SARASOTA, Fla. -- Wade Miley on Tuesday became the fifth straight Orioles starter who tried to complete four innings but couldn't. He gave up three runs on seven hits in a 9-6 loss to a Rays split squad and pronounced himself unhappy.
"My command wasn't there, for the most part," Miley said. "These guys did a good job hitting some good pitches, but at the same time, I wasn't locating where I wanted to. I left a few pitches over the plate. But I got my pitch count up, and the ball was coming out good. No big damage."
The outing was Miley's fourth Grapefruit League start and his second rough one. On March 3 he lasted only until the second inning, when Pittsburgh's leadoff hitter, Elias Diaz, nailed him with a line drive, ending his day. Miley gave up four runs -- three earned -- on five hits in that one-plus frame.
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"Just trying to get the workload where it needs to be at," he said. "I would have liked to get up one more time in the fourth inning, but it didn't work out. I threw a lot of pitches in the first two innings.
"I just get the workload in. It wasn't terrible, it wasn't great. It was just somewhere in the middle."
Miley is secure in his slot in the Orioles' rotation, especially with staff mainstay Chris Tillman out with a sore right shoulder, and didn't bemoan the relatively cool, windy conditions.
"You can't control the wind," he said. "I'm just trying to go out there and make pitches. If you try to control all that stuff, you're stuck in a bind. So just try to make pitches and get outs."