Taijuan Walker gave up three homers in a spring loss to the Orioles. Should the Phillies be concerned?

SARASOTA, Fla. — This is still spring training, after all, so with a runner in scoring position and nobody out in the second inning on Wednesday night, Taijuan Walker experimented.

“It was supposed to be a back-foot slider,” the Phillies starter said of the 82 mph floater that Orioles star Gunnar Henderson smashed for a two-run homer.

Had the game counted, Walker said he would have thrown his signature splitter or maybe a sinker. OK, fine. But Henderson’s rocket was one of three homers allowed by Walker in a 2⅔-inning dud that raised a fair question.

Should the Phillies be worried?

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“The thing that I think he needs to do is get ahead more,” manager Rob Thomson said. “He was behind in the count a little bit. And then you couple that with missing some spots, and you get hurt.”

Not that it mattered, but Walker gave up seven runs in a 13-4 loss. He threw 62 pitches, 31 of which were expended in getting two outs in the first inning. It would’ve helped if the Phillies turned a double play, but Walker also gave up a three-run homer to Anthony Santander on a splitter before exiting the game and reentering in the second inning.

The important part: Walker reported no issues with the sore right knee that slowed him earlier in the spring. The 31-year-old righty also was encouraged by a modest increase in fastball velocity, from 88-90 mph in his first start to 90-92 mph.

“It’s getting there, just a lot slower than I would like,” Walker said. “But everything’s going up. I feel like each start, it’s crept up. I don’t know. I’ve been putting a lot of work in, been working really, really hard. It’s just getting there.”

Walker will have one more start before things get real. He will face the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday in the Phillies’ Grapefruit League finale, then will get the ball against the Cincinnati Reds on April 1.

Will he be ready?

“I feel like my pitches, they’re there,” Walker said. “Splitter’s there. I gave up the home run but got a lot of weak-contact ground balls, which I like. The uptick in velocity kind of upticks everything. One more start, and then go into the game, 40,000 fans, regular season, it’s a lot different.

“My stuff feels good. I’m not worried about my stuff. I feel the shapes [of the pitches] are good. It’s really just location and attacking hitters and stuff.”

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At the plate: Brandon Marsh’s left knee passed an important test when he legged out an RBI triple on a gapper to right-center field in the third inning against Orioles starter Dean Kremer. Marsh also singled to right field in the seventh inning. He’s expected to be ready for the season after having arthroscopic knee surgery Feb. 9. … Recently acquired outfielder Jordan Luplow, likely ticketed for triple A, went 2-for-2 with a walk. He’s 4-for-5 in two games since signing a minor-league contract after being released by the Braves.

On the mound: José Ruiz, a dark horse to win one of the final spots in the bullpen, gave up two hits in two scoreless innings. The 29-year-old righty has allowed one run in nine innings over eight appearances. He has 212 games of major-league experience with three teams (Padres, White Sox, Diamondbacks) but isn’t on the 40-man roster.

Craig Kimbrel, now the Orioles’ closer, struck out Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner, and Bryson Stott in the fifth inning.

Roster moves: Right-hander Nick Nelson was optioned to triple A; righty Nick Snyder, catcher William Simoneit, infielder Nick Podkul, and outfielders Carlos De La Cruz, Matt Kroon, and Simón Muzziotti were assigned to minor league camp. The Phillies have 43 players in camp.

Quotable: “He’s really working hard. He’s trying to find it, and hopefully he does in the next week or two.” — Thomson on Walker

On deck: The Phillies (8-12-6) will return to Clearwater to host the Rays at 1:05 p.m. Thursday. Cristopher Sánchez is scheduled to start.