Cabrera Gives a Glimpse of Greatness

Inconsistent Oriole Follows Up Poor Starts With Dominant One

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., March 16 -- The Daniel Cabrera edition of "Wheel of Fortune" has only two options on the wheel: awful and awesome.

In two previous outings, the wheel stopped at awful as the Baltimore Orioles' right-hander labored with his command and his mechanics. Then came Sunday afternoon when, as has been the modus operandi during his perplexing tenure as a major leaguer, the wheel stopped on awesome.

"Yeah, today," Cabrera said. "We'll see for the whole season."

Five days after walking five batters, Cabrera looked less like last year's 18-game loser and more like the top-of-the-rotation pitcher the Orioles hope he'll finally become. Cabrera allowed two runs, five hits and a walk in 5 1/3 innings in an 11-3 victory over the Washington Nationals.

His low pitch count allowed Cabrera to work into the sixth inning -- the longest outing for any Orioles pitcher this spring -- where he tired and allowed a pair of runs before being relieved. But it was how Cabrera reached the sixth that was most impressive.

"I think we saw what he is capable of," pitching coach Rick Kranitz said. "He was very good. He was very aggressive. His delivery was consistent. Everything was right what you wanted to see. Those are the kind of results that he can get."

Through five innings, Cabrera faced the minimum number of batters by doing the things the Orioles have stressed would help him find some consistency: getting ahead of hitters, throwing strikes, repeating his delivery.

"That's what I've been working on the whole spring training," Cabrera said. "We keep on working and trying to keep it the same way."

Throughout camp, Kranitz has worked with Cabrera on his mechanics, trying to get the 6-foot-8 pitcher to stand taller on the mound, in hopes of encouraging a downward arm motion. And on Sunday, Cabrera seemed to put the lesson into practice, which only sharpened his command.

"He never slouched," Orioles Manager Dave Trembley said. "He never hunched over. He was tall all the time on the mound and his tempo was very good."

When Felipe Lopez led off the game with a single, Cabrera induced a double-play ball from Ronnie Belliard. And in the fifth, when Nick Johnson reached on a single, Cabrera forced another grounder, this time from the bat of Alex Escobar. Cabrera finished with four strikeouts, and in one sequence got Alex Escobar ahead of a changeup before painting the outside corner with a fastball to catch Justin Maxwell looking.

Entering the sixth inning, Cabrera had thrown just 44 pitches, 34 for strikes, after needing 31 pitches to get out of just one inning in his previous start. Through five innings Cabrera managed to get ahead of the count to nine of the 15 batters he faced. Asked after the game what had worked well, Cabrera answered simply, "Everything."

"It felt very good," he said. "All my pitches worked today. I only walked one guy, and I think that's the key."

His body language seemed to paint an accurate picture. Last week, Cabrera drew some laughter from his teammates when he tripped while walking to the pitcher's mound. On Sunday, Cabrera sauntered as if he were in complete control.

"That was impressive," Trembley said of the outing.

And so the familiar game continued for Cabrera, who with his flash of dominance left observers once again waiting anxiously for the next spin of the wheel. True to form, in his four spring starts, Cabrera has sandwiched two awful performances with two awesome ones.

Said Trembley: "Now, he needs to do it again."