Albert Suárez may end up being in the starting rotation to begin the season for the Baltimore Orioles. But his start on Friday won’t inspire much confidence.
In what is likely his final appearance in spring training before the O’s return to Baltimore, he was rocked by the Detroit Tigers in a game in which, at one point, he was removed, only to be sent back out to pitch the start of another inning.
After three relatively solid starts in March, Suárez ended up allowing seven hits, eight runs (all earned), along with two home runs, in 4.2 innings. He struck out two and walked three.
For perspective, he gave up four runs and no home runs in his first three starts of the month.
This all happened after he retired the side in order in the first inning. In the second inning, he gave up a one-out, solo home run by Josue Briceno and then retired the next two hitters to end the inning.
After giving up two more runs in the third, the game went off the rails in the fourth inning. Ryan Kreidler slammed a two-run home run to give the Tigers a 6-0 lead. After he gave up two more singles and received a mount visit, the Orioles lifted Suárez and replaced him with Joe Glassey.
When Baltimore returned in the fifth, the Orioles put Suárez back out on the mound and he only allowed a walk to Andrew Navigato before recording all three outs and leaving the game. Closer Félix Bautista came on to replace him in the sixth inning.
Suárez was a revelation last year for the Orioles, as they signed him as a non-roster invitee after a long stretch playing baseball overseas. He was supposed to be a long reliever, but after injuries to the rotation he became a regular starter.
He went 9-7 with a 3.70 ERA in 32 games (24 starts) with 108 strikeouts and 43 walks in 133.2 innings. All were career bests for him, as he only played in the Majors in 2017 and 2018 with the San Francisco Giants.
The injury to Grayson Rodriguez has left at least one open spot in the rotation, as Zach Eflin will be the opening-day starter next week. Veterans Charlie Morton and Dean Kremer, along with Tomoyuki Sugano, appear to be locks for the rotation.
From there, Suárez is battling with Cade Povich, Trevor Rogers and Chayce McDermott for the final spot.
