BRADENTON, Fla. — Tomoyuki Sugano’s start Wednesday wasn’t about the results. They looked pretty good anyway.
The Japanese right-hander was more focused on getting used to PitchCom and the pitch clock than he was trying to mow down the Pittsburgh Pirates’ lineup, but he mixed in six pitch types and delivered two scoreless innings in the Orioles’ 7-3 loss.
Making his first career Grapefruit League start, Sugano worked through the first inning on just six pitches. He allowed an infield single that was quickly erased on a groundball double play started by second baseman Jackson Holliday.
“I thought he had a really quick first inning, just a ton of strikes, but I thought he had really good stuff,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “I thought he commanded his fastball well. He threw some really good split fingers. Just didn’t seem like he had much rust. Pretty good for the first time.”
Sugano came back out for the second and retired the first two batters on five pitches before former Orioles infielder Adam Frazier singled off a splitter below the zone and shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa battled out a seven-pitch walk. Sugano then forced first baseman Darick Hall into a groundout, giving him three on the day.
His fastball averaged 92.1 mph, but he made it tough for hitters to guess what was coming with a nearly even split of splitters (25%), cutters (21%), four-seam fastballs (21%) and curveballs (18%). He also mixed in a couple sinkers and a sweeper, a pitch he’s worked on this spring to help his repertoire play against major league hitters.
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“Especially the second inning I was able to work on things,” Sugano said through team interpreter Yuto Sakurai. “The first inning kind of was a quick inning, but overall a good outing.”
Sugano, 35, didn’t have much experience with PitchCom coming into camp and practiced with it for the first time in his live bullpen session before Wednesday’s outing. Both his receiver and the one for catcher Gary Sánchez announce pitch calls in English, so it took some adjusting for him to get comfortable with the technology.
The same went for the pitch clock, which isn’t used in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. But amid a spring full adjustments, Sugano has impressed Sánchez with how well he’s been able to maintain his pinpoint accuracy on the mound — a trait that was a major factor in why the Orioles signed him to a one-year, $13 million deal in free agency this offseason.
“That’s what he’s done his entire baseball career,” Sánchez said through team interpreter Brandon Quinones. “I think all the Japanese pitchers that I’ve caught, they’re very similar in that sense. They throw a lot of strikes. They can basically put the ball anywhere that they want it and I think that’s exactly what we’re seeing with him.”
Sugano said that he didn’t look closely at scouting reports on the Pirates’ hitters ahead of the game, though he did remember facing Andrew McCutchen in the 2017 World Baseball Classic. Next outing, he plans to have more of a game plan for attacking opponents.
“I want to work on the pitch sequence more,” Sugano said through Sakurai. “Right now, I’m doing just pitch by pitch so I want to work on the pitch sequence moving forward.”
Around the horn
• Orioles reliever Andrew Kittredge impressed with two strikeouts in his lone inning, but he was the only other projected MLB pitcher to take the mound for Baltimore on Wednesday. Prospect Kade Strowd allowed two unearned runs after a fielding error by Holliday paved the way for a Pittsburgh rally. Nonroster invitees Matt Bowman and Rodolfo Martinez each allowed a pair of runs and Corbin Martin gave up the other.
• Outfielder Dylan Carlson had a strong afternoon, reaching base twice, including an RBI single in the top of the sixth. Carlson drew a walk on a pitch earlier in the game that the Pirates challenged, but the Automated Ball-Strike system confirmed the pitch was two inches below the strike zone and he was awarded his base.
• Left-hander Cade Povich was named the starter for Saturday’s game against the Pirates in Sarasota. He’ll pitch opposite Pittsburgh phenom Paul Skenes, setting up a rematch from last year’s spring breakout prospect exhibition game.
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