BRADENTON, Fla. — Tommy Hunter took a big step toward locking up a spot in the Baltimore Orioles’ starting rotation by handcuffing the Pittsburgh Pirates in a 4-1 victory Monday night.

Hunter worked six innings and allowed one hit, walked one and struck out five.

Hunter was sharp, even though it was only his second Grapefruit League start. He was slowed at the start of camp by a sore back, then tossed five solid innings in his debut March 21 against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Wieters had three hits and scored a run. He began the seventh inning with a double and scored on Mark Reynolds’ soft single to right field. Reynolds scored on a throwing error by third baseman Pedro Alvarez.

“Both pitchers looked like they were ready to start the season,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. “Tommy had a good look on his face. You could tell he was really focused tonight — a lot of left-handed hitters, the wind was blowing out in right (field). I thought he was effective.”

Left-hander Erik Bedard, who will be the Pirates’ opening day starter, worked six-plus innings and gave up two runs (one earned) on seven hits and struck out five.

“I did what I try to do every game, change speeds and hopefully they don’t hit it,” Bedard said. “There was a lot of swing-and-miss early, but that was because of the (setting) sun. I just threw strikes and changed speeds.”