Uehara threw the changeup for the first time in the third inning, crossing up Bernadina and Cintron. Kranitz said he threw it three times, twice getting a swing-and-miss and once a foul ball. In theory, the pitch is supposed to make it more difficult for left-handed hitters to sit on Uehara's fastball. In reality, it seemed to do that even though he broke it out in a game only a few days after experimenting with it on the side.
"You had to like what Koji did today," Trembley said. "The first time he has thrown the changeup, he did a real nice job with that."
The Orioles were hoping big right-hander Alfredo Simon would give them something else to feel good about Tuesday, but he was not as sharp as he was in his four-inning, one-hit performance Thursday. He pitched four innings again and gave up two runs (one earned) on two hits and two walks, a performance that was statistically sound, but not when you consider he was pitching largely against minor league competition and struck out only one of the 17 batters he faced.
