Smoltz pitches, doesn’t deliver

In the wake of a 6-2 loss to the Orioles in front of 37,606 that earned him some mild booing, Smoltz said, “I’m a fighter, and I came over here because I know the expectation is high and right now my frustration is [that] it looks like I’m not delivering. That will change one way or the other, I can promise you that. I work at it pretty hard. I’m not a guy that has a ton of anger on the field or off the field, but I’m grinding.’’

It looks that way. When Smoltz walked off the field, after just five innings of work in which he had allowed six runs on nine hits, it was another embarrassment on the way back from injury that has left Smoltz searching. He hasn’t yet found the answers.

So he will go back to work, and in five days Smoltz will return to the hill, on the day of the trade deadline, against the Ori oles again. There are no plans to take him out of the rotation, despite his 1-4 record and 7.04 ERA. There are no plans to skip him. No plans to work around him. Not yet, at least.

“No,’’ pitching coach John Farrell said. “At this point that’s not even been considered. If there was a drop-off physically, just through either naked eye or what the velocity is telling us, that would be a different situation, but that’s not the case. You look at the amount of [swings and misses] he’s able to generate, and yet because of the consistency of command he’s frustrated.’’

“I’ve certainly been wrong before,’’ manager Terry Francona said. “I don’t think we’re wrong this time. It’s going to work. I really believe that. The results certainly haven’t been what we’ve wanted so far. I think he’s going to be just fine.’’

As Smoltz spoke for nearly 16 minutes to reporters, he said he was open to suggestions. He acknowledged that, at the beginning, he was caught up in trying to prove that he could return. Prove that the doubters were wrong, and that he could be an integral part of a playoff contender.