Hess named Game 1 starter and wrapping up a 9-4 win

The Orioles have chosen David Hess to start Game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader against the Rays at Camden Yards, an unexpected move after he pitched Tuesday for Triple-A Norfolk.

The short rest doesn't concern the Orioles, who are playing the hot hand.

Hess, 24, is 2-0 with a 2.12 ERA and 1.08 WHIP in six starts and opponents are batting .189. The Orioles drafted him in the fifth round in 2014 out of Tennessee Tech.

In Tuesday's outing, Hess held Durham to one hit over seven scoreless innings and kept himself in the running for Saturday's assignment. Alex Cobb will start Game 2.

"Eighty pitches, he didn't have a work day, we prepared for it and we also had (Jimmy) Yacabonis here," said manager Buck Showalter. "We also get (Pedro) Araujo back and probably have Mike Wright back. We should have plenty to cover."

Hess' start in Durham came in a 10:30 a.m. game, but Showalter won't view it as providing extra rest.

"I don't really look at it as 3 ½ days, I look at it as three," he said. "It's how many times have you slept. Let's face it, it's a 3 o'clock game tomorrow. It's not 10:30, but it's not 7."

Asked whether Hess will be on a pitch count, Showalter provided both answers:

"Yes and no," he said. "We'll see how Tampa ... You know he's going to have a lot of adrenaline going. We brought him over. He was in the locker room during the game. We're allowed to do that. I wanted him to get acclimated."

The Orioles recalled Hess on April 15 in Boston and optioned him the next day. His major league debut was put on hold.

"He's been here before. Not at home," Showalter said. "The last time he was here may have been when I met him and his family on draft day. I told Dan (Duquette) at the time, not that the other weren't impressive, but his whole demeanor and everything was pretty impressive in that group. So, that part. He's pitched as well as anybody down there."

Yacabonis' arrival is an important part of the plan because he can back up Hess if needed. He showed up today with Chris Tillman going on the disabled list.

Tillman underwent an MRI that confirmed a strain in his lower back, according to Showalter.

"He was in an MRI tube for quite a while today," Showalter said. "I know what some of the findings were and the DL was obviously needed."

The Rays are starting Chris Archer in Game 1 and Matt Andriese in Game 2.

The Orioles won their third consecutive game tonight, with Manny Machado hitting a two-run homer and grand slam and Kevin Gausman charged with two runs in 7 1/3 innings. Mark Trumbo and Chance Sisco hit solo homers, as the Orioles improved to 11-27.

Gausman scattered 11 hits and left with only one run against him. Richard Bleier let an inherited runner score for the first time this season.

"There were some balls that, well, hits are hits, but I thought (Gausman) was a little unlucky tonight with some stuff," Showalter said. "But that's why we gave him an extra day coming out of that nine inning outing and he seemed to respond well. We have the opportunity next time also, so glad we did.

"Gaus was good again. You could tell he had a good feel early on, was carrying a good fastball. Had good command of his off speed pitches. Had another good defensive game behind him. (Jonathan) Schoop made a couple good plays, Chance made a great play on a bunt, Trey (Mancini) made a great play leading off the game. Really hard play. So, those are some of the things that we're starting to do some now that's been helpful."

It also helps when the offense produces 20 runs in the last two games and 32 in the last four.

"Anytime you can keep pressure on guys, and Chris (Davis) had a couple of hits tonight," Showalter said. "Just keep putting people on base and keep the pressure on them. Pitching in the American League is hard and you're going to have to try to stay away from real big innings.

"Brad (Brach) came in and got a big out for us. It's good to see because we know what he's capable of. We're going to have to do those things. When we don't pitch well, we're going to need to score some runs and when we don't score a bunch of runs we need to pitch well and play good defense, and that's been the case here lately. I think we've always had that potential, especially when we get guys like Mark and Jonathan back."

Machado is the youngest Oriole to reach 150 home runs at 25 years and 309 days. He passed Hall of Famer Eddie Murray.

"It's always a great accomplishment," he said. "I'm beyond grateful. Words can't even describe how exciting that it is, reaching that milestone. Doing it with this organization, doing it with the team that I've been doing it for, I couldn't be any happier. We came out with the win. Been playing baseball great lately. At the end of the day, milestones will not be forgotten. I'm glad it happened here at home."

Machado's 18 career multi-homer games, including four this season, tie him with Andruw Jones for fifth all-time by a right-handed hitter 25 years old and younger. His eight grand slams tie him with Davis for the most in the majors since he debuted in 2012.

"We've seen him at some pretty high levels, OK?" Showalter said. "It's been sustained for a long time. I don't know if there's such a thing as 'sustation.' Is there? But it's been fun to watch him.

"He's just been so consistent and he's really gotten comfortable, not that he wasn't, at shortstop. His clock. I think you can tell that the comfort zone and familiarity with Jonathan there has made him a lot more, not confident, just the known of where Jon is and where he's going to be and the tempo of which the middle of the diamond is played has made him look a lot more comfortable defensively, too. Not that he wasn't."

Machado has hit at an elite level all season despite the Orioles' woes.

"Manny knew that he was going to be asked to bring a lot of things to the table and I think he took that as a real confidence we have in him," Showalter said. "Going back to his original and comfort zone position, even though he looked pretty comfortable at third, too. Don't get me wrong. But he had a lot of responsibility that he knew he was going to have and he really welcomed it and embraced it, so to speak. And I think that's a real good sign of maturity."