Friday, June 9, 2017 Game Stories: Columns:

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1 World Champions 1983, 1970, 1966 American League Champions 1983, 1979, 1971, 1970, 1969, 1966 American League East Division Champions 2014, 1997, 1983, 1979, 1974, 1973, 1971, 1970, 1969 American League Wild Card 2016, 2012, 1996 Friday, June 9, 2017 Game Stories: Alec Asher struggles, Orioles strike out 12 times against Joe Ross in 6-1 loss to Nats The Sun 6/8 O's bats sluggish in makeup game with Nats MLB.com 6/8 Ross fans 12, Drew homers as Nationals beat Orioles 6-1 Associated Press 6/8 Adam Jones, Manny Machado Sit Out While Orioles Lose To Nationals PressBoxOnline.com 6/9 Nats do lots of running in makeup game, beat O s 6-1 (with quotes) MASNsports.com 6/8 Columns: Pitfalls of a depleted Orioles lineup could be exposed without Manny Machado The Sun 6/9 Orioles' Manny Machado on strained wrist: 'Hopefully, I can wake up tomorrow and it s gone' The Sun 6/8 Orioles notes: With Manny Machado out, Chris Davis gets 1st start at third base since 2014 The Sun 6/8 Orioles plotting possible path to major leagues this season for hard-throwing lefty Tanner Scott The Sun 6/8 Machado day to day after tests negative MLB.com 6/8 Orioles out to restock farm system in Draft MLB.com 6/8 Asher takes step backward vs. Nationals MLB.com 6/9 Bundy out to repeat Memorial Day gem in NY MLB.com 6/9 O s game blog: O s have won eight of 10 against Nats (O s lose 6-1) MASNsports.com 6/8 How do win-now O s approach the draft? (plus O s-yankees preview) MASNsports.com 6/9 Bullpen talk and tonight s matchups in the Bronx MASNsports.com 6/9 Showalter on Jones, Machado, Davis and more (O s down 6-1) MASNsports.com 6/8 Orioles 'Focused Very Acutely' On Pitching Heading Into First-Year Player Draft PressBoxOnline.com 6/8 Orioles Look To Lessen The Gap In AL East In Series Against Yankees CBS Baltimore 6/9 Venue matters as Yankees host Orioles CBS sports 6/9

2 Alec Asher struggles, Orioles strike out 12 times against Joe Ross in 6-1 loss to Nats By Jon Meoli/ The Sun June 8, 2017 Alec Asher hasn t had many easy assignments when the Orioles have used him as a starter, but he didn t make it easy on himself Thursday night against the high-flying Washington Nationals. The host Nationals batted around in a 41-pitch first inning, scoring four runs and helping themselves to an early, easy lead against the Orioles fifth starter on their way to a 6-1 win at Nationals Park. A lot of counts not in his favor, Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. He got ambushed a little bit in the first inning, and it really didn t look like we were going to mount much. Said Asher: I think my command got away from me a little bit. I fell behind a lot of hitters, and balls just started finding holes.... It s tough to stop momentum like that. The Orioles (31-27) split their season series against the Nats with each team winning both games at home. Asher has had starts like this before, including his first outing back in the rotation on May 28 in Houston, when the Astros scored six runs on six hits in two innings. He rebounded in between for a strong start against the Boston Red Sox, but it was trouble from the start again Thursday in a makeup game the Orioles looked like they had little interest being in town to play. Orioles' Manny Machado on strained wrist: 'Hopefully, I can wake up tomorrow and it s gone' He issued a four-pitch leadoff walk to shortstop Trea Turner, who promptly stole second base and third base before scoring on a single by right fielder Bryce Harper. The Nationals also scored on a single by reserve infielder Stephen Drew, and got a pair of runs on an RBI double by center fielder Michael A. Taylor to round out a big first inning. Turner also scored the fifth run of the night in the second inning, when he singled, went to second on a Harper walk, advanced to third base after a double steal and scored on a sacrifice fly by reserve first baseman Adam Lind. Because the Orioles needed to cover 8 1/3 innings of relief Wednesday and had several pitchers unavailable in the bullpen, Asher was made to stay in and take his lumps, ultimately exiting after allowing five runs on seven hits with four walks and six strikeouts in four innings. He gave way in the fifth inning to Ubaldo Jiménez, who allowed a home run to the first batter he faced before retiring the next seven in order and nine of 10 in three solid innings. House of cards: The Orioles lineup without third baseman Manny Machado (wrist) and center fielder Adam Jones (soreness) looked a little flimsy when it was posted, and it all but collapsed early against Nationals fifth starter Joe Ross. Ross, who entered with a 7.34 ERA in six starts this season, struck out 12 of the first 18 batters he faced, with the only blemishes in his first six innings being a two-out single by first baseman Mark Trumbo in the first and a single by right fielder Seth Smith in the sixth. The Orioles scraped together their only run of the game in the seventh inning, when Trumbo doubled to left-center field, went to third on a groundout and scored on a single by center fielder Joey Rickard to make it 6-1. Showalter didn t want to credit his own team s temporary ineptitude at the plate, instead focusing on Ross.

3 I m not going to take anything away from the young man, Showalter said. Obviously, he had a good night statistically and I m going to leave it at that. I m not going to try to start taking anything away from a young man s outing. Track meet: Asher s command problems didn t help matters, but the Nationals had no fear running on the battery of Asher and catcher Caleb Joseph. They stole five bases in the first three innings, including a double steal by Turner and Harper. Joseph had entered the day having caught six of 21 (29 percent) attempted base stealers, a solid figure. That plummeted quickly Thursday. Asher called the running game getting going on him frustrating, especially considering he hadn t faced a stolen-base attempt against all year. It was different, but you know, it s something I ve got to be better at, Asher said. O's bats sluggish in makeup game with Nats By Kyle Melnick and Mandy Bell / MLB.com June 8, 2017 WASHINGTON -- After pitching to a combined ERA in his past two starts, Nationals right-hander Joe Ross broke out of his slump against the Orioles on Thursday night. Ross allowed one run and recorded a career-high 12 strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings to lead the Nationals to a 6-1 win at Nationals Park in a makeup of a May 11 rainout. Ross returned from the Minor Leagues about three weeks ago after improving his arm slot. He had a tough time in two of his three starts since, but likely sealed his spot as the team's No. 5 starter with this performance, receiving a standing ovation as he exited. He credited his improved command to slowing down between pitches and not getting overwhelmed in pressure situations. "He was real calm, and we are all proud of him," Nationals manager Dusty Baker said. "That's the Joe Ross we've been waiting for." Washington stole five bases behind Ross, led by Trea Turner, who swiped a career-high three while hitting 3-for-4 and scoring two runs. Turner began the Nationals' four-run rally in the first inning by scoring after stealing two bases, while Stephen Drew notched his first two hits since returning from the disabled list on May one of which was a solo home run in the fifth inning. "It's frustrating," Orioles starter Alec Asher said of the Nationals' running game. "I don't know the exact stats, but I don't know if I've had a steal attempt on me all year. It was different, but, you know, it's something I've got to be better at." The Nationals, who have averaged runs in Ross' seven starts this season, chased Asher after four innings with three of their regulars getting a night off. The right-hander allowed five runs on seven hits, walked four and struck out six. "A lot of those guys, they want to play, and so when they get in the lineup... they play really well and play hard," Turner said. "That's all you can ask for. The ball bounced our way tonight." Joey Rickard plated Baltimore's run with an RBI single off Ross in the seventh. MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Chasing Turner: Before the game, Turner said that the Nationals got little rest after coming home from a nine-game California road trip, but he ensured his team didn't come out sluggish. After walking to begin the bottom of the first, Turner stole second and third base before scoring on Bryce Harper's single. That set the tone for the Nationals' offense, as Drew recorded his first

4 Major League hit since April 10 before Michael Taylor plated two runs with a double to give Washington a four-run cushion after the first frame. "We try to jump on the team early to give our pitchers some breathing room early," Baker said. "Doesn't always happen, but [Ross] got out of the early innings with a very low pitch count... which is what you want." Hey, Joe: Ross struck out the side in the fifth inning to notch his 10th K. It marked the second time in his career he notched a double-digit-strikeout game -- the last time coming on June 19, 2015, when he struck out 11 and allowed one run in the Nationals' 4-1 win over the Pirates. Despite having the worst ERA of his career, Ross began the night with his best strikeout rate per nine innings (8.5). Ross put the game ball in a glass container and displayed it in his locker with the date and strikeout total written in black marker. "Fastball command was good, and then following up with kind of sharp sliders throughout the game," Ross said of how he struck out 12. "Usually, it kind of starts well, and then toward the end of the game, as you get a little tired, your slider might fly down a little bit. It was pretty good throughout most of the game today." QUOTABLE "You could ask [the Nationals], too. We've had two extra-inning games and you jump up and get on a bus just like they get on a plane to cross the country. Usually, it boils down to the only people that get normal rest [are] the two starting pitchers. It usually boils down to whose starting pitcher pitches well." -- Orioles manager Buck Showalter, on the team's exhaustion after playing back-to-back extra-inning games "Eventually, he's going to take off, and it's going to be pretty hard to throw him out.... Luckily, I don't have that problem. Hopefully, we're on the same team for a while so I don't have to worry about that." -- Ross, on Turner SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS In the Nationals' past three games, their starters have a 0.89 ERA with 34 strikeouts and three walks. WHAT'S NEXT Orioles: The Orioles will travel to New York to start a three-game series against the Yankees on Friday. Baltimore will send Dylan Bundy to the mound. The righty is coming off his shortest outing of the season, going just five innings in a 5-2 loss to the Red Sox. First pitch is slated for 7:35 p.m. ET. Nationals: Tanner Roark will start for the second time against the Rangers, who drafted him in 2008, on Friday at 7:05 p.m. ET to open the three-game series. After falling behind in counts often earlier this season, the right-hander has allowed five runs while striking out 18 over 21 2/3 innings in his past three starts.

5 Ross fans 12, Drew homers as Nationals beat Orioles 6-1 By Associated Press June 8, 2017 WASHINGTON -- In a duel between two exhausted teams, the Washington Nationals received a sparkling performance from their starting pitcher. The Baltimore Orioles did not. And so, predictably, Washington breezed to a 6-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday night. Joe Ross had a career-high 12 strikeouts in an unexpectedly sharp outing, and the Nationals took control with a four-run first inning against Alec Asher (2-4). The game was a makeup of a rainout on May 11, and it was painfully apparent that neither team was happy about giving up an off day to participate in the delayed finale of the so-called Beltway Series. Washington was coming off a nine-game, 10-day trip to the West Coast, and the Orioles had just finished playing two straight bullpen-draining, emotionally charged games against Pittsburgh. "We've had two extra-inning games and you jump up and get on a bus, just like they get on a plane to cross the country," Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said. "Usually it boils down to the only people that get normal rest -- and that's the two starting pitchers." Ross (3-2), by far, was the better of the two: He gave up one run and four hits over 7 1/3 innings, walked none, twice struck out the side and carried a two-hit shutout into the seventh. "Tried to execute and keep the ball down," Ross said. "Kind of made an adjustment from the last couple of starts." The right-hander entered with a 7.34 ERA after giving up a combined 12 runs and 19 hits in his previous two starts. "He was calm. That's what stood out," manager Dusty Baker said. Baker was equally impressed by the manner in which his team played following a cross-country flight that carried well past midnight. "This team comes to play. They don't complain about anything, which is what I like," Baker said. "I don't really like complainers. My dad didn't like complainers." Stephen Drew homered into the second deck in right field and Trea Turner had three hits and a career-best three stolen bases for the Nationals, who scored five runs in four innings against Asher. The Orioles played without third baseman Manny Machado, who sustained hand and wrist injuries upon being spiked on a double steal Wednesday night against Pittsburgh. Showalter also rested center fielder Adam Jones. Baker, similarly, allowed three players to get their rest anyway: Ryan Zimmerman, Anthony Rendon and Daniel Murphy were not in the starting lineup. The replacements, as well as the usual suspects, did just fine.

6 Turner walked and stole two bases in the first inning before scoring on an infield hit by Bryce Harper. Michael Taylor added a two-run double, and the Nationals were on their way to evening the season series against their neighboring rivals at 2-2. "We put some at-bats together in the first inning and that was kind of the difference," Turner said. "Drew had a homer late, but that first inning was huge for us and let Joe settle in and pitch really well." Drew made it 6-1 in the fifth when he lined Ubaldo Jimenez's second pitch of the game into the right-field seats. HARPER RIPS IT Harper literally knocked the cover off the ball -- to a degree anyway -- in the second inning. The slugger hit a foul ball off the plate. The impact tore away part of the baseball. After the bounce, the ball flopped and twirled outside the third base line. TRAINER'S ROOM Orioles: Machado had an MRI and X-ray that revealed no extensive damage. "Just sore," Showalter said. "Hopefully it's day to day. Though he didn't dodge the slide, it looks like we might have avoided some more extensive damage." Nationals: OF Jayson Werth still has swelling in his bruised foot and won't be coming off the DL anytime soon. "It's not going to be quick," Baker said.... LHP Sammy Solis threw a 40-pitch rehab assignment Wednesday in Florida.... RHP Joe Blanton (shoulder inflammation) began his rehabilitation assignment by pitching one shutout inning for Double-A Harrisburg. UP NEXT Orioles: Dylan Bundy (6-4, 2.93 ERA) takes on the New York Yankees on Friday night in the opener of a three-game series in the Bronx. The Orioles are against the AL East, including 7-2 against New York. Nationals: Washington continues interleague play when Texas comes to town Friday night. Rangers 2008 draft pick Tanner Roark (6-2, 3.95 ERA) will start for the Nationals. Adam Jones, Manny Machado Sit Out While Orioles Lose To Nationals By Rich Dubroff/ PressBoxOnline.com June 9, 2017 WASHINGTON -- Adam Jones and Manny Machado did something extraordinarily unusual June 8. They watched a game together from the Orioles' bench. With the Orioles' star center fielder and third baseman out with injuries, and both not playing for the first time since Sept. 26, 2014, a hastily stitched together team had one of its worst offensive performances of the season. In Machado's place at third base was Chris Davis. It was the first time Davis had played there since Sept. 10, 2014, and Mark Trumbo played first base for the first time this season. Due to back-to-back extra-inning games, the Orioles were operating with a short bullpen, and the injuries gave them a limited bench.

7 The result was a 6-1 loss to the Washington Nationals before 37,833 at Nationals Park. Many of those in attendance for the makeup of a game originally scheduled for May 11, but rained out, were Orioles fans, who saw a noncompetitive contest. Machado was out with a strained left wrist. He was injured June 7, when Pittsburgh's Andrew McCutchen slid into him on a stolen base attempt. Machado walked around the clubhouse with a brace on the wrist. "I'm just seeing how I respond tomorrow. It's day-by-day," Machado said. "Tonight it's feeling a little better than I was last night. Hopefully, it's like that tomorrow. This is the type of injury you have to see how it goes, and time will only tell." Machado had missed only one other game this season. "He got me pretty good. I'm pretty sore," Machado said. "I haven't been this sore in a long time. Hopefully, I can wake up tomorrow and it's gone, and be able to play this weekend. "But we've just got to see how it is. Hopefully, it gets better. It's been getting better, so I kind of told the trainers yesterday, it wasn't looking good last night. It just kept getting worse as the night went on, and I woke up this morning and it was a lot better. Hopefully, it's healing quickly, and I can get that bruise out of there." The injury occurred in the second inning, but Machado stayed in, then left the game in the fourth inning. "I thought I could stay in," Machado said. "I felt sore, obviously. I just got hit. I was a little sore, but I tried to stay in there. "I tried to grind it out, and once I went to go pick up a bat, I took a swing in the cage, and I felt fine. Then the next inning, I went back out there, and I just felt it getting tight on me. I wasn't able to pick up a bat. I'm not going to harm the team. I'm not going to go up there and struggle when someone else can come in and take my place and do something better than what I can that day." Manager Buck Showalter said before the game he was relieved when he heard the report on Machado. "It looks like, though he didn't dodge the slide, it looks like we may have dodged some more extensive damage," Showalter said. "We'll see how it manages. We'll see what his availability is as the day and days go on." Jones, who missed four games with hip and ankle soreness late last month, was also held out. "You know, he played two extra-inning games," Showalter said before the game. "We had two challenging games, pretty sore. I talked with him. I decided that he needs to get a day off his legs. [Twenty-one] innings running around center field." Afterward, Showalter remained cautious about the five-time All-Star. "We'll see what tomorrow brings, we'll see if tonight was enough," Showalter said. ORIOLES CAN'T TOUCH ROSS: Nationals right-hander Joe Ross, in his first start against the Orioles, struck out a career-high 12 batters in 7.1 innings. Trumbo, who had two of the four hits against Ross, was the only Oriole who didn't strike out against him. Trumbo did strike out in the ninth against Blake Treinen. Overall, the Orioles struck out 15 times. ASHER'S NIGHT: Alec Asher threw 100 pitches in four innings and allowed five runs on seven hits. The right-hander gave up four in the first inning.

8 "I thought Ash's stuff was pretty good. He finally started using the curveball a little bit more," Showalter said. "But a lot of counts not in his favor, and he got ambushed a little bit in the first inning and it didn't look like we were going to mount much." Washington stole five bases against Asher, three by shortstop Trea Turner. Asher had allowed just one stolen base in his previous 25 major league appearances. "It's frustrating," Asher said. "It's something I've got to be better at." JIMENEZ COMES IN: Ubaldo Jimenez relieved Asher, and though he allowed a home run to Nationals third baseman Stephen Drew on his second pitch, he gave the rest of the bullpen a needed rest. The right-hander, who Asher supplanted in the rotation, didn't give up a hit after Drew's home run and struck out five in three innings. NO BULLPEN MOVE: After playing two extra-inning games, Showalter said the Orioles might need to add a reliever. They decided not to, even though right-hander Mike Wright pitched 3.1 scoreless innings June 7 and might not be available for a few days. "One of the reasons is I and we don't like sending out guys who are doing a good job, and that's what I keep telling the guys that we do have," Showalter said. "Mike Wright didn't deserve to go out, and that would have been the guy, and I'd rather try to get through tonight and keep a good piece and see if he's back in the next day or two and see if he can continue to pitch well in this role." REHAB FOR CASTILLO: Welington Castillo is set to go on a one-game rehab assignment June 9. The catcher, who suffered a testicular injury May 30, is scheduled to catch seven innings for Bowie in Trenton, N.J. Castillo is eligible to be activated from the 10-day disabled list June 10. COMING UP: The Orioles open a three-game series at Yankee Stadium beginning June 9. Right-hander Dylan Bundy (6-4, 2.93) will face left-hander Jordan Montgomery (3-4, 3.67). Nats do lots of running in makeup game, beat O s 6-1 (with quotes) By Roch Kubatko/ MASNsports.com June 8, 2017 WASHINGTON - Signs that your starter is struggling in the first inning include a pitch count that reaches 41 and a phone call to the bullpen that causes Ubaldo Jiménez to remove his jacket and grab his glove. It happened tonight at Nationals Park, where the Orioles collective mood matched a blue sky earlier in the day that kept the tarp off the field and lessened the chances of another random postponement. The Orioles really could have used the break. Their third baseman was nursing a sore wrist and hand, their center fielder was resting his sore legs, their first baseman moved across the diamond for the first time in three years and Alec Asher didn t know whether he had stumbled into a baseball game or a track meet.

9 The Nationals built a sizable early lead while Asher kept groping for his command and the Orioles absorbed a 6-1 loss before an announced crowd of 37,833. Asher allowed five runs and seven hits in four innings, with four walks and six strikeouts. He also was on the mound for five stolen bases in the first three innings, including a career-high three for Trea Turner. Asher and Wade Miley combined to work 6 2/3 innings the past two nights. Meanwhile, the much-maligned Joe Ross put in a surprise bid for Cy Young Award by holding the Orioles to one run and four hits, walking none and striking out 12 in 7 1/3 innings. Joey Rickard broke up the shutout bid with a two-out RBI single in the seventh. The Nationals sent nine batters to the plate in the first and led 4-0, with Bryce Harper and Stephen Drew contributing RBI singles and Michael A. Taylor delivering a two-run double. They saw 41 pitches from Asher. Adam Lind lifted a sacrifice fly in the second after Turner and Bryce Harper executed a double steal. Turner s three steals came in two innings, the first following a four-pitch walk. Taylor swiped second base in the third inning after reaching on a fielder s choice. The Nats offered to set up hurdles on the base paths to create more of a challenge, but the call was overturned. But seriously... The record for steals against the Orioles is eight on Sept. 27, 1965 against Kansas City and Aug. 1, 1998 in Kansas City. Jiménez sat down after the first inning, which ended with Ross taking a called third strike. Ross did the same to end the third on Asher s 83rd pitch of the night. Ross was much better on the mound. And few people have uttered those words. Ross retired 17 of the first 18 batters, with Mark Trumbo dumping a single into right field with two outs in the first inning. He struck out the side in the second and fifth innings and had a career-high 12 by the sixth. Same guy who had a 7.34 ERA before tonight. Seth Smith registered the Orioles second hit with a two-out single in the sixth inning, but he was stranded. Trumbo led off the seventh with a double and scored on Rickard s single. Jiménez warmed again in the fourth after Turner s leadoff single. Turner was forced at second, ending his run of steals. Harper doubled to left field on a check swing against the shift to put two in scoring position with one out, but Lind and Matt Wieters struck out. Asher had reached 100 pitches. Jiménez sat down, then began to warm again in the top of the fifth. Jiménez entered the game in the bottom half and his second pitch, to Drew, landed in the second deck in right field to give Washington a 6-0 lead. The night just wasn t going to get any better for the Orioles other than avoiding a shutout. Jiménez retired nine of the next 10 batters, with Trumbo s fielding error allowing Wieters to reach. He struck out five. The loss lowered the Orioles record to overall and on the road. They ve got three games in New York and four in Chicago. They ve got to get a better start out of Dylan Bundy on Friday night at Yankee Stadium.

10 Manny Machado updating his hand/wrist: I m just seeing how I respond tomorrow. It s day by day. Tonight it s feeling a little better than I was last night. Hopefully, it s like that tomorrow. This is the type of injury you have to see how it goes and time will only tell. Machado on whether it s more wrist or hand: I think it s a little both. It s kind of in between, so it s kind of sore in a tender spot, a little weird spot right in between them. It s even hard to move it up and down. But like I said, it s just, time will tell how I ll heal from it. The good thing is that it s feeling a lot better today than it was yesterday. Machado on whether he thinks he can avoid DL: You know what? He got me pretty good. I m pretty sore. I haven t been this sore in a long time. Hopefully, I can wake up tomorrow and it s gone and be able to play this weekend. But we ve just got to see how it is. Hopefully, it gets better. It s been getting better, so I kind of told the trainers yesterday, it wasn t looking good last night. It just kept getting worse as the night went on, and I woke up this morning and it was a lot better. Hopefully, it s healing quickly and I can get that bruise out of there. Machado on what happened to make him leave game in fourth: I thought I could stay in. I felt sore, obviously. I just got hit. I was a little sore, but I tried to stay in there. I tried to grind it out, and once I went to go pick up a bat, I took a swing in the cage and I felt fine. Then the next inning, I went back out there and I just felt it getting tight on me. I wasn t able to pick up a bat. I m not going to harm the team. I m not going to go up there and struggle when someone else can come in and take my place and do something better than what I can that day. Machado on whether wrist is still sore from opening day: This is just the impact. I think it s more impact than anything else. I m not really sure. I can t read no MRI, but it s just something that s just bruised up. It caught me in a good spot, right in between the wrist and the hand. That s just something that we re going to have to see how it plays out. Machado on whether he heard from Andrew McCutchen: He told me once I fell down, he went over and told me, My bad. I know he didn t mean to do it, but it s just part of the game. This is how we play. We play hard, we go out there and I was joking around that if Caleb (Joseph) didn t make a good throw, this wouldn t have happened. It was just an unfortunate play that just happened how it is. He tapped me and he said, Sorry, and we went about our business. Manager Buck Showalter on Asher: Just command early. He got a little better but then his pitch count was so high. There were what, 26 strikeouts tonight? Seems like everyone throws nowadays. I thought Ash s stuff was pretty good. He finally started using the curveball a little bit more. But a lot of counts not in his favor and he got ambushed a little bit in the first inning and it didn t look like we were going to mount much. Showalter on Ross: I m not going to take anything away from the young man. Evidently, obviously he had a good night statistically and I m going to leave it at that. I m not going to start trying to take something away from a young man s good outing. I m sure he s capable of that and they think a lot of him. Showalter on whether his team is tired: You could ask them, too. We ve had two extra-inning games and you jump up and get on a bus just like they get on a plane to cross the country. Usually, it boils down to the only people that get normal rest, and that s the two starting pitchers. It usually boils down to whose starting pitcher pitches well. Showalter on the mental effect of losing the off-day: They re professionals. It s part of the gig and if don t understand it, I know our guys do. That s why every chance you get to play a game that might get called off, you play it because you know you pay the piper down the road. There s (repercussions) from everything. You get short starts from your starter, it affects everything. You get rain outs, it affects doubleheaders. That s one of the advantages that teams with roofs have. They never play a doubleheader at home.

11 There s point-counterpoint on all of it. It s a sport where it doesn t affect you that night, you pay the piper down the road. And that s true for both teams. The one guy that s got normal rest is the pitchers, so usually whose starting pitcher pitches the best comes out ahead. Showalter on Jones and Machado: Jonesy, those last two games. I was talking about cause and effect, it takes a toll on you. So, talking to him, I and we thought it was best that we give him a day. We ll see what tomorrow brings, we ll see if tonight was enough. A little bit better turnaround. This was like playing a day game after a night game today after that. Manny is the old day-to-day, but he told Richie (Bancells) this morning that he wasn t as sore as expected to be. He does have a little wrist soreness there actually from the lick there. We ll see where it is tomorrow. I think it s too early to project what the next couple of days are going to bring. I m hoping we get in tomorrow and Manny and Adam are back in there. But if they re not healthy enough, I feel like, they ll sit again. Asher on first inning: You know, I think my command got away from me a little bit. You know, I fell behind a lot of hitters and balls just started finding holes. Asher on impact of 41-pitch inning: It s tough. You never want to throw that many pitches in one inning. You never want to give up four runs in an inning. You just kind of try to clean the slate and move forward. Asher on what was different tonight: I think just command issues a little bit. Just falling behind a lot of guys. Like I said, balls found holes and it s tough to stop momentum like that. Asher on needing to find consistency: You know, just trust the process and go about our business and your game plan. Trust that you re good enough to make pitches and get guys out. Asher on impact of running game: It s frustrating. I don t know the exact stats, but I don t know if I ve had a steal attempt on me all year. It was different, but, you know, it s something I got to be better at. Pitfalls of a depleted Orioles lineup could be exposed without Manny Machado By Jon Meoli/ The Sun June 9, 2017 Orioles manager Buck Showalter said he likes to take the season in thirds, at least when measuring and projecting offensive production. And with 57 games under the Orioles' belt and the one-third mark of the season just passed, Showalter offered an interesting opinion on an offense he says might be balanced to a fault. Even before his recent wrist injury, third baseman Manny Machado wasn t exactly setting a hot pace and carrying the team like he has for much of the past two years. Neither was last year s home run king, Mark Trumbo, or the man who held that crown the year before, Chris Davis. Instead, leaving Thursday night s clunker in Washington, the Orioles had six players with at least 25 RBIs and four with at least 10 home runs, plus rookie Trey Mancini and Trumbo right behind them with nine and eight, respectively. I look at seasons in thirds, Showalter said Wednesday. A lot of people look at them in halves. I do them in months from a pitching standpoint and I do them in thirds for a team standpoint. If you take a guy with 25 RBIs and you multiply it by three, what kind of year? For some guys, what position are they? That s what guys think: what kind of year they re having. But if you can

12 spread that around and have multiple guys doing it, it kind of absorbs the blow of maybe not having one or two guys at their normal capacity. For the Orioles, that has helped them weather some difficult stretches when they ve expected better from several top contributors. But instead they've seen things cluster at the top of their team batting charts. Machado, at the time of his injury, was batting.213/.289/.430 with 12 home runs and 27 RBIs. Davis 13 home runs lead the club and he has 25 RBIs to his name, but is batting.228/.321/.461. Trumbo s.268/.329/.416 line with eight home runs features better on-base numbers but less power than last year, and center fielder Adam Jones has 11 home runs and 28 RBIs but has slipped to.259/.300/.436 after a hot start. That means the likes of second baseman Jonathan Schoop (.286/.336/.519 with 10 home runs and a team-high 31 RBIs) and Mancini (nine home runs and 30 RBIs while batting.290/.331/.531) aren t a luxury that supplements a strong core they re forming the consistent core themselves. Overall, the Orioles offense has been a middle-of-the-road one through the first two-plus months. They re 18th in runs (260), 19th in OPS (.732) and even eighth in home runs with 83. And that s a category they usually dominate in. Machado s struggles before his wrist became a problem were certainly a factor in that. But Showalter was already considering a world where someone like Machado didn t break out and reach his normal levels before Wednesday s game, so his assessment of the offense s perceived balance with him is interesting to read in the context of a possible stretch without him. I don t know about hope, or say, We re going to find out,' Showalter said Wednesday. Sometimes, people say, This guy is just having a down time right now. Sometimes, it lasts all year. It does. Sometimes, people have a down year and in order to absorb that, you have to have some other people pick up the slack. This is hard. But I m not one of those guys that says, 'It s something we ve got to be patient with.' You have to be patient, but sometimes it doesn t come. Now, the patience will be required not waiting for a Machado breakout at the plate, but a Machado return from what sounds like a painful wrist injury. And in the meantime, now more than even a day or two ago, the Orioles need someone to break out from the pack. Orioles' Manny Machado on strained wrist: 'Hopefully, I can wake up tomorrow and it s gone' By Jon Meoli/ The Sun June 8, 2017 Orioles third baseman Manny Machado sat out Thursday night s 6-1 loss to the Washington Nationals after an MRI revealed a strained left wrist, according to an industry source. The injury came Wednesday when Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen slid into third base on an attempted steal and caught Machado flush on the glove on his left hand, puncturing the skin and leaving a deep bruise while bending the wrist back violently. He didn t dodge the slide, it looks like we might have dodged some more extensive damage, Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. After Thursday s game, however, Machado said it was something they d monitor each day, and it improved since Wednesday night. But his description of what he was feeling overshadowed any optimism of a quick return.

13 You know what? Machado said. He got me pretty good. I m pretty sore. I haven t been this sore in a long time. Hopefully, I can wake up tomorrow and it s gone, and be able to play this weekend. But we ve just got to see how it is. Hopefully, it gets better. It s been getting better, so I kind of told the trainers yesterday, it wasn t looking good last night. It just kept getting worse as the night went on, and I woke up this morning and it was a lot better. Hopefully, it s healing quickly and I can get that bruise out of there. The team announced that Machado left Wednesday night s walk-off win over the Pirates with left wrist soreness, though Showalter downplayed that aspect of it after the game. Showalter said Wednesday that Machado had an X-ray at the ballpark, which was negative, but noted a pretty deep gash and his hand was pretty deeply bruised. He conceded Thursday that while his MRI was good, the wrist was also a problem. It s because it pushed it back, Showalter said. The initial was the puncture wound, but through that, he s going to be sore in a lot of places. So there is some wrist involved. They put it in a splint just to be able to keep the inactivity there. He did take it off to get it treated. I know that he ll sleep with it on, just trying to keep it immobile. Machado described the pain in a dangerous place for a hitter right in between his hand and his wrist. I think it s a little both, Machado said. It s kind of in between, so it s kind of sore in a tender spot, a little weird spot right in between them. It s even hard to move it up and down. Time will tell how I ll heal from it. The good thing is that it s feeling a lot better today than it was yesterday. Machado said that after the impact Wednesday night, he felt fine to stay in the game at the moment and took a swing in the batting cage in the bottom half of the second inning that felt fine. But when he went out to the field for the third inning, Machado just felt it getting tight." I wasn t able to pick up a bat, he said. I m not going to harm the team. I m not going to go up there and struggle when someone else can come in and take my place and do something better than what I can that day. It s not the first scare with Machado s wrist this season. On Opening Day, he made the first in a season s worth of highlight-reel plays while diving toward third base. But when he came down to the ground, his wrist bent back hard and he had it heavily iced after the game. Given Machado s struggles at the plate this season he s batting a career-low.213/.289/.430 with 12 home runs and 27 RBIs some have wondered whether there was an underlying problem with that wrist. Machado has spent most of the season selling out for pull-side power and rarely using the whole field. Trying to yank the ball to left field as Machado has done is one way to compensate for an injury that s limiting bat speed, such as a wrist. Showalter said this isn t an aggravation of something pre-existing, as far as he knows. That was all related to the slide, Showalter said. He hasn t told us that it was sore, but it could have been. Unfortunate things happen with slides that there s really no intent with. It s a risk you take every day. Machado, too, said it was about this impact and nothing before. I can t read no MRI, but it s just something that s just bruised up, he said. It caught me in a good spot, right in between the wrist and the hand. That s just something that we re going to have to see how it plays out. The Orioles lineup without him took on an odd look, with Machado and center fielder Adam Jones out and no designated hitter in a National League park. But the team is also without

14 steadfast bench infielder Ryan Flaherty, who would be used as a deputy to Machado in situations like this. Paul Janish also played at third base some last season while Machado was standing in at shortstop for J.J. Hardy. But Janish was designated for assignment earlier this week for new utility infielder Rubén Tejada, who took over for Machado on Wednesday but didn't play Thursday. It has all created a logistical headache for Showalter, who not only doesn t really have a readymade fill-in for his three-time All-Star third baseman, but knows his team can t afford to be missing him for long. After Thursday s game, Showalter said he d evaluate Machado s availability once the team got to Yankee Stadium on Friday. Manny is the old day-to-day, but he told [head athletic trainer Richie Bancells] this morning that he wasn t as sore as expected to be, Showalter said. He does have a little wrist soreness there actually from the lick there. We ll see where it is tomorrow. I think it s too early to project what the next couple of days are going to bring. I m hoping we get in tomorrow and Manny and Adam are back in there. Orioles notes: With Manny Machado out, Chris Davis gets 1st start at third base since 2014 By Eduardo A. Encina/ The Sun June 8, 2017 With starter Manny Machado (strained left wrist) out Thursday against the Washington Nationals, Orioles manager Buck Showalter's decision to give Chris Davis his first start at third base since 2014 was precipitated by playing an interleague game in a National League park without the benefit of having a designated hitter. Even though Davis hasn't played third since Sept. 10, 2014, he has the most experience at the position among the Orioles' available options, making 85 previous major league starts there. "I think he's started over 300 games there, counting the minor leagues," Showalter said of Davis. "I'm not particularly happy about having to do it, but it's kind of where we are as a club, and because of some of the things that happened the last few days, and because of no DH." But playing in an NL park, Showalter needed the bench maneuverability to make substitutions later in the game, so he kept the team's only utility infielder, Rubén Tejada, on the bench. "There are a lot of things we have to prepare for in a game like this," Showalter said. "He was the guy [we selected]. I talked to him about it today. It was either him or [Mark] Trumbo, or Tejada, but we needed him for versatility." Davis made 19 starts at third base in 2014, most of them coming late in the season after Machado's year ended because of a knee injury. Davis had an.886 fielding percentage at third that season, committing four errors in 35 chances. Besides Machado, center fielder Adam Jones was also out of the starting lineup Thursday. Showalter cited Jones being sore after playing the entirety of two consecutive extra-inning games. Jones missed four games late last month with a sore left ankle and hip, but had three homers and seven RBIs in his first seven games after returning.

15 "We had two challenging games," Showalter said. "He's pretty sore. Just talking with him, I decided that he should get a day off today. Hopefully, he'll be available later on in the game and tomorrow." Bullpen remaining intact: The Orioles avoided making a roster move before Thursday's makeup game in Washington, even though the bullpen accounted for 81/3 innings in the Orioles' 9-6 extra-inning win Wednesday night. The most likely candidate to be optioned to Triple-A Norfolk was right-hander Mike Wright, who tossed 31/3 scoreless innings after starting pitcher Wade Miley's exit in the third. "One of the reasons is, I and we don't like sending out guys who are doing a really good turn and a good job," Showalter said. "That's what I keep telling the guys that we do have. Mike Wright didn't deserve to go out, and that would have been the guy. I'd rather try to get through tonight, keep him with the team, see if he's back the next day or two and see if he can continue to pitch in this role that he's seemed to have done well [in] so far." Wright gave the Orioles his most productive and deepest outing of the season Wednesday. Holding the game close allowed the Orioles to come from behind in the later innings to beat the Pirates in extras. It was Wright's first scoreless outing since May 31 in his first appearance of the season. Earlier this season, optionable relievers were rewarded with tickets back to Norfolk after providing needed length out of the bullpen in order to keep the relief corps fresh. Right-hander Logan Verrett was sent out the day after earning extra-inning wins in relief on two separate occasions. But Showalter said he hopes the addition of right-hander Edwin Jackson, who allowed a two-run homer in a 22/3-inning relief appearance Wednesday in his Orioles debut, will help. Showalter went into Thursday's game believing Jackson could pitch for a second straight night even though the veteran threw 44 pitches Wednesday. "In a perfect world, we add a pitcher, but I'd be surprised if Edwin can't pitch today," Showalter said. "It's kind of been his M.O. Edwin is a good example yesterday of a guy who may not have come in and struck everybody out, but he didn't implode. He gave up a home run, but he got right back in there with strike one. So that's something that you're looking for not necessarily a guy who is always going to be perfect but shows the experience and the veteran that he is. He's always been a really resilient guy." Tejada ready to help: Tejada, who joined the Orioles on Tuesday, was left on the bench Thursday, but said he's "ready no matter what" if he's asked to spell Machado for an extended period. "If there's the opportunity to help the team, I have to be ready," Tejada said. "I hope he gets well, gets better soon, but we're here to help each other. That's why we're here, and I'm ready to go out there and do my job, too." Tejada went 0-for-4 with a strikeout after replacing Machado on Wednesday, but entered Thursday with a career.252 major league batting average with a.646 OPS in parts of eight seasons, mostly with the New York Mets. He has experience at second base, shortstop and third base, though he has played just 43 of his 617 career games at third. He played all over the infield for the New York Yankees' Triple-A affiliate in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre before the Orioles acquired him, and said he's just as used to third as he is the other positions. "I feel good," Tejada said. "I have two or three years playing different positions, so it's nothing new. I just keep doing the same." Around the horn: Showalter said the club is considering sending catcher Welington Castillo to Trenton, N.J., on Friday for a minor league rehabilitation assignment to play seven innings for Double-A Bowie. Castillo, currently on the disabled list with a testicular injury suffered when

16 getting hit by a deflected pitch, would accompany the team to New York and then report to Trenton. He is eligible to be activated from the DL on Saturday. After returning home from the West Coast on Wednesday, the Nationals gave several key starters a day off Thursday. First baseman Ryan Zimmerman, third baseman Anthony Rendon and second baseman Daniel Murphy did not start for the Nats. Orioles plotting possible path to major leagues this season for hard-throwing lefty Tanner Scott By Jon Meoli/ The Sun June 8, 2017 When Orioles minor league left-hander Tanner Scott takes the mound for the Double-A Bowie Baysox on Thursday night at Reading as a starting pitcher, it will be as part of an early-season plan to get the hard-throwing reliever into a better routine to repeat his delivery and work on his slider in longer outings. It s a plan that has worked so well that the team is already talking about just how long before it looks toward the end goal making Scott an impactful major league reliever. Orioles director of player development Brian Graham said Monday that it ll be at some point this year when Scott resumes a normal bullpen role with an eye toward moving him up to Triple-A Norfolk or even the major league roster. He and major league pitching coach Roger McDowell laid it out over the weekend, he said. Roger McDowell and I had a conversation about it [Sunday], as a matter of fact, about Tanner and the projection of him going to the big leagues and how long he needs to go to be a straight bullpen guy, 15 pitches warmup then come in the game, before we feel comfortable that he s ready to do that, Graham said. The pitch development, the bullpen session in between every fifth day starting for three innings has been a huge, huge factor. The bullpen day has been a huge factor. He s done great work in the bullpen, and he gets himself on track timing-wise and mechanically, where he needs to be. It s been a very good, well-executed plan. The plan, which involves Scott making three-inning starts every fifth game with a bullpen day in between to work on his delivery and hone his breaking ball, has worked well according to evaluators in the organization and external ones. Graham said it s been a great project, and Tanner Scott has made tremendous strides. I saw him pitch Friday night, and the fastball is in the strike zone fastballs to both sides of the plate, fastballs down in the strike zone and a slider for strikes, Graham said. One American League scout said Scott was the best pitcher he s seen all season in the minors, with a present 75 grade and a future 80 grade on the scouting scale on his fastball, which he had averaging 98 mph and topping out at 100 mph in that look. He said the slider could be a future 70 pitch as well, and said his command has improved with both. Another American League scout has a similar grade on his fastball, and said the slider is above average as well. The scouting consensus has Scott as a high-leverage reliever and possibly a closer. The velocity and his upside as a back-end reliever made him a player frequently asked about by other teams in trade talks last season, and likely will again this year. When your velocity is mph and you can throw a slider behind that for a strike, you have a fighting chance to be successful at the highest level, and Tanner has worked very hard to get to where he is. He s doing a great job, the scout said.