Six Hits

For McDonogh hurler Mike Steller, the transformation occurred during a summer tournament with the Yankee Rebels."It was the last tournament of the season, and I was in a tough game that went into extra innings. There were a lot of pro and college scouts there, and it was a lot of pressure to be under," said Steller, a senior right-hander."At times, I was tired, and I was thinking, 'this is too much.' But I didn't let myself give up mentally. I just got this will to win that got me through, and I won the game."

Miguel Gonzalez was certain not to get blinded by the bright lights of Yankee Stadium. The 28-year-old rookie's fifth career major league start came in the Bronx on Monday night against one of the most potent lineups in baseball, but Gonzalez took himself back to his first career start 24 days ago, pitching across the country in front of a big crowd in Anaheim, just an hour away from his hometown against an Angels organization that drafted him. ...

Ken Griffey Reds center fielder He hit his second three-run homer in as many games and drove in four runs against the Brewers. Tim Wakefield Red Sox pitcher The knuckleballer (3-6) gave up six earned runs on six hits and five walks in 6 2/3 innings against the Yankees.

There's little debate to the notion that Orioles left-hander Brian Matusz has pitched well this spring training -- especially considering he's coming off an awful 2011 season -- but whether he's dazzled the team brass enough to earn a starting rotation spot remains to be seen. Orioles manager Buck Showalter has made it clear that this year, rotation spots will be earned, not given away. He has said all spring that Matusz will be evaluated on his entire body of work, with his dazzling moments as equal as his stumbles.

HAGERSTOWN -- The Hagerstown Suns used a six-run fourth inning, their biggest inning of this season, en route to a 9-4 victory over the Albany-Colonie Yankees in Eastern League Double-A action last night.Trailing 1-0, Hagerstown batted 11 and scored six runs on six hits, including Damon Buford's three-run triple. Sergio Cairo, Tim Holland and Cesar Devarez added RBI singles in the rally.

Quote: "I pitched sort of like the weather today. Cloudy, overcast, not too good, not too bad." -- Cardinals starter Kent Merker, who gave up five runs on six hits and struck out six in 5 2/3 inningsIt's a fact: The Astros and Marlins played nine innings yesterday in 2: 12 after taking 5: 44 to play 16 Friday night.Who's hot: The Mets bullpen has pitched 24 straight scoreless innings.Who's not: The Marlins' Dennis Springer is winless in six starts since July 21.On deck: Second baseman Quilvio Veras, eligible to come off the DL today, likely won't play until the Padres visit Philadelphia tomorrow.

Athletics: Jason Giambi was a late scratch from the Oakland lineup with lower back stiffness.Blue Jays: Dave Stieb, 40, trying to make a comeback, won for the first time in five years when the Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays beat the visiting Sarasota Red Sox, 5-3. Stieb allowed three runs on six hits while striking out six in five innings.Indians: Cleveland agreed to Double-A contracts with left-hander Huck Flener and right-hander Jim Brower. Flener, with Toronto from 1993-97, got his first major-league win at Cleveland on July 30, 1996.

PAULEY FIRMS UP Starting rotation candidate David Pauley made his third appearance and second start of the Grapefruit League season and pitched three solid innings, giving up one run on four hits and striking out three. Though no one is putting a lot of weight on these early games, it was a good time for him to be effective because he had given up eight hits and five runs over 3 1/3 innings in his first two appearances. NO SLOWING WIETERS Top prospect Matt Wieters replaced Luke Scott in the designated-hitter slot in the fourth inning and immediately delivered a run-scoring, opposite-field double to left.

The game The Boston Red Sox banged out 15 hits to score an 8-3 victory at City of Palms Park and hand the Orioles only their second exhibition defeat in their past 11 games. The bats Outfielder Larry Bigbie hit a two-run homer off Red Sox starter Dustin Hermanson in the fifth inning to deny him a scoreless performance. First baseman Ryan McGuire launched his second home run of the spring in the seventh inning off Red Sox closer Ugueth Urbina. Third baseman Tony Batista chimed in with a double and a single.

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Jose Herrera went 4-for-6 with a double, a triple and four RBI as the Hagerstown Suns (17-9) defeated the first-place Greensboro Hornets (18-7), 11-8, in South Atlantic League game yesterday.With the win, the Suns closed to 1 1/2 games behind the Hornets in the Northern Division.Hagerstown's D. J. Boston led off the third inning with his fourth home run of the season, and Jeff Ladd hit a two-run shot later in the third for his first of the season.Levon Largusa (3-1) pitched five innings, giving up four hits and one earned run, to earn the win for the Suns.

Sarasota, Fla. -- Brian Matusz gave up three runs on six hits during his two-inning performance in the home exhibition opener at Ed Smith Stadium on Monday night, but the pitching line didn't tell the whole story in the Orioles' 10-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Matusz obviously wanted to get off to a good start after struggling through a disastrous 2011 season, but the baseball gods clearly weren't on his side. Of his six hits, one was a bloop single, one was a bunt single, one was an infield nubber and one was a 10-hopper through the infield.

Before Thursday's matinee at Camden Yards, Buck Showalter said it would be a challenge for Alfredo Simon to match last week's quality start against the New York Yankees. The Orioles manager figured Simon's stuff would be fresh in the minds of baseball's highest-scoring team. Showalter was right about Simon, but the Yankees never saw the Orioles' bullpen coming. After Simon was removed from the game following the fourth inning, five relievers combined to pitch six no-hit innings as the Orioles beat New York, 5-4, in 10 innings.

As a rookie in the big leagues, Orioles left-hander Zach Britton has encountered plenty of celebratory firsts this season. On Friday night, in an uninspiring 8-4 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays, Britton experienced several rather unpleasant ones, including his first grand slam allowed, first string of consecutive poor outings and first time he hasn't pitched into the sixth inning as a big leaguer. "He's a guy who spent half a season in Triple-A, and he's going to have some [tough]

PAULEY FIRMS UP Starting rotation candidate David Pauley made his third appearance and second start of the Grapefruit League season and pitched three solid innings, giving up one run on four hits and striking out three. Though no one is putting a lot of weight on these early games, it was a good time for him to be effective because he had given up eight hits and five runs over 3 1/3 innings in his first two appearances. NO SLOWING WIETERS Top prospect Matt Wieters replaced Luke Scott in the designated-hitter slot in the fourth inning and immediately delivered a run-scoring, opposite-field double to left.

GRAND CHUTE, Wis. -- For nearly six weeks this season, Johns Hopkins shortstop Jonas Fester sat on the bench while recovering from a torn medial collateral knee ligament. And after collecting just two hits in his first 13 at-bats in the NCAA Division III baseball championship series, the former All-American finally found his swing. The senior had five hits in six trips -- including a walk-off single in the ninth inning -- as the Blue Jays beat Wisconsin-Whitewater, 12-11, in an elimination game yesterday at Fox Cities Stadium.

Baseball state semifinals Marriotts Ridge's run through the regional playoffs consisted of low-scoring affairs, but last night in the Class 2A state semifinal, the Mustangs ran into a South Hagerstown team that relied on its explosive offense to win. The Rebels sent every batter to the plate in the first two innings, but they walked nine batters and hit one through the first four and could not pull away. South Hagerstown's hitting eventually bailed out the pitching, and the Rebels won, 14-10.

On the field: Scott Kamieniecki's early woes continued against the Angels. After allowing four first-inning runs in a May 5 loss to Anaheim, Kamieniecki allowed six hits and three runs in the first two innings last night.In the dugout: Catcher Chris Hoiles approached Angels third base coach Larry Bowa before the game but failed to draw a confession to the sign-stealing alleged by manager Davey Johnson.In the clubhouse: "I don't know if anything was going on or not but we're going to take every precaution tonight, I know that," Hoiles on avoiding a recurrence of said sign-stealing.

Ken Griffey Reds center fielder He hit his second three-run homer in as many games and drove in four runs against the Brewers. Tim Wakefield Red Sox pitcher The knuckleballer (3-6) gave up six earned runs on six hits and five walks in 6 2/3 innings against the Yankees.

The infusion of veteran experience worked wonders yesterday for an Orioles lineup that struggled to score runs all spring. Kevin Millar, age 34, ripped a pair of hits and showed he can still hustle around the bases. Jeff Conine, age 39, hit a seventh-inning home run to put the finishing touch on a 9-6 win over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. And Ramon Hernandez, age 29, swept aside his Florida slump with a 3-for-3, two-RBI Orioles debut. The team's new catcher had just six hits - and a .167 batting average - in 15 spring training games.