Orioles finish Grapefruit League play with Morton, Kremer and Bautista scheduled to pitch; Eflin starts no-hitter

BRADENTON, Florida-What’s happening? Charlie Morton will start for the Orioles in their final Grapefruit League game on Sunday at Cool Today Park in North Port, Florida at 1:05 p.m. Morton said he would pitch around two innings.

Morton will start the Orioles’ second game of the regular season in Toronto next Friday. He has started three games this spring, and allowed four hits in six scoreless innings, striking out five and walking one.

Dean Kremer, who could be Orioles’ third starter, will also throw. Kremer has allowed 12 runs on 17 hits in 12 innings for a 9.00 ERA. He’s walked eight, struck out 11 and given up six home runs.

Félix Bautista, who didn’t complete his scheduled inning on Friday, is also scheduled to pitch. It will be his sixth outing this spring.

The Braves will start Spencer Strider.

Geoff Arnold and Brett Hollander will broadcast the game on WBAL/98 Rock. The game will also be shown on MLB Network.

Manager Brandon Hyde said that he hasn’t decided on a starter for Monday’s game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park.

Hyde said no roster decisions have been made, and that he hasn’t told anyone if they’ve made the team.

Infielder Emmanuel Rivera is still out with a shoulder injury he sustained on March 13^th.

What’s happened? Seven pitchers combined on the first spring training no-hitter in franchise history on Saturday.

Zach Eflin, who’ll start the season opener against the Blue Jays on Thursday, threw three hitless innings. Gregory Soto, Yennier Cano, Cionel Pérez, Bryan Baker, Roansy Contreras and minor league left-hander Riley Cooper each threw a hitless inning to complete the no-hitter. 

Eflin walked one and struck out four, throwing 45 pitches in the Orioles’ 4-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates before 7.568 at LECOM Park.

“I’ll take it for sure,” Eflin said. “Just want to check the healthy boxes, get the pitch count up a little bit, go in healthy, finish healthy and get ready for the season.”

The Orioles have lofty expectations, as does Eflin, who finished with a 5.14 ERA this spring.

“The goal for every one of us is to win the World Series. That’s the mindset going into every season,” Eflin said. “We have a collective energy and thought process of winning every single game and beating people on the ground, that’s the kind of mentality this team takes.”

Soto walked two in his scoreless fourth. Cano, Pérez, Baker, Contreras and Cooper threw spotless innings.

Paul Skenes, a teammate of Cooper’s at LSU, started against the Orioles for the third time this spring. Last year’s National League Rookie of the Year allowed a hit and a walk in 3 1/3 scoreless innings.

The Orioles scored three runs in the seventh. Dylan Carlson’s single scored Enrique Bradfield Jr., who was hit by a pitch and stole second and third. Liván Soto’s single scored Jackson Holliday, and Carlson scored when Vimael Machin hit into a double play.

Bradfield scored the fourth run in the ninth when he walked, stole second advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly by Griff O’Ferrall.

What’s up with? Kyle Gibson is looking forward to his second stint with the Orioles. The 37-year-old right-hander  signed a one-year contract on Friday.

“I fit probably the same places I fit in a couple of years ago,” Gibson said. “In the game, everybody’s probably pretty similar about their workplace. There are so many other things going on other than work. You want to try to have an impact on people in a positive way, if you can. That’s what I try to do, and that’s what [my wife] Elizabeth and I try to do wherever we go.”

Gibson was a popular player in 2023.

“I’m thankful that these guys welcomed us a couple of years ago and we were able to have so much fun because they had an impact on me, too, in a lot of different ways,” Gibson said.

What’s what? Eflin was delighted that the Orioles signed Gibson, a teammate of his in Philadelphia in 2021 and 2022.

“Absolutely thrilled. I think everybody in the clubhouse is thrilled,” Eflin said. “Everybody knows that Kyle Gibson is one of the best people on planet earth. To be able to have him be a part of this team again is huge. Everybody’s looking forward to it. He’s such a role model and mentor in every aspect of his life. He did great things with this team a couple of years ago, and I’m excited to be a part of it with him.”

What’s the word? “Last year, I think you had to be 35 to get into the Cardinals’ rotation. We had an age requirement. Starting pitching and pitching in general can do a lot to add some consistency to a team.”-Gibson on the age an Orioles rotation that also includes 41-year-old Charlie Morton and 35-year-old Tomoyuki Sugano.

What’s the number? 0. John Means threw the last Orioles’ no-hitter on May 5^th, 2021 at Seattle. The Orioles have never been no-hit in Grapefruit League play. There hadn’t been a no-hitter in an exhibition game since March 3^rd, 2023 when the Chicago Cubs beat the San Diego Padres, 4-0.

What’s the record? 13-14-2. The Orioles will play the Atlanta Braves at Cool Today Park in North Port, Florida at 1:05 p.m. on Sunday.