BALTIMORE—It seems apparent after their 3-0 win over the Blue Jays on Wednesday night that the Orioles no longer are willing to roll over and be Toronto’s patsies. For years, the AL East has been viewed as the Yankees, Red Sox, Rays and Jays — and that other team. The O’s are intent on losing their “other team” status and joining the fun under manager Buck Showalter.

Baltimore had already taken two of three in Toronto earlier in April and are 4-1 against the Jays on the season. The O’s have not won a season series against Toronto since 2004. The Jays are now paying attention.

Showalter has a clear history of turning major-league teams around in his second full season as manager. The 1992 Yankees won 76 games, then followed it up with 88 victories in ’93. Showalter took the 1998 Diamondbacks to 65 wins and followed up with 100 in his second year. He moved to Texas and posted a 71-win season in 2003, his first year, then won 89 in his second campaign.

With the Orioles it’s a slightly different scenario. He took over halfway through 2010, but in his first full year as manager in 2011 they won just 69 games. The O’s seem to be following the same pattern of Showalter’s other teams, raising their record to 11-7. It’s early, but the signs are there.

On Wednesday, the O’s opened the scoring in the second inning on a solo homer to straightaway centre field by third baseman Wilson Betemit after Jays starter Kyle Drabek had fallen behind in the count 3-1. The other run against Drabek was another solo homer in the fourth by first baseman Chris Davis.

“You’ve got to make even a better pitch when you’re behind in the count,” Drabek opined. “They just happened to get enough of them to get out of here.”

Drabek has been one of the pleasant early-season surprises for manager John Farrell. Since the start of spring training, his mechanics and his demeanour have both improved tremendously, although his 13 walks in 24 innings show that more work on his command is necessary.

“I think the best way I can try to categorize this is he’s on the right path and that path is ongoing,” Farrell said. “I don’t think there’s an arrival spot on the path where he’s the pitcher he’ll ultimately be. It’s constant improvement, development and adjustment along the way.

“Overall he’s doing a better job of controlling his emotions and the efforts with which he executes his delivery. I thought in Kansas City he had a tendency to overthrow on occasion. That’s the way he’s kind of wired. He’s a competitive guy and as long as we continue to channel that emotion in the right way then he’s going to make it a greater percentage to execute from pitch to pitch.”

Drabek threw his 100th pitch with two outs in the sixth to Matt Wieters, but managed to finish the inning after the catcher singled. By definition it was a quality start for Drabek, but he was helped out by three double plays, including one on a vicious line drive to Kelly Johnson by Adam Jones as the second baseman slid over to cover the bag on a hit-and-run. Johnson played another solid game defensively.

“Two solo home runs, typically you’re going to say that’s not going to beat you,” Farrell said. “But when you run up against pitching like we have, it does. I thought for the most part (Drabek) threw the ball on the plate. Davis hits a pretty good pitch that was down and away. He hits it out the other way. Betemit ran into a 3-1 fastball. He did his job, kept us in the game, quality start.”

The Jays are still competing hard every night, but the extreme youth of the bottom three members of the starting rotation are becoming a problem for Farrell. At 24, Drabek is the grizzled veteran, alongside 22-year-old Henderson Alvarez and 21-year-old Drew Hutchison, who starts the series finale on Thursday.

The last time a Jays rotation featured a trio of starters this young was 1979, with Jim Clancy (23) Dave Stieb (21) and Phil Huffman (21). That team won a mere 53 games. But Farrell believes the youth of his rotation isn’t at all detrimental to his club’s ability to compete in the AL East.

“Yes, we can compete,” Farrell insisted. “Our challenges are to keep things in their proper perspective. We feel the urgency to win, to compete, and that feeling is no greater than for the group that’s in the clubhouse. If we didn’t feel they had the talent, the ability, we might not have that same optimistic view. But all possess the ability to compete in this division and it will come about.”

The O’s added a third run off Jason Frasor in the bottom of the eighth on a line-drive double into the left-field corner by Jones. Pedro Strop came on for his second save of the series.

BALTIMORE—Sweeping a road series against the Royals is nice, but when the Blue Jays return to facing opponents in the AL East, it’s a whole new challenge. And not just the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays, the self-imposed mandate of winning in the division includes the improved Orioles, who took the opener of a three-game series 2-1, ending the Jays’ four-game win streak. Manager John Farrell has a unique baseball take on the old hockey cliche about four-point games.

“That’s not to take anyone lightly outside our division, but we all know that the 18 games per team in here mean twice as much just because of head-up competition,” Farrell said. “So we will be challenged every night we walk on the field against a team in this division. For us to get where we want to go we’re going to have to go through these teams that are in the East.”

With the loss, the Jays fell to 4-6 inside the division, but remain three games above the break-even mark overall. They are 1-3 vs. the improving Orioles.

Meanwhile, Henderson Alvarez lost his second straight start, with the Jays dropping all four starts the 22-year-old right-hander has made. In 14 major-league starts overall, he is 1-5. A great positive for the Jays is that Alvarez has pitched at least five innings and thrown at least 92 pitches in all of his starts, but the bottom line is he has not won a game in his last nine outings since his one and only major-league win last Aug. 31, also at Camden Yards. Some talented pitchers, with all the requisite secondary numbers to succeed, have also had trouble winning.

“You can’t say for one reason or another why certain pitchers seemingly get run support … and others don’t,” Farrell said. “There were a number of outings last year you felt that Henderson pitched well enough to get a win, but, you know what, if he goes out and he does what he’s capable of, I like our chances and certainly the chances of Henderson to record another win.”

In his one win, the Jays scored 13 runs. In Alvarez’s other 13 major-league starts, the club has tallied just 43 times, averaging 3.31 runs per outing.

When the Orioles opened the game against Alvarez with a single and a rocket double off the wall, it had all the earmarks of a big, ugly inning. But the youngster held the O’s to a run, escaping a bases-loaded, nobody out crisis. That’s what Farrell loves about his young starter, the ability to get out of trouble with a double-play grounder using his two-seam, sinking fastball.

“He’s not going to deviate from his approach all that much and as oppositions get to know him they know that he’s got a heavy sinking fastball, so the borderline pitch may be taken a little bit more,” Farrell explained of what he needs to work on next. “So the use of his four-seam will probably have to be used to counter adjust. No, he hasn’t changed, it’s just the opposition knows him a little bit more.”

The Jays tied the game in the third inning on a solo homer by Eric Thames off Tommy Hunter that bounced on Eutaw Street behind the right-field fence and in front of the warehouse. It was the 58th homer onto Eutaw since the park’s opening and the first since Nick Swisher of the Yankees on Aug. 26, 2011. The Swisher blast was also against Hunter. It was the first Eutaw Street homer by a Blue Jay since Eric Hinske did it on Aug. 22, 2004.

Hunter had been a Jays patsy throughout his career with the Rangers and Orioles, entering the night with a 1-3 record and a 6.65 ERA in nine appearances — seven starts. But the homer by Thames was the only run and just one of three hits he allowed on this night in six innings.

The O’s broke the 1-1 tie in the fourth as catcher Matt Wieters sliced a long drive towards the left field corner. Thames raced along the warning track, leaped and scraped the top of the wall, missing a chance at catching the home run, his sixth of the year. Alvarez gave up just two runs in seven innings.

Jays second baseman Kelly Johnson continued his productive road trip, with two hits and a walk in four appearances. In the five games thus far, he is 4-for-9 with eight bases-on-balls while batting in the two-hole. His OPS is over .800 for the year.

“I’m drawing a lot of walks and getting on base,” Johnson said. “You always want the guys that are getting on base to be at the top and as long as I’m that guy I definitely think it’s a good spot. I’m more focused on staying there and not worrying about … what’s a good spot. Wherever I am, I’m going to try and be as consistent as I can.”

Johnson was also in the middle of one double play, defensively, and now leads all AL second baseman with 17 twin killings. The Jays lead the league with 26. It’s an aspect of Johnson’s game that coach Brian Butterfield has raved about, his fearless pivots when turning two.

“I’m not a true second baseman and when I learned, that’s one of the things that was important for me,” Johnson explained. “I’m not a guy who’s going to move a lot. I’m going to stay there and use my arm. That’s just the only way I can do it.”

The Blue Jays saved their best curveball for the end.

On the final day of spring training the Jays whiffed starting pitcher Brett Cecil and sent him tumbling out of the rotation — all the way back to double-A New Hampshire.

It is a significant fall from grace for Cecil and one of the lone bummer stories for the Jays in what has been otherwise a spring blooming with hope and optimism.

At the start of spring training the rotation was the No. 1 concern and priority and thanks to developments the past two weeks, it remains as such.

The Jays opened camp with the thinking that their rotation would consist of Ricky Romero, Brandon Morrow, Cecil, Henderson Alvarez and Dustin McGowan.

But nothing quite goes the way you draw it up and now manager John Farrell will trot out a rotation of Romero, Morrow, Joel Carreno in the No. 3 slot, Alvarez and Kyle Drabek as the fifth guy.

The first alarm bells went off Mar. 23, when Cecil had a meltdown against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Then McGowan developed plantar fasciitis in his right foot two days later.

The Jays hoped Cecil could deliver the goods as late as Monday but when facing the powerful Detroit lineup in Lakeland, he was blasted for seven runs on seven hits in the second inning.

That was it for Cecil and along the way, Drabek has been a model of consistency. It should be noted that four of the six outings that Drabek had against major-league teams came on the road where he faced the opposition’s ‘A’ lineups.

Following Cecil’s debacle in Lakeland, Farrell all but ticked Cecil off the list and the Jays made it official Tuesday.

“It became increasingly clear that Brett needs a few more starts to gain the consistent command that is required to compete against lineups he’s going to face at the major-league level,” Farrell told reporters. “We felt like while Aaron Laffey (another starting candidate who was a soft-tossing lefty) showed well in spring training, we’d look to get a little more power out of that spot in terms of overall stuff, and that’s where Joel, who’d been throwing the ball very well since being optioned back, comes back to us.”

Carreno, who turned 25 in March, throws in the mid-90s and had a taste of the big leagues at the end of last season. In 11 bullpen appearances (15 2/3 innings) he allowed 11 hits and two earned runs (1.15 ERA) while holding the opposition to a .200 average.

He has a power arm and the lone surprise is that he was slotted ahead of Drabek. As the fifth starter, Drabek will be skipped over after his initial start at home against Boston and will make just three starts in the opening month.

Carreno, though, was the first name that popped out of Farrell’s mouth when on Monday he named a list of minor-leaguers who were back in the running for a rotation spot.

“He’s been up to five and six innings on the minor-league side, and the fastball-slider-changeup combination gives him three pitches to attack left-handers with,” Farrell added. “We like the added power that he provides, and the sinking action that keeps the ball on the ground.

“In our division, we feel power is needed and (Drabek) has the ability to attack left-handers and right-handers with equal ability.”

The Jays, of course, aren’t completely writing Cecil off but if McGowan regains his health and performs and Carreno and Drabek don’t falter, it’s difficult to see where he fits in.

“I wouldn’t say it was just (Monday’s outing), his evaluation was from what took place toward the end of last year and throughout last year, as well as spring training,” Farrell said. “To me, it’s just consistent location, he’s not sharp yet. We’ve got to get him back down to where he’s going to be able to get regular starts to regain that sharpness.”

Brett Cecil.

DUNEDIN, Fla – This was no first step for Brett Cecil.

Pitching one scoreless and efficient inning to kick off the Toronto Blue Jays’ 7-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates in Saturday’s Grapefruit League opener represented his first action of the spring, and in part, a small measure of his progress to this point.

Really though, the heavy lifting – or more accurately, the heavy shedding – came long before the 25-year-old left-hander arrived in Dunedin, Fla., for spring training. It came way back in the fall, when he committed to a new fitness and conditioning program that eroded nearly 40 pounds from his 6-1 frame.

That’s why when he was asked how he felt about his first step, Cecil grinned and replied, “Step 1 was underway in November.” He’s put in a lot of effort to reach this point, and his 12 pitches against the Pirates were the first returns of what he hopes will be a season of on-mound rewards as a result.

“It felt good to get out against a different team and facing different hitters, and getting a little excited,” he said. “I didn’t get out of my delivery, but a few of the balls were up. I don’t mind mistakes as long as they’re good mistakes. If they’re going to be up in the zone, I want them to be up-up in the zone, not where it was last year most of the time.

“So as far as today went, you couldn’t really tell much from one inning, but it was good. It felt great.”

Where his progress goes from here is what matters most.

Cecil has the potential to be a tipping-point player for the Blue Jays, someone whose success or failure can help drive the team forward or back from its 81-81 finish in 2011.

He was thumped hard during a reality-check year, giving up an alarming 22 homers in 123.2 frames, or 1.6 every nine innings, nearly double his rate of 0.9 in during a breakout 15-7, 4.22 ERA campaign in 2010.

Command was an issue, and also problematic were his conditioning and weight, the latter of which bloated to 252 pounds. Aside from hampering his stamina, it more crucially affected his delivery, taking from him the type of quickness and drive needed to generate power without extra effort in his delivery. As a result, his velocity dipped and his pitch location suffered, and opponents made him pay – often. Manager John Farrell and general manager Alex Anthopoulos had a frank talk with him after the season, and Cecil transformed his body, his diet and exercise program.

In many ways, he’s like a new man.

“Without him stepping on the mound yet in a game, the credit must be given to Brett,” Farrell said Saturday morning. “He’s worked his butt off, both literally and figuratively.

“He’s made the initial commitment, and he should be commended.”

Those commendations, however, will only go so far.

There are no guarantees for him in camp this year, and there are plenty of arms providing bottom-up pressure, including Kyle Drabek, who followed Cecil on the mound and threw a scoreless inning of his own.

A top prospect who was hit much harder than Cecil last year, Drabek refined his delivery during the off-season, using two yellow ropes to frame the pitching rubber and create a line for him to follow during his motion.

The goal is to align his starting point and landing, with his head following in unison. He had a tendency to fall over to the first base side of the mound last year, too, which compounded his command troubles.

Saturday was the first test of the changes without the ropes in a game situation, and though he drew a line for himself on the mound, Drabek found that it all was starting to come naturally to him.

“First game, a little nervous, don’t know why, but had a little nerve in me. It was fine without them,” he said. “When I was out there, it was all game, and we’ve been working so hard on (mechanics) that it kind of became a usual thing. …

“With the new mechanics, I was probably on 70 per cent. I caught myself falling off, which is the thing we’re trying to prevent, but I was happy with it.”

He also showed some calmness when things went awry in his inning, as Yunel Escobar’s throwing error allowed leadoff man Yamaico Navarro to reach before Nate McLouth followed with a four-pitch walk thanks to Drabek trying to be “too fine.”

He recovered by getting Jake Fox to hit into a 5-3 double play turned nicely by Brett Lawrie, before getting Gorkys Hernandez looking.

“Even when he issues the walk, it wasn’t losing the strike zone in its entirety. He made some decent pitches just off the edge, but didn’t become defensive,” said Farrell. “That’s what we’re focusing on with him, how does he respond to some adversity within an inning, and he handled that one very well.”

So another building block for both Drabek and Cecil, and a tiny bit of validation for work already done.

Notes: Blue Jays manager John Farrell was very familiar with the third baseman the Pirates subbed in to start the bottom of the fifth inning, as his son Jeremy replaced Yamaico Navarro. The 25-year-old went 0-for-1 with a walk in his latest game against his dad. The two met across the diamond last year and a couple of times while John was still with the Red Sox. “Anytime you get a chance to see your son in a game, it’s a rewarding experience, it’s one of those special moments,” he said. “But he’s on his own path, and in his case he’s got to stay healthy.”

The younger Farrell described the experience as “pretty cool” even though both push aside their relationship during game time. “We never acknowledge each other, but obviously you know he’s over there,” said Jeremy. “Then after the game we’re able to say hello and nice job and see you soon.”

… Brett Lawrie had a busy day with a pair of doubles, four RBIs, an error and a handful of other defensive chances, including two in which he started double plays. … Eric Thames hit the day’s only home run, a solo shot off Canadian Chris Leroux, and added an RBI single in the sixth. … Ben Francisco singled home another run in the seventh. … Attendance was announced at 4,059 at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium.