Chen exits in fourth inning, Showalter on today's trades

Wei-Yin Chen is done after 3 1/3 innings tonight, allowing a run in the first, another in the second, a two-run shot from J.D. Martinez in the third and back-to-back homers by James McCann and Jefry Marte in the fourth to fall behind the Tigers 6-0 at Camden Yards.

Chen hadn't allowed more than three runs in a start since May 20 vs. the Mariners, when he surrendered a season-high four. The three home runs also are a season high.

The 3 1/3 innings tied his career low. Mike Wright replaced Chen with a runner on first and one out.

Chen performed damage control in the first after Rajai Davis doubled, Jose Iglesias singled and Ian Kinsler produced an RBI single. He induced a double play grounder from Victor Martinez and struck out Martinez.

McCann singled with one out in the second and scored on Marte's double. Kinsler singled with one out in the third and came home on Martinez's blast to left field.

MASN cameras showed outfielder Gerardo Parra shaking hands in the Orioles' dugout. He's in uniform and available to play.

Starved for more quotes? How about a batch of them from manager Buck Showalter's pregame session with the media?

On Parra:
"Parra, that's one of those that should work out real well for both clubs. We got a good player back and gave up a good pitching prospect. I've always been a fan of his. We played him out there last year. I know he won a Gold Glove in left and right. Having a big year offensively. He plays the game like our fans like to see it played. He fits us and kind of who we have to be to be competitive."

On whether Parra will play left field:
"I think he is capable of both. He's won Gold Gloves in both. I will sit down with him at some point. I want to hear from him. I talked to probably 20 people about him in the last week. I got a pretty good grip, but it's better off to talk to the player. Capable of hitting in a lot of spots in the lineup and he's handled himself well against left-handed pitching this year. Smart, looking forward to his addition. It's another good tribute to our scouting department and player development with Zach (Davies), and they got a good pitching prospect. We got a guy that just turned 28 years old, started the year at 27, and is hopefully getting into the prime of his career. He really likes to play and likes to compete, and more importantly, everyone said he likes winning. He should fit in well."

On Bud Norris:
"Very instrumental in our success last year. It's a real reminder about how things snowball mentally and emotionally. He's physically fine and someone is going to pick him up and he's going to pitch well for them. Sometimes you ask yourself, 'Is it going to happen today or this year?' I think Bud needs a fresh start and he's going to pitch well for whoever picks him up. He's going to pitch well for somebody next year. He's healthy and strong, just needs a fresh start. I think this is actually a blessing for him because he needs to be pitching, whether it's out of the bullpen or whatever. He doesn't have to be starting, but just never really got going from spring training on. He had a couple decent games, but nothing like we knew he was capable of. He's got some real good pitching ahead of him, but it just wasn't going to happen here."

On why Norris struggled:
"I'm not going to get into contract years and all that. Some people handle that real well and some don't. We tried so many things and I think being the competitor Bud is, he probably won't think that, but in the long run this will be a good move for him. We wish him well. He was such a contributor for us last year. Kept waiting for him to get a couple starts under his belt and take off, kind of like Tilly (Chris Tillman), but it never happened. We got to the point where we just couldn't continue down that road."

On difficulty of parting with Tommy Hunter:
"Tommy never has a bad day. A very infectious personality and he could pitch. He will help the Cubs. I'm glad it's to a place that is competitive. It's not that they want it any more than us. He's also a lot closer to his mom, which is great for him. That's a tough one. These aren't pieces of meat. When you're with them all the time and you hear people talk about them the way it does this time of year, it really flies all over me because his wife is 7 1/2 months pregnant. He makes it easier with how upbeat he is about it. He was picking us up in there. I know Dom (Chiti) and Dave (Wallace) and I, it's tough. You go through the battles that you go through together, the ups and down, it's tough to not have that there. There are some other things that it does for the organization. You have to support those things and what's good for the organization."

On Mychal Givens:
"Mychal was right up the road in Bowie. It happened quickly and he's on the roster. We have some other options there, on and off the roster. We think Mychal has a chance to help us and also give us a better idea about where we are as we go forward with him. There is always a possibility of something else going on, but right now I am planning on him pitching out of our bullpen for the foreseeable future. I hope it's the last time he's in the minor leagues."

On advantage of now having two optionable relievers:
"I don't want to get to the point where we have to option somebody. I hope we pitch well enough where that doesn't come into play. That's a little bit of it, but a very small part of it. Mike Wright will be here before the game, too. His day to pitch is today. We will make sure Chris (Tillman) is fine to pitch for Monday. We have to cover that, too. He has some ankle soreness, but seems to be managing that real well. There are a lot of sidebars to this move to make sure we are covered. If we have seven really good relievers and five really good starters, we don't have to worry about optioning, but we know that's almost impossible from the injury standpoint and everything else. It does help on the surface if you want to do that, but we're almost a month away from 40-man call ups."

On Parra batting leadoff:
"He's an option. He is doing real well at that role and other roles. I look at him as an ability to hit three or four spots if we wanted to. I'd love to get him locked into one. Believe me, I would like to run the same lineup and same order out there, which we have in the past when we get it kind of going. I hope this helps some."

On whether this is a better team today than yesterday:
"I think so. I hope so. I'm not getting too deep right now. I'm trying to win tonight's ballgame in nine innings. That other stuff, we all think about in our down time, but there are a lot of things contingent on signing players. Next year is next year. We're trying to win a world championship this year. That's the situation we're in."

On Junior Lake:
"I looked at him some in the media guide, looked at some reports on him. I don't know a whole lot. Bobby Dickerson had him years ago, Cooley (Scott Coolbaugh) may have had him in a fall league, I know Dom scouted him in winter league I think for years. Ryan Flaherty roomed with him. Then you have the analytical part of it."

On whether he needs to soothe hurt feelings in clubhouse over Hunter leaving:
"A lot of it you've already done. They probably knew about it. They can keep a secret, too. They knew what was going on for the most part. There aren't many secrets in the game within the players and other clubs. They knew a lot of what was going on. Maybe they may not seek it out online, but they have so many friends that are feeding them all this stuff."