Orioles feeling 'frisky' and 'loose' as they start to prepare for ALDS

BALTIMORE — The Orioles got back into the swing of things on Tuesday to prepare for their playoff run.

"Everybody has got a little spring to their step because we had a day off yesterday," said Austin Hays. "Everybody is nice and frisky today."

Frisky is perfect for a little postseason batting practice and fielding work at Camden Yards.

"Being able to come in, everybody is trying to focus on something a little bit different or work on something a little bit different," said Hays.

"It’s fun. It’s loose. We’re enjoying it," added infielder Jordan Westburg. "We’re still getting the competitive juices flowing a little bit."

With some live at-bats. Grayson Rodriguez threw off the mound, full go to his teammates.

The O’s will continue workouts over the next three days. As the American League’s top seed, Baltimore earned a bye into the divisional round. This week is a chance to heal up and get fresh after a grueling regular season.

"We played 162 games. Nobody feels 100 percent, not after opening day of the season. So, having these days off is big time," said Hays.

"We work all year to win the division and enjoy these days off," said Westburg. "They are not really days off. We’re out here working. But, it’s nice."

Working for the weekend.

"There tends to be a lull with teams that come off these off days at times and we don’t want to do that," added Westburg. "So, as a team, I think we are trying to keep the energy up, trying to keep the competitiveness up, trying to keep the focus up so that come Saturday we are ready to go."

The Orioles open their divisional series at home on Saturday. They will face either Texas or Tampa Bay. Those teams opened their best-of-three wild-card series on Tuesday with the Rangers winning 4-0.

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