'Lot of fun to watch': Sugano fills up zone in spring debut for O's?

BRADENTON, Fla. -- During media interviews early in Spring Training, Tomoyuki Sugano listened to questions from English-speaking reporters and waited for interpreter Yuto Sakurai to verbalize them in Japanese. That wasn’t necessary with the second question Sugano was asked after his first Grapefruit League start for the Orioles on Wednesday afternoon.

Was Sugano nervous when he took the mound vs. the Pirates at LECOM Park?

“No,” the 35-year-old right-hander quickly stated in English, then followed with a slight chuckle.

Sugano -- a three-time Central League MVP, a two-time Sawamura Award winner and an eight-time All-Star with the Yomiuri Giants in Nippon Professional Baseball -- is ready to take on the challenge of MLB hitters for the first time in his life. And the Kanagawa native showed that with his first game action of the spring.

Sugano tossed two scoreless innings during Baltimore’s 7-3 loss, working around two hits and one walk during a 28-pitch outing. He showcased every offering in his six-pitch arsenal, leaning heavily on the changeup (seven), cutter (six), four-seam fastball (six) and curveball (five), while also mixing in some sinkers (three) and one sweeper.

The velocity on Sugano’s four-seamer averaged 92.1 mph, and it maxed out at 93, per Statcast.

Earlier in camp, veteran catcher Gary Sánchez praised Sugano’s command and pinpoint accuracy with his pitches during bullpen sessions. A similar compliment later came from starting backstop Adley Rutschman, who caught Sugano in his first live batting practice.

Sugano showcased those traits on Wednesday, immediately attacking Pittsburgh’s hitters during a six-pitch first inning. After Tommy Pham opened the frame with a soft-hit infield single to third base, Sugano got Bryan Reynolds to roll into a 4-6-3 double play. Andrew McCutchen then swung at a first-pitch 90.9 mph sinker and grounded out to shortstop to end the inning.

Every pitch Sugano threw in the first was a strike, as he came out painting the edges of the strike zone while throwing to Sánchez and again proving his reputation to be true.

“That’s what he’s done his entire baseball career,” Sánchez said via interpreter Brandon Quinones. “All the Japanese pitchers that I’ve caught, they’re very similar in that sense. They throw a lot of strikes, they can basically put the ball anywhere that they want it. And I think that’s exactly what we’re seeing with him.”

Most of the hitters Sugano faces this season will be new opponents. But he recalled facing McCutchen in the 2017 World Baseball Classic semifinals, when McCutchen went 1-for-2 against the right-hander in the United States’ 2-1 win over Japan.

This time, the stakes may have been lower, but Sugano won a quick rematch vs. McCutchen.

“It was somewhat nostalgic,” Sugano said via Sakurai.

The Pirates made things tougher on Sugano in the second inning, as Adam Frazier knocked a two-out single to center and then Isiah Kiner-Falefa drew a seven-pitch walk. But Sugano escaped the jam, getting Darick Hall to ground out to second to end the outing.

Sugano threw 17 of his 28 pitches for strikes and didn’t allow much hard contact. The Bucs had only two batted balls with an exit velocity of 100-plus mph (per Statcast), and both resulted in a groundout -- balls hit by Hall (102.5 mph) and Reynolds (101).

“Just a ton of strikes. I thought he had really good stuff. I thought he commanded his fastball well, threw some really good split-fingers. Didn’t seem like he had much rust,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “He’s got elite command of multiple pitches, and when he misses, he misses just off. It’s really a lot of fun to watch.”

Spring Training starts will allow Sugano -- who signed a one-year, $13 million deal to join the O’s rotation for 2025 -- to get better acclimated to MLB after a 12-year career in Japan. He doesn’t have much experience using PitchCom to call pitches with his catcher, nor with the pitch timer. He got valuable practice during live BP before Grapefruit League games began.

It helps that Sugano is getting more comfortable throwing to Orioles catchers, building relationships that will be important during the regular season.

“We’ve been having great communication during the spring,” Sugano said. “Today, before the game and during the game, we talked a lot.”

So, what’s next for Sugano during the ramp-up to his first big league season?

Sánchez said the focus in Wednesday’s start was making sure every one of Sugano’s pitches was used, rather than throwing them in the situations they’d be deployed during non-exhibitions. That will change moving forward.

“Right now, I’m just doing pitch by pitch,” Sugano said. “So I want to work on the pitch sequence moving forward.”

Sugano surely won’t be nervous for his next start, either.