SARASOTA, Fla. — Félix Bautista took off his hat, placed it over his heart and looked toward the heavens, a silent thank you for being back on this stage. For the first time since August 2023, Bautista pitched in a game, and the crowd at Ed Smith Stadium realized the significance of the moment.

He threw 13 pitches. He sat around 96 mph with his heater and mixed in a splitter and slider, too. He struck out a pair of Boston Red Sox batters and induced a soft groundout from the third.

But forget all that. Forget that the velocity hovered about 3 mph less on average than it usually did, and forget the results, even though they were good.

Bautista was back on a mound. As catcher Adley Rutschman hugged the Orioles closer near the foul line after the inning, that’s all that mattered.

“That was very exciting,” Bautista said through team interpreter Brandon Quinones. “I missed my fans. I missed hearing them every time I stepped onto the field. It was very gratifying being able to go out there today and hear them once again.”

He earned an ovation upon entering, another when he exited and a third when he walked from the dugout back to the clubhouse building beyond the right field fence.

“I want him to walk off that mound feeling good,” manager Brandon Hyde said before the game, and his wish was answered. “That’s all I care about. He walks off the mound, he looks like Félix, and I want him to feel great.”

It will be a while yet before Bautista truly looks like the 2023 All-Star version of himself — the one who dominated late-inning opportunities before suffering an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery to repair. Bautista was a master at covering multiple innings, at handling the late-game pressure, of pitching in high-stress innings on low rest.

Hyde acknowledges that, especially for the first half of the season, Bautista won’t be used as frequently or in as many of those four-plus out situations. Bautista is now healthy, and Hyde wants to keep him that way.

“I’m going to be as careful as I possibly can,” Hyde said.

Seeing him in a game Monday, however, was the “highlight of the camp so far,” Hyde said.

Bautista used an 85-mph splitter to strike out Nate Eaton, forced Trayce Thompson to whiff on a 96-mph fastball and forced David Hamilton to ground out with an 87-mph splitter. The fact his velocity, at this early stage, was that high is a promising sign for how it can recover.

Bautista said he expects that by opening day, his sinker and four-seam fastball velocity will be at 99 mph to 100 mph. He still plans to be ready to pitch once the regular season begins, and the timeline works in his favor. By getting an inning under his belt Monday, Bautista still has slightly more than three weeks before the Orioles are scheduled to face the Toronto Blue Jays on opening day March 27.

Bautista pictured this outing many times throughout his time away from the mound, and he said that mental image is “something that kept me going throughout my rehab process, throughout my recovery. Having that thought in my mind kept me going.”

Over the last few months, Bautista has slowly ramped up his activities again. He threw off flat ground, then reached the mound for a light bullpen. He faced hitters on the back fields for the first time last month. And even Friday, he said he could’ve throttled back more for a few extra ticks of velocity.

That will follow in the next weeks and months, as Bautista is unleashed again at the back end of a game. But Monday, at least, was a taste of something he missed.

“Everything,” Bautista said when asked what he missed most. “Warming up in the bullpen, trotting to the mound, getting into the game, hearing the fans, and having Adley catch me.”

And Rutschman’s hug?

“Yes,” Bautista laughed, “I missed it too.”