Highlights and lowlights from the Orioles' 8-1 loss to the Minnesota Twins at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, Fla.
Ups and downs
UP- Rich Amaral: Filling in for center fielder Brady Anderson, Amaral walked and doubled twice. He was about the only hitter with a pulse.
EVEN- Mike Mussina: Four hits and two runs -- including a homer -- in two innings. But he accomplished the important stuff.
DOWN-Terry Burrows: One of the nicest guys in the clubhouse had a bad, bad day.
UP- Cal Ripken: He made the trip, he autographed baseballs, he sent a lot of fans home happy who otherwise would have groused again about missing the future Hall of Famer.
DOWN- Lyle Mouton: Fighting for a roster spot, he struck out twice and hit into a double play.
UP- Willis Otanez: Fighting for a roster spot, he gets one at-bat and makes it count. Bye-bye shutout.
The arms
Mussina got his pitches over and felt strong. Good enough. Burrows was torched, giving up five runs and seven hits and hurting his chances of making the club, though it's still early. Ricky Bones brought calm to the proceedings with 2 2/3 scoreless innings. Gabe Molina tossed a scoreless seventh inning, though he walked the leadoff hitter. Mike Timlin followed and gave up two doubles and a run. The Twins pounded out 15 hits against a mostly veteran group.
The bats
What bats? The Twins weren't big on name recognition but they were more than the Orioles could handle. Amaral had two of the club's five hits, both doubles. Will Clark singled in the fourth inning, Mike Bordick reached on an infield hit in the eighth and Otanez homered with two outs in the ninth. Otherwise, it was quiet -- but swift.
The rest
Left fielder B. J. Surhoff appeared to cut down Brent Gates at third base in the first inning but didn't get the call. He led the club in outfield assists last season with 12. Ray Miller used three second basemen: Jeff Reboulet, Jesse Garcia and Jerry Hairston. They were a combined 0-for-4. Garcia, who has dazzled Miller with his ability to turn double plays, failed yesterday when he bounced a throw to Clark. Kirby Puckett and Paul Molitor were in the house. Molitor stopped by after the game to visit with Surhoff, a former Milwaukee teammate. Gates and Javier Valentin were a combined 6-for-6.
Quote of the day
"That's a tough position to be in, but you'll see the best in a guy. When you play six years and are out of options, all the pressure is on you. You see the true player." -- Manager Ray Miller on Orioles infielder Willis Otanez.
Pub Date: 3/07/99
