In Ubaldo Jimenez’s first Grapefruit League start of the season, his performance was better than indicated as the Orioles lost 4-1 to the New York Yankees in front of an announced 6,969 at Ed Smith Stadium on Monday afternoon.
Jimenez allowed one run on three hits over two innings, but probably deserved a better fate. He commanded his fastball, overcame early adversity and needed just 10 pitches to get through his second inning of work. Overall, 17 of Jimenez’s 29 pitches were strikes.
“I was commanding the fastball and keeping the ball down,” said Jimenez, who is coming off a season in which he posted a career-high 5.