Weather permitting, Guthrie steps in for Orioles

 

BALTIMORE (AP) -The weather forecast calls for rain all day, so Jeremy Guthrie may not get the chance to make his debut as a starting pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday.
If the game is washed out, it will only delay the inevitable.
“Either way, I think there will be a start,” Guthrie said Saturday. “I’ll be ready one way or another.”
Picked up on a waiver claim from the Cleveland Indians in late January, Guthrie played in 16 major league games before this season, starting once. However, he started in 97 of 101 career minor league games in the Cleveland organization.
The right-hander has been selected to fill the void in the rotation created by a shoulder injury to Jaret Wright, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list Thursday. Guthrie made the team as a long reliever out of spring training, but his preference is to pitch every fifth day as a starter.
“That’s obviously what I would love to do. Hopefully I take advantage of it and help the team win,” he said.
Wright is expected to miss at least two starts, and manager Sam Perlozzo said Saturday the veteran right-hander will regain his place in the rotation when he comes off the disabled list. That takes some of the pressure off Guthrie, who understands the reality of his assignment.
“If you think about it as an audition, it’s like it’s a do-or-die situation. It’s not that in any sense,” Guthrie said. “It’s me stepping in trying to fill in for the team and help us out at the same time. Hopefully I pitch well enough to fill that role anytime it’s necessary this year.”
Perlozzo said he’s looking for Guthrie to go five innings, perhaps six if he’s efficient with his pitch count. Guthrie has the same expectation.
“I don’t what my pitch count is, but I’m going to try and go five or six. That’s my goal,” he said. “I’ll attack the hitters and see what happens.”