Exhibition game recap
Schoop replicating sweet sound, hopes to sustain success
By both the eye test and the sounds he’s hearing, manager
“Jon’s never satisfied,” Showalter said after the Orioles’ sixth straight win, a 7-4 beating of the New York Yankees. “He’s never come in here with any airs of entitlement because of what went on last year. That’s why people really are drawn to him and his personality. Jon is very humble, and all of a sudden you’ve got to remind yourself the guy drove in 100 runs last year.”
With the two-run home run in the second inning, Schoop has homered in his past two games and had four multi-hit games in his past seven to help him to a .406/.472/.844 batting line in 32 spring at-bats.
That Schoop,
“As pretty a sound as you hear is that click it makes when he catches a ball,” Showalter said. “It’s got a little different sound to it. It’s not a crack, it’s a click.”
What does it mean?
“It means the ball’s going to go where you can’t catch it. A crack sometimes, too, unless it’s a cracked bat. I’ve seen guys with kind of a thud, but his ball, when he squares that ball up to left-center field, left field, it has a different sound. People talk about it.”
The Orioles believe Castro and his three-pitch mix can make the transition from multi-inning reliever into a starting role.
Making his second Grapefruit League start of the season — he made his spring debut in a “B” game — Castro reached the 69-pitch plateau, tying the most he’s thrown in his major league career, in the win against the Yankees.
Much more will be made from his upcoming outings, but on Wednesday, Castro allowed four runs — three in the second inning — in a 3