Manager Buck Showalter brought much of his front-line batting order to Bright House Field on Wednesday, but the song remained the same.
The Orioles have yet to win a Grapefruit League game this spring and Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Darin Ruf made sure that his team would not be their first victim. He hammered two homers and drove in three runs to lead the Phillies to an 8-4 victory that left the O’s with an 0-9-1 exhibition record.
Newly signed starting pitcher Yovani Gallardo made his first spring start and got mixed results, allowing three runs in the first inning – two of them on Ruf’s first homer – but came back to retire the Phillies in order in the second.