SARASOTA, FLA. – Right-hander Alex Cobb had to acknowledge he was surprised to see manager Brandon Hyde coming to get him with two outs in the first inning of his 2019 exhibition debut.

Maybe he shouldn’t have been after allowing four quick runs Friday in the Orioles’ 10-5 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays at Ed Smith Stadium. Cobb got the rest of his work done in the bullpen afterward and tried to take something positive out of the overall effort.

“I think he was trying to protect what was going on out there for me,’’ Cobb said. “Obviously, [it] unraveled a little bit. I was expecting to stay out there and get an up-down. I don’t know the conversation they had afterward. I went down to the bullpen and finished up.

“The plan was to go two obviously, but the outing wasn’t going to plan, so I guess they called an audible on it.”

Cobb walked leadoff batter Austin Meadows and gave up back-to-back singles to Daniel Robertson and Ji-Man Choi to bring around the first run of the game. He got a pop out and allowed a second run on a force play before Guillermo Heredia hit a long two-home run into the picnic area behind left field.

Still, Cobb didn’t agree with the suggestion that he was having command problems.

“I don’t,” he said. “It felt like some of those balls were over the plate. That first batter and I got a little jam job into right field and before I know it, I’ve got runners on first and second. Then got a couple ground balls I was trying to get and they found holes. Then, obviously, the two-run home run was the big blow.”

The wind was blowing out hard toward left field, but Cobb said Heredia put a good swing on the ball.

“That’s just part of being an Orioles pitcher, I think,’’ he said. “It gets you ready for Camden Yards. You’re trying to get the ball on the ground. If you get it in the air, it’s a no-doubter. He hit that one well, too. It probably just went a little bit further than it would have gone.”

It was a tough inning, but Cobb said it didn’t change the fact that he’s having a positive spring so far.

“My bullpen [warmup] before this game, it felt so good. I could do whatever I wanted to do with the ball,” he said. “It didn’t translate out on the mound, which is frustrating because you want to see it in the game and show up against competition. But I have so many positives that I’ve been doing, I think the goal is to not let the stat line ruin the momentum you’ve got this early in spring.”

Sisco homers again: Catcher Chance Sisco continues to tear up the Grapefruit League. He got the Orioles on the scoreboard in the second inning with his fourth home run of the exhibition season.

He entered the game tied for the major league lead in homers and tied for third with eight RBIs.

Harvey’s fifth: Top pitching prospect Hunter Harvey pitched a strong fifth inning in his second appearance of the spring. He allowed a home run his first time out, but struck out two this time and allowed only a walk.

Harvey threw 21 pitches, 13 of them for strikes, and his fastball velocity topped out at 97 mph.

Rogers perfect for two: Left-hander Josh Rogers, who came over from the New York Yankees in the Zack Britton trade, made his third appearance of the spring and retired all six batters he faced in the sixth and seventh innings. He has yet to give up a run in five innings of work.

Draw with Yankees: Left-hander John Means got a second chance to make a good first impression Friday night in Tampa. Coming off a rocky spring debut, he pitched two scoreless innings as the starter against the Yankees in a 2-2 tie at George M. Steinbrenner Field.

Catcher Andrew Susac and outfielder Austin Hays each hit solo home runs and the Orioles took a 2-0 lead into the ninth. But the Yankees rallied to tie the game.

Six Orioles pitchers combined to hold a Yankees lineup that included several starters to no runs and four hits through eight innings.

Orioles reclaim Alberto: Call it waiver ping-pong. Texas Rangers infielder Hanser Alberto was claimed off waivers by the Yankees on Nov. 2, then claimed off waivers by the Orioles on Jan. 11. Then the Orioles needed roster space to claim left-handed pitcher Josh Osich, so they waived Alberto and the San Francisco Giants claimed him. Which brings us to Friday, when the Orioles reclaimed Alberto off waivers and designated lefty reliever Donnie Hart for assignment.

Pretty sure Alberto no longer knows whether he’s coming or going, but Hyde is happy to have him back.

“I am, yeah,’’ Hyde said. “I think he’s a really good player. I like him a lot. He’s just really steady … a steady middle infielder. Incredible energy in our locker room and the dugout, so I’m excited to get him back into our camp.”

Sucre arrival: The Orioles really didn’t have to announce that veteran catcher Jesús Sucre is in the country and on his way camp. The fact that he suddenly had his name above a locker in the major league clubhouse was a pretty good clue.

“He should be here today,’’ Hyde said. “All indications are that he got in really late last night and we’re hoping he can get here today at some point and settle in.”

Hyde said he’s not worried about the time that Sucre lost waiting for his U.S. work visa. There still is nearly a month left of spring training.

“Because he’s got a lot of years in and we have a few weeks — 24 days or so — so, yeah, he should be good,’’ Hyde said.

The club still has to ascertain how much baseball activity Sucre has had recently in Venezuela, but Hyde speculated that it might take a week or so for him to get ready to play in exhibition games.

“I don’t know, to be honest, how much game stuff he’s been doing,” Hyde said. “I think, realistically, four or five days of catching sides and getting batting practice in and we’ll evaluate from there if we feel like he’s game-ready.”

Roster cut coming: Sucre’s locker replaced that of minor league call-up Cael Brockmeyer, who was moved to the minor league clubhouse and probably will be one of the players sent to minor league camp when the Orioles make their first roster cut of the spring.

“I think we’re getting to that time of camp,’’ Hyde said. “We’ve got a split-squad today so we need everybody. We’ve got Sucre, who’s probably going to be suited up tomorrow, so we’re kind of going to re-evaluate roster-wise after today.”

Hyde on Davis’ early at-bats:Chris Davis entered Friday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays with a home run and a walk in his first eight plate appearances. He also struck out five times, but Hyde is not alarmed.

“I’m not concerned about performance,’’ Hyde said. “I love the way he’s going about it. He’s one of the first guys in the cage every single morning. He’s creating a really good relationship with [hitting coach] Don [Long] and already had one with Howie [Clark]. That’s going really well.

“They’ve been really impressed with how hard he’s working and the preparation pregame, from the cage standpoint and the things he’s working on. He hit a homer the other day. He’s still feeling through a lot of things offensively, but he’s working the right way.”

Bleier closer to exhibition debut: Reliever Richard Bleier, who is being slow-played after last summer’s lat surgery, has ramped up his live batting practice sessions and might be ready to pitch in a game next weekend.

He’s got one more live batting practice session scheduled and then will pitch in a simulated game situation midweek before a decision is made on whether to give him an inning in a game a few days after that.

Around the horn: Outfielder DJ Stewart had a pair of doubles in three at-bats. Outfielder Eric Young Jr. contributed an RBI single, a double and a walk in three trips. … Reliever Mychal Givens gave up a run on two hits and struck out two in a brief first appearance of the spring in the third inning. He retired only two batters. … Infielder Richie Martin had two more hits, including an RBI double, and is now 5-for-10 with three RBIs. … Right-hander Luis Ortiz, who came over from the Milwaukee Brewers in the Jonathan Schoop trade, had another tough outing, allowing four runs over the final two innings. He has given up six runs in four innings.

peter.schmuck@baltsun.com

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