Hearing from Showalter, Norris, Flaherty and Lough after 9-5 win
By Roch Kubatko
NEW YORK - The Orioles posted their 95th victory today, the most since the 1997 team won 98 games. They're 43-2 in their last 45 games when scoring four runs or more.
The Orioles have totaled 14 runs and 32 hits since the one-hitter on Monday night. Don't poke the bear.
They didn't need any home runs today. So much for being unable to play small ball or come up with timely hits that don't clear the fence.
With today's win, the Orioles improved to 13-5 against the Yankees this season and eliminated them from playoff contention.
Bud Norris improved to 15-8 with a 3.65 ERA this season and 9-1 with a 2.91 ERA against the American League East. Opponents are hitless in their last 21 at-bats against him with runners in scoring position, according to Elias.
Darren O'Day notched his fourth save.
Let's move around the clubhouse and collect some postgame comments before it starts to rain here. Dark clouds are rolling in and the tarp is on the field. It could start pouring any minute.
Derek Jeter wouldn't walk in this weather.
Here's manager Buck Showalter:
On Norris
"Had a couple extra rest days, I believe, and may get one more. He was pretty good. I thought he got a little stronger when he got that inning out of the way. He was a little frustrated. Mistakes have a way of leaving this ballpark. But he kept us close. The six-run inning obviously was big."
On having 32 hits in the last two games
"You'd like to say the one thing about playing in the playoffs is the pitching is probably the chief reason they're there. The Yankees are pitching as well as anybody in baseball for the last two, three months. (Shane) Greene is having a good year for them. I can see why they're so high on him. I thought the most impressive hit might have been Adam (Jone's) bunt."
On the balance between resting players and keeping them sharp
"I knew I wanted to pitch some guys back-to-back today and was able to do that and not get too far away from that. Back off them tomorrow and will continue to see if we can get something out of the last four games. There's four games left in the season? Wow. Feels like it."
On whether he's happy to eliminate the Yankees
"No. It's just, we've got an outside shot of catching Anaheim. But you don't ever take some satisfaction out of that. When we came in here the first time earlier in the year, we knew, and here they are in it with four, five games left to play. That's quite a testament to them and the challenges that Joe (Girardi) and the staff and the organization has had with a lot of injuries. To stay this engaged this long was pretty impressive."
On whether it's good to play in front of big crowds before the playoffs
"I think so because sometimes you can get too far removed. But New York doesn't have a corner on big crowds. We have big crowds in Baltimore, too. But yes, it is good. I thought about that, to have that. Guys feed off the emotion in the ballpark, and trust me, as we go forward in the playoffs not everybody is going to be friendly."
Here's Norris:
On his performance
"I felt good. I was trying to get into a groove. Caleb (Joseph) and I had a good approach. Made a couple of mistakes that they beat me on, which is what good teams do. To have a big six-run inning and a three-run cushion kind of changed the game for me. Anytime I get six runs, I'm pretty excited. It's a team game. These guys swung the bats, put 'em up on the board, bullpen picked me up, another team victory."
On having 15 wins
"It won't settle in now. Like I said, this year has been so special, not only for me, but for this group and the team. It's just a number for personal goals, but I came in here with all these guys and so forth. I'm just blessed for this opportunity to get into Baltimore and play some meaningful baseball games. We're going to the postseason and I want to do my part to help out."
On winning games after clinching
"That's the way you're supposed to do it. We're deep. We understand that we have a lot of guys that can do a lot of things, not only on the bench, but in the field, too. We're right where we want to be. We've got our stride going and we've got a couple of games to finish the season out, but nothing happens until the first game of the playoffs."
On his success in the division
"Everybody talks about the AL East being the division, the best division in baseball, and it elevates my game. I go out there and pitch and I've learned a lot from the guys here. I've gotten a lot of critiquing from (Chris) Tillman and other guys to help me get through these things. Like I said, I'm just going to go out there and compete. The numbers have been outstanding, but the victories are what it's about. Team victories for me and this group. But like I said, it hasn't settled in yet, but I'm sure it will here soon."
On whether the Orioles are a secret to a lot of people
"It is kind of a secret. Like I said, we go out there and we play hard every single day. There's not a day that we come out necessarily flat and not ready go to go. Obviously, it starts with Buck and the leaders in the clubhouse. We have a bunch of professionals in the clubhouse and we come every day ready to go."
On when he's scheduled to pitch again
"I don't know. I haven't been told."
On when he starts concentrating on the playoffs
"Once again, I haven't been there before, so I don't know how I'm going to think about it any differently. I'm just going to help be a teammate for these last four games and when we get to the postseason and we get to the first game, I'm going to be on the bench helping out, so when I get the ball, I'll be ready to go and I'll prepare myself the best I can."
Here's Ryan Flaherty, who had three hits, including a two-run double in the fourth:
On not needing to hit home runs today
"It's important, especially in the postseason. Weather's cold, wind's blowing in kind of like today. There weren't many people who were going to hit the ball through that wind."
On the offensive outbursts two days in a row after being one-hit
"It seems like that's happened a couple times this year where we get one hit or no runs and then we bounce back. But they had a really good guy (Michael Pineda) pitching the first night, as well as today. He just left a couple pitches up that I'm sure he wishes that he didn't throw."
On his contributions today
"Just went up there bases loaded and he threw a changeup that he probably wanted to get down a little more. I put a good swing on it and got a couple runs in."
On Norris
"He pitched well. Couple home runs, but outside of that he did what he usually does. Obviously, we had a big offensive day, but he pitched pretty well."
On when his focus shifts to the playoffs
"There's still four games left that are meaningful games. Every night we take the field, we expect to win."
On whether it's meaningful to eliminate the Yankees
"Not really. It's just another team out there. They're a good ballclub."
Here's David Lough, who contributed an RBI triple and a sacrifice fly:
On the diversified offense today
"Yeah, it's awesome. It seems as though when we hit home runs, we win a lot of ballgames, but today showed that we're capable of just coming up with hits and coming up with runs and getting from scoring position in. Bud pitched a good game. He settled down there after those three runs and he kept us in it and we were able to put a lot of runs on the board."
On Lough's improved second half at the plate
"I feel great at the plate. I just felt like I was in one of those slumps early on. It kind of stinks to get into one of those and not be reliable day in and day out, but I feel better at the plate and hopefully Buck can see what I'm doing and kind of feel good about putting me in there."
On sending 11 batters to the plate in the fourth and passing the baton
"That's what it takes. Hits come in bunches it seems like. Kakes (Nick Markakis) came through with a big hit and I was able to come through with a big hit there, as well. But it seems as though hits always come in bunches and it feels good to get that win."
On how he scored from third on Jones' bunt
"I did not know that was coming. It was a great bunt. I just read it when I saw him go down with it. I was able to see it was going to get past the pitcher, so I knew I was going to score easily."
Let's move around the clubhouse and collect some postgame comments before it starts to rain here. Dark clouds are rolling in and the tarp is on the field. It could start pouring any minute.
Derek Jeter wouldn't walk in this weather.
Here's manager Buck Showalter:
On Norris
"Had a couple extra rest days, I believe, and may get one more. He was pretty good. I thought he got a little stronger when he got that inning out of the way. He was a little frustrated. Mistakes have a way of leaving this ballpark. But he kept us close. The six-run inning obviously was big."
On having 32 hits in the last two games
"You'd like to say the one thing about playing in the playoffs is the pitching is probably the chief reason they're there. The Yankees are pitching as well as anybody in baseball for the last two, three months. (Shane) Greene is having a good year for them. I can see why they're so high on him. I thought the most impressive hit might have been Adam (Jone's) bunt."
On the balance between resting players and keeping them sharp
"I knew I wanted to pitch some guys back-to-back today and was able to do that and not get too far away from that. Back off them tomorrow and will continue to see if we can get something out of the last four games. There's four games left in the season? Wow. Feels like it."
On whether he's happy to eliminate the Yankees
"No. It's just, we've got an outside shot of catching Anaheim. But you don't ever take some satisfaction out of that. When we came in here the first time earlier in the year, we knew, and here they are in it with four, five games left to play. That's quite a testament to them and the challenges that Joe (Girardi) and the staff and the organization has had with a lot of injuries. To stay this engaged this long was pretty impressive."
On whether it's good to play in front of big crowds before the playoffs
"I think so because sometimes you can get too far removed. But New York doesn't have a corner on big crowds. We have big crowds in Baltimore, too. But yes, it is good. I thought about that, to have that. Guys feed off the emotion in the ballpark, and trust me, as we go forward in the playoffs not everybody is going to be friendly."
Here's Norris:
On his performance
"I felt good. I was trying to get into a groove. Caleb (Joseph) and I had a good approach. Made a couple of mistakes that they beat me on, which is what good teams do. To have a big six-run inning and a three-run cushion kind of changed the game for me. Anytime I get six runs, I'm pretty excited. It's a team game. These guys swung the bats, put 'em up on the board, bullpen picked me up, another team victory."
On having 15 wins
"It won't settle in now. Like I said, this year has been so special, not only for me, but for this group and the team. It's just a number for personal goals, but I came in here with all these guys and so forth. I'm just blessed for this opportunity to get into Baltimore and play some meaningful baseball games. We're going to the postseason and I want to do my part to help out."
On winning games after clinching
"That's the way you're supposed to do it. We're deep. We understand that we have a lot of guys that can do a lot of things, not only on the bench, but in the field, too. We're right where we want to be. We've got our stride going and we've got a couple of games to finish the season out, but nothing happens until the first game of the playoffs."
On his success in the division
"Everybody talks about the AL East being the division, the best division in baseball, and it elevates my game. I go out there and pitch and I've learned a lot from the guys here. I've gotten a lot of critiquing from (Chris) Tillman and other guys to help me get through these things. Like I said, I'm just going to go out there and compete. The numbers have been outstanding, but the victories are what it's about. Team victories for me and this group. But like I said, it hasn't settled in yet, but I'm sure it will here soon."
On whether the Orioles are a secret to a lot of people
"It is kind of a secret. Like I said, we go out there and we play hard every single day. There's not a day that we come out necessarily flat and not ready go to go. Obviously, it starts with Buck and the leaders in the clubhouse. We have a bunch of professionals in the clubhouse and we come every day ready to go."
On when he's scheduled to pitch again
"I don't know. I haven't been told."
On when he starts concentrating on the playoffs
"Once again, I haven't been there before, so I don't know how I'm going to think about it any differently. I'm just going to help be a teammate for these last four games and when we get to the postseason and we get to the first game, I'm going to be on the bench helping out, so when I get the ball, I'll be ready to go and I'll prepare myself the best I can."
Here's Ryan Flaherty, who had three hits, including a two-run double in the fourth:
On not needing to hit home runs today
"It's important, especially in the postseason. Weather's cold, wind's blowing in kind of like today. There weren't many people who were going to hit the ball through that wind."
On the offensive outbursts two days in a row after being one-hit
"It seems like that's happened a couple times this year where we get one hit or no runs and then we bounce back. But they had a really good guy (Michael Pineda) pitching the first night, as well as today. He just left a couple pitches up that I'm sure he wishes that he didn't throw."
On his contributions today
"Just went up there bases loaded and he threw a changeup that he probably wanted to get down a little more. I put a good swing on it and got a couple runs in."
On Norris
"He pitched well. Couple home runs, but outside of that he did what he usually does. Obviously, we had a big offensive day, but he pitched pretty well."
On when his focus shifts to the playoffs
"There's still four games left that are meaningful games. Every night we take the field, we expect to win."
On whether it's meaningful to eliminate the Yankees
"Not really. It's just another team out there. They're a good ballclub."
Here's David Lough, who contributed an RBI triple and a sacrifice fly:
On the diversified offense today
"Yeah, it's awesome. It seems as though when we hit home runs, we win a lot of ballgames, but today showed that we're capable of just coming up with hits and coming up with runs and getting from scoring position in. Bud pitched a good game. He settled down there after those three runs and he kept us in it and we were able to put a lot of runs on the board."
On Lough's improved second half at the plate
"I feel great at the plate. I just felt like I was in one of those slumps early on. It kind of stinks to get into one of those and not be reliable day in and day out, but I feel better at the plate and hopefully Buck can see what I'm doing and kind of feel good about putting me in there."
On sending 11 batters to the plate in the fourth and passing the baton
"That's what it takes. Hits come in bunches it seems like. Kakes (Nick Markakis) came through with a big hit and I was able to come through with a big hit there, as well. But it seems as though hits always come in bunches and it feels good to get that win."
On how he scored from third on Jones' bunt
"I did not know that was coming. It was a great bunt. I just read it when I saw him go down with it. I was able to see it was going to get past the pitcher, so I knew I was going to score easily."
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