Finally, Orioles' Loewen Might Be Ready

Sharp Five-Inning Stint Against Mets Eases Some Concerns

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., March 24 -- Pitch by pitch, strike by strike, Baltimore Orioles left-hander Adam Loewen spent his Monday afternoon trying to expunge from his mind the difficulties of a maddening March.

He entered spring training with lingering questions about his left elbow, which less than a year ago was under a surgeon's knife to correct a season-ending stress fracture. The questions were amplified when stiffness forced Loewen to skip a scheduled start. Even when healthy, Loewen lacked command of his pitches, limiting him to a string of short outings that produced little in the way of encouragement.

Then came Monday, when Loewen answered some of those questions, allowing one run in five innings during a 1-0 loss to the New York Mets.

"Loewen was very good, best all spring," Orioles Manager Dave Trembley said.

Loewen allowed two hits with three strikeouts. He walked three, although his pitches were generally near the strike zone. The same could hardly be said of his four previous spring outings.

"Having all that time off and then not throwing so well in the beginning, there were doubts about when I would put it together," Loewen said. "But I always felt that I was very close to having a good outing and I felt good all the way up to this point. And I finally put it all together today and I'd say it's a relief."

Perhaps nobody on the Orioles' staff needed to hit the reset button more than Loewen, who entered the game with a 12.27 ERA, a number inflated partly by the 12 walks he had issued in his first four games.

His March 9 start lasted just 2 2/3 innings -- until Monday his longest of the spring -- after he gave up three runs on four hits to the Florida Marlins. After his next scheduled start was skipped, Loewen returned to the mound last Wednesday against the St. Louis Cardinals, giving up four runs on four hits and four walks and lasting just 1 2/3 innings.

But on Monday, Loewen said he felt as if he were in more command of his body, while his comfort level and feel for his pitches increased as the game unfolded. Once he reached the fourth and fifth innings, Loewen said he was able to make effective adjustments. After the game, Loewen offered another encouraging sign, saying that his left arm and shoulder did not bother him on the mound.

"It's good for his confidence and it's good for our team," said Trembley, who will send Loewen out for a final tuneup on Saturday against the Nationals in Washington. "He'll pitch one more time before the season starts, and hopefully he builds on it."

Loewen finished with 76 pitches, slightly exceeding the 75 that Trembley hoped he would throw. Loewen threw 48 strikes and of the 19 batters he faced, he threw first-pitch strikes to 14, including the first 11 Mets he faced.

His only real struggles came while trying to put hitters away after getting ahead in the count. Twice, Loewen seized the advantage with a 1-2 count before eventually allowing walks. In the third inning, early strikes put Loewen ahead 0-2 against Brady Clark, who would eventually draw a walk. Clark later scored the only run of the game on a Luis Castillo double.

But Loewen also made pitches when he fell behind in counts, including a third-inning strikeout of Mets slugger David Wright that came after the pitcher started with two straight balls.

Loewen needed just nine pitches to close out his final inning, the fifth. By then he could take a measure of satisfaction by turning in a performance good enough to erase the bad ones from his mind.

"This kind of wipes my slate clean," Loewen said. "I've pretty much forgotten everything up to this point and now it's on to my next start. I think when I make my next start, this will all be forgotten. Maybe I can go six innings then and I'll be ready for the season."