SARASOTA, Fla. — How can the Orioles leave Cade Povich off the opening day roster?

That’s the question coming away from Baltimore’s spring training game Tuesday night.

Povich is in a heated competition with Albert Suárez for the No. 5 starter spot in the rotation. Suárez was seen at the beginning of camp as ahead of Povich in the pecking order and thus in line for the job after Grayson Rodriguez’s elbow injury created the opening. To his credit, Suárez has pitched well enough to win the job this spring, but he could also be a valuable asset out of the bullpen.

But after the way Povich pitched Tuesday against the visiting Toronto Blue Jays, does it really make sense to have him open the season in Triple-A?

That’s a question Mike Elias and company will have to answer in the next week before opening day next Thursday. Povich is just making that decision more difficult.

The left-hander pitched five no-hit innings against the Blue Jays’ regulars — Bo Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Anthony Santander — while striking out six and walking three.

“If this is my last one, I tried to leave it all out and hopefully give myself the best shot,” Povich said.

As if his stat line isn’t impressive enough, Povich carved up a Blue Jays lineup that he faced just five days earlier. The 24-year-old’s fastball sat 92 to 94 mph, while his curveball was sharp in any count and he mixed in his new kick changeup against righties.

Like he has most of camp, Povich looked like the pitcher he was in September when he posted a 2.60 ERA in five starts.

“Overall, felt pretty good,” he said. “Really just trying to treat this one more kind of in-season, more game-like. I thought the stuff was up a tick a little bit more.”

If Suárez wins the No. 5 starter job, Povich will likely open the year in Triple-A. He’d still be in Baltimore’s plans for 2025, but it would probably take an injury for him to get the call back.

“Both of those guys are throwing the ball great,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “I was really impressed with Cade today. I didn’t think he had his command that first inning, but really settled in nicely and made some big pitches when he needed to. I thought the stuff was good again.”

Rogers Centre ready: Ryan Mountcastle gave the Blue Jays a preview of what’s to come.

The slugger who dominates in Toronto’s Rogers Centre blasted two homers against the Blue Jays to continue his scorching-hot end to spring training. Mountcastle homered off left-handed starter Eric Lauer in the third, a three-run blast to left field, and then cracked a solo shot off lefty reliever Justin Bruihl.

“I’m feeling pretty good at the plate,” Mountcastle said. “My body feels good. I’m pretty close to being ready, and I’m excited for the season.”

Mountcastle, a .265 hitter with a .766 OPS, will open the season in a stadium in which he’s posted a stellar .303/.365/.596 slash line, good for a .962 OPS. It’s good timing for him to head to Toronto, as the 28-year-old has hit five homers in his past five games.

Since the Orioles moved Camden Yards’ left field wall back, Mountcastle’s home run total has dropped in three straight seasons after he blasted 33 homers as a rookie in 2021. He hit only 13 homers last season while finishing second on the team in doubles.

But the wall is coming halfway back in, and the club hopes that Mountcastle is one of the many sluggers who can benefit.

“Mounty can hit. When he swings at strikes, he does a lot of damage,” Hyde said. “It was nice to see him get some pull-side homers here. I thought that was something that kind of went away from him last year was driving the ball to the pull-side. He was a good hitter to all fields, but to really tap into his power this spring has been fun to watch.”

To the left, to the left: The Orioles blasted four homers in the 8-2 win over the Blue Jays in what was one of the most encouraging offensive performances from the club this spring.

Hyde wrote out a lineup filled with Orioles regulars, and eight of them recorded at least one hit. The only player not to was Jorge Mateo, who got two more at-bats and five innings at second base as he works his way back from left elbow surgery.

Two of the most surprising at-bats of spring training were left-handed hitters Cedric Mullins and Ryan O’Hearn taking Lauer, a southpaw, deep to right field. Mullins and O’Hearn have both struggled against lefties in their careers, so much so that Hyde didn’t often let the sluggers face them last season. O’Hearn, a starter at first base or designated hitter versus righties, took only 44 plate appearances against southpaws in 2024, while Mullins faced them 101 times, though he barely started versus lefties in the second half.

Both are expected to platoon again in 2025, with Hyde choosing a right-handed hitter to replace them against lefties (Gary Sánchez or Ramón Urías for O’Hearn and Ramón Laureano for Mullins).

“We’re going to have options against left-handed pitching, but good to see those guys do that,” Hyde said. “We faced a lot of lefties tonight, was good to get those guys at-bats against left-handed pitchers.”

On the run: The Orioles want Jackson Holliday to jump. He’s saying, “How high?”

Well, actually, the Orioles are telling Holliday to run, and he’s saying, “Tell me when to stop.”

Hyde has said the club’s desire for the 21-year-old is for him to be a dynamic player — at the plate, in the field and on the base paths. That includes bunting for a hit, putting the ball in play more and stealing bases.

Essentially, they want him to be the exciting prospect he was in the minor leagues, without the pressure of hitting for power at such a young age. This spring, he’s doing just that, and his aggressiveness on the bases Tuesday was another demonstration.

With two outs, Holliday hit a hard ground ball to second base and reached on an infield single. On the first pitch, he stole second and was easily safe. One pitch later, he took off for third and again was nowhere close to being thrown out. Jordan Westburg then singled on the next pitch, driving in a run that wouldn’t have scored had Holliday not swiped those bags.

“We’ve really tried to free him up this spring and want him to be aggressive and take chances and kind of test his limits,” Hyde said. “He’s done a great job of that. It’s fun to watch him.”

It’s just spring training, but Holliday might be in the process of turning into the type of player the Orioles know he can be.

Have a news tip? Contact Jacob Calvin Meyer at jameyer@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/JCalvinMeyer.