SARASOTA, Fla. — Orioles right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano had his best outing of the spring against the Twins on March 9, striking out five hitters in three scoreless innings as he continues ramping up for the regular season.
Sugano, 35, signed a one-year, $13 million deal with the Orioles in December. The 6-foot-1, 198-pound right-hander out of Kanagawa, Japan, pitched 12 seasons for Nippon Professional Baseball’s Yomiuri Giants, piling up a 136-75 mark and a 2.45 ERA. He won Central League MVP three times, including in 2024, when he went 15-3 with a 1.78 ERA in 156.2 innings.
Sugano threw 46 pitches (29 strikes) against the Twins, retiring all nine hitters he faced.
“Today was beautiful,” said Ryan O’Hearn, who played first base behind Sugano. “It’s a ton of strikes. It’s a great tempo. It’s a great pace to play defense behind. He throws harder than I thought he did. I’m really excited about him and today he looked great.”
Sugano has a six-pitch mix — four-seamer, cutter, sinker, splitter, curveball and slider — and typically sits at about 92 mph with the four-seamer. Orioles manager Brandon Hyde liked what he saw out of his new pitcher.
“The fastball command was excellent to both sides of the plate, really good split, worked ahead of hitters the entire three innings he was out there,” Hyde said. “I thought the fastball had life to it. I thought he was really, really sharp.”
Sugano was pleased with how he executed the game plan discussed prior to his outing with catcher Gary Sánchez and pitching coach Drew French. His work against the Twins brought his spring scoreless streak to seven innings.
“It’s early to decide on whether it’s working or not because these are all new hitters that I’m facing,” Sugano said through an interpreter, “but overall I’m doing what I’m able to do, so everything’s working out.”
Sugano is one of four locks to break camp in the starting rotation, pending health, along with fellow right-handers Zach Eflin, Charlie Morton and Dean Kremer. He said he is 70 or 80 percent to where he wants to be by Opening Day.
So far, so good.
“Overall I’m having a great day on a daily basis with the team,” Sugano said. “Everybody’s welcoming. I’m having fun every day.”
See Also:
• Orioles RHP Grayson Rodriguez Shut Down For 7-10 Days With Elbow Inflammation
MADE POSSIBLE BY
Photo Credit: Luke Jackson/PressBox