SARASOTA, Fla. -- Nearly six months ago, the Orioles' 2016 season ended when Edwin Encarnacion hit a decisive home run off Ubaldo Jimenez to give the Blue Jays the win in the American League Wild Card Game.
After Jimenez allowed four runs over four innings to the Blue Jays in Tuesday's 5-2 loss at Ed Smith Stadium, he said Toronto wasn't on his mind.
"No, no, I didn't even think about that," said Jimenez, who walked three and fanned five. "I just wanted to go out there and get my pitch count up and throw all my pitches. I think that's what I did today, especially after the first inning."
Encarnacion left the Blue Jays after the season to sign with the Indians, and Jose Bautista, fresh off the World Baseball Classic, didn't play in the game, either. That made it easier for Jimenez to concentrate on just getting ready for the season.
It didn't matter to Jimenez that he couldn't complete five innings. In his previous start against the Pirates last Wednesday, he exited after 4 2/3 frames.
"No, what we worry about is the pitch count. I was able to throw 75 pitches," Jimenez said. "I did that in my last game, too. I could have gone even more, but that's part of the game. I had to throw a lot of pitches in that last inning because I had to get a couple extra outs. There's nothing you can do about that. But I got to my pitch count."
Jimenez could have escaped without allowing a run, but catcher Caleb Joseph dropped a popup near the mound hit by Jarrod Saltalamacchia to lead off the fourth, opening the door for a four-run inning.
"He had a five-inning outing there in him," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "I'm happy with where he is."