SAN ANTONIO de GUERRA, Dominican Republic – Among the stacks of mental snapshots from yesterday’s opening of the Orioles’ new baseball academy, with its Sarasota vibe that whets the appetite for spring training, is the image of former pitcher Ubaldo Jiménez strolling into the complex with a big smile on his face and his old black cap with the orange bill perched atop his head.

The man doesn’t take the chance to represent lightly.

Jiménez was invited to the ceremony and made the trip from his Miami home, where his passions are real estate investments and helping to raise his three daughters. He last pitched in the majors with the Orioles on Sept. 22, 2017. The Rockies signed him in February 2020 and released him five months later.

Still appearing in baseball shape, could another comeback attempt be in the works? Jiménez flashed his familiar smile again and reminded us that he turns 40 next week.

Jiménez couldn’t single out just one feature of the state-of-the-art academy that most impressed him.

SAN ANTONIO de GUERRA, Dominican Republic – Orioles executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias recited some of his club’s accomplishments earlier today – the best record in the American League and the top farm system in baseball getting their proper due – before redirecting his attention to the reason for the enormous gathering. The grand opening of their state-of-the-art training academy that attracted several of the country’s dignitaries and the club’s top officials.

“But,” Elias said with impeccable timing, “this is the most important achievement our group has made in these five years.”

The 22.5-acre complex is home to the Orioles’ regional facility for Caribbean, Central and South American player development operations, and includes three full fields, a sports turf agility field, batting and pitching tunnels, administrative buildings, dormitories and educational facilities. It can hold more than 100 players, coaches and staff, compared to 60-70 at the old facility in Boca Chica.

The project was led by landowner and developer Brian Mejia of Brison SRL, who choked up several times today and wiped away tears as he shared his mother’s wish to see the completion of the academy. She passed away last month.

Spectators applauded and encouraged Mejia during his emotional speech. He’d pause, try to regroup and push ahead.

The Orioles returned home and the winning continued Friday as Dean Kremer, Cionel Pérez and Félix Bautista combined on a six-hit, 1-0 win over Pittsburgh.

For the Orioles (55-51), it was a nice start to a homestand.

Tampa Bay won Friday but Seattle lost, and the Mariners have now dropped into the third American League wild card spot. They lead the Orioles for that by 1 1/2 games. The O's are two games back of Tampa Bay, which holds the second AL wild-card berth. 

The Orioles went 2-for-15 with runners in scoring position but the Baltimore pitchers made the one run stand up as they pitched their 10th shutout of the season and second in the last eight games. The 10 shutouts match the total from the full 2019 and 2021 seasons combined, when they had five each.

The Orioles have gone 20-7 the last 27 games. It's their best single-season 27-game stretch since going 20-7 from Aug. 28-Sept. 24, 2014.