before we head off for Baltimore. So that was our best way of getting it in.”

Wells threw some warm-up pitches, then delivered a few fastballs to McCann. At that point, Minor League players began to take turns stepping into the box for some late-night live batting practice. Several hundred fans stuck around to watch.

All the while, “Stairway to Heaven” by Led Zeppelin blared over the sound system.

“It's a good song. Not the most ideal song to sit there and for me to pitch to,” Wells said. “That's all I heard in my ear. It was fun. At this point, this is where you make light of the little nuances of Spring Training that you don't really get anywhere else.”

On Wells’ final final pitch of the night, Minor League first baseman TT Bowens hit a solo home run to right-center field. Well, it looked like a homer, but it was also tough to tell exactly where it would have landed, because the gates to right-center field were swung wide open.

It probably was a home run, but it could have hit off the top of the wall. Maybe.

But Wells wouldn’t be surprised if it was a solo home run. He allowed 25 homers in 118 2/3 big league innings last year, and 16 of them came with nobody on base.

“I told someone, ‘Yeah, yeah, solo homer, that’s like my signature on a start. It just took extra innings to get it there,’” Wells joked. “Like I said, we’re out there having fun and just enjoying it. It was a fun way -- interesting way, but it was a fun way to wrap up camp.”

It was also the culmination of an impressive camp for Wells, who will start the Orioles’ third game of the season vs. the Angels on March 31. He secured his spot in the rotation by recording a 1.26 ERA in 14 1/3 innings over four Grapefruit League outings.

Although Toronto’s lineup was filled with all Minor Leaguers by the time Wells entered Saturday night’s game, he still got a taste of a high-pressure situation. The Blue Jays notched back-to-back one-out singles in the ninth before Wells struck out both Nick Goodwin and Rock looking to end the game.

“I turned to [pitching coach] Drew [French] and I said when they had two runners on, one-run game, I said, ‘This isn’t a terrible thing to get him pitching with a little bit of intensity here to end the game,’” said manager Brandon Hyde, whose team won another split-squad game earlier in the day, 6-4, over the Rays in Port Charlotte.

Wells had a good final tune-up for the regular season, when he’ll look to put together a full strong year. Last year, he was one of Baltimore’s top starters in the first half (a 3.18 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP in 18 outings) before hitting a wall after the All-Star break, getting sent to the Minors for rest and then returning as a reliever last September.

Fortunately for Wells, he won’t have to worry about any more fireworks shows interrupting his nights at work.

“I’m not going to get that, most likely, ever again in my career,” Wells said.