FORT MYERS, Fla. — Orioles right-hander Grayson Rodriguez felt “sluggish” on the mound Wednesday after laboring through 1 1/3 innings in his Grapefruit League start against the Minnesota Twins and registering fastball velocities well below his typical norms.

Rodriguez, who sat around 96.1 mph on his fastball last season, averaged 93.2 and topped out at 95.3 on Wednesday. One of his fastballs clocked in at 89.5 mph, a pitch Twins catcher Christian Vázquez hit off the wall in left-center field for a double in the bottom of the second inning. Rodriguez then allowed another hard-hit ball and hit left fielder Austin Martin with a pitch before being pulled from the Orioles’ eventual 5-2 victory.

“I just don’t think I could really get behind the ball today and spin it how I wanted to,” Rodriguez said after his start. “Everything kind of felt flat. During the bullpen today, yeah, I wasn’t able to spin the ball well today. Command obviously wasn’t there, hit Martin in the second.”

The right-hander didn’t attribute the drop in velocity to a physical or mechanical issue but said, with three weeks still left in spring training, he wasn’t throwing at “95 or 100%.” Last spring, Rodriguez hit 100 mph in his first outing and felt soreness in his back afterward, so he’s made a concerted effort to build his arm up gradually this year.

“I don’t know if it’s really mechanical or not, I just know some days are a little harder than others,” Rodriguez said. “But yeah, today was a little difficult just trying to get in the strike zone. Mentally was a little sped up but I don’t really know what else there was.

“Today I wasn’t really worried about [velocity].”

Making his second start of the spring, Rodriguez threw 33 pitches (20 strikes). He allowed one run on three hits, a walk, a hit batter and a strikeout. Albert Suárez came out for the bottom of the third after nonroster invitee Gerald Ogando finished out the second and allowed one run over 3 2/3 innings with four hits, one walk and two strikeouts.

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde wasn’t in the dugout when the decision was made to pull Rodriguez from the game; the skipper was stuck in a traffic jam on I-75 caused by a collision between two semi-trailer trucks. He arrived at the ballpark about an hour after the game started.

Rodriguez, 25, is expected to be one of the Orioles’ top starters this season after posting a 3.86 ERA in 20 starts in 2024. The biggest hurdle for Rodriguez in his young career to date has been his health. He’s spent several months at a time on the injured list with a lat/teres strain two of the past three years, including most of the second half of last season.

Around the horn

Orioles infielder Jordan Westburg said the back spasms that have sidelined him over the past two weeks stemmed from his mattress at the Airbnb he’s staying at with several teammates this spring. He thought it was “too soft” and bought a stiffer mattress topper to get more comfortable. Westburg expects to return to the Orioles’ lineup “any day now.”

Right-hander Andrew Kittredge isn’t ready to set a timeline for his return from knee inflammation he experienced while warming up in the bullpen Saturday. He’s still waiting for the swelling to go down and hasn’t done any mound work since the injury.

Rutschman and shortstop Livan Soto led the Orioles’ offense Wednesday, combining for four hits and two RBIs. Outfielders Heston Kjerstad (2-for-4) and Colton Cowser (1-for-3 with a walk) each chipped in with RBI singles as well.

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