"That one inning, I did what I always do, leave the ball up," he said. "I drop my elbow a little bit on the two-seamer and the ball stays straight. If I keep my arm up, the ball starts to sink."
Ponson has given up eight earned runs (13 total) in 19 innings. He was coming off a rough outing against the New York Mets six days before, when he allowed four runs in four innings.
"With Opening Day less than a week away, you want the results," said Ponson, whose first start won't come until April 9 or 11. "You want as few mistakes as possible because they'll carry into the season."
Stats are mix of good, bad
The Orioles' spring statistics are a study in good vs. evil.
First, the good: The Orioles began last night leading the American League with a 3.72 ERA. Now, the bad: Their .247 average ranked last in the AL, and their 115 runs were tied with Tampa Bay for the fewest scored.
March numbers often can be deceiving, though, with team stats including minor-leaguers who won't be with their respective clubs on Opening Day. And the Orioles have played fewer games than any other AL team.
Will Clark was batting .385 going into last night's game. Bordick, Lenny Webster (.378), Jeff Reboulet (.348), B. J. Surhoff (.341) and Brady Anderson (.310) also had held up their end.
"If you took seven people out, we must have hit .022 all spring," Miller said.
Pub Date: 4/01/99
