Leftovers from last night's win, tonight's game and more

Looks aren't everything, and the same rule applies to baseball games.

The Orioles looked sloppy last night, committing three errors and failing to make a few other plays that didn't show up in the box score. Chris Davis missed a pop-up in foul territory with two outs in the ninth inning, but Darren O'Day stranded a runner that reached on Steve Pearce's dropped fly ball down the right field line.

Jonathan Schoop made a tremendous catch in shallow right field with his back to the infield, then spun and fired the ball home to hold a runner at third base. However, he should have deferred to Pearce, who was rushing in and had a much easier play.

Here's what mattered: The Orioles defeated the Nationals 4-1 and moved within five games of the Astros for the second wild card. The Blue Jays lost, allowing the Orioles to stay alive in the division race for at least one more night.

You may not have pennant fever, but would you settle for a case of the sniffles?

I don't know what was more impressive, Ubaldo Jimenez allowing only an unearned run despite walking five batters in six innings, or his RBI single in the first after back-to-back walks to Caleb Joseph and J.J. Hardy.

"I really liked the turn he took at first like he was going to second," said manager Buck Showalter. "I said, 'You know J.J.'s at second?'"

Schoop committed an error in the fourth inning on a potential double play ball, but he made up for it one batter later by racing to cover first base on a 2-5-4 double play.

"It was huge," Showalter said. "We had a certain bunt defense on where the second baseman is really challenged to get to first base, because you've really got to hold the guy tight at second and trying to get the runner at third, and Jon made it all the way over to first base to turn a key double play. Most second basemen aren't able to get to first base."

Brad Brach turned in two more scoreless innings. He became the set-up man with O'Day needed to close.

Brach has allowed only seven earned runs in his last 47 2/3 innings over 37 appearances, and he's struck out 50 batters, including three last night. This guy is vastly underrated.

"Very quietly, you take a look at him, he's had a heck of a year for us," Showalter said.

Any list of executive vice president Dan Duquette's best acquisitions must include Brach, who only cost the Orioles Double-A pitcher Devin Jones. Jones ended up back in the Orioles' system this year, ran up a 7.71 ERA in three games at Single-A Frederick and retired.

Chris Tillman exceeded 200 innings the past two seasons, an achievement that Showalter always noted. He enters tonight's game at 154 1/3 innings, which ranks third behind Wei-Yin Chen (179 2/3) and Jimenez (171).

Tillman is stuck on nine wins, the last one coming Aug. 17 against the Athletics. He's 0-2 with a 9.64 ERA in four starts this month, with 20 runs and 25 hits over 18 2/3 innings. He's walked eight, struck out 15 and allowed four home runs.

Tillman didn't get the decision on July 10 after holding the Nationals to two runs over six innings in the Orioles' 3-2 victory at Camden Yards. He's 0-0 with a 4.37 ERA in four career starts against Washington, with 11 runs in 22 2/3 innings. In his only start in D.C., he allowed two runs and five hits with six strikeouts over seven innings.

Ryan Zimmerman is 3-for-6 with three home runs against Tillman, Ian Desmond is 3-for-10 with a double and Bryce Harper is 1-for-6 with three strikeouts.

Tillman is 3-1 with a 4.91 ERA in 15 interleague starts.

Max Scherzer was bumped up to tonight's game, as the Nationals continue to toy with the rotation and keep Showalter guessing. Scherzer's 12-11 with a 2.90 ERA in 30 starts, and he held the Orioles to two runs and four hits over 8 2/3 innings on July 12, with no walks and seven strikeouts.

Scherzer was 10-7 with a 2.11 ERA in 18 starts in the first half, but he's 2-4 with a 4.32 ERA in 12 starts in the second half. He went 0-3 with a 6.43 ERA in five August starts, but he's allowed nine runs in 27 innings for a 3.00 ERA in four starts this month.

Scherzer is 4-1 with a 3.59 ERA in seven starts versus the Orioles. Adam Jones is 11-for-25 with two doubles and three home runs, but he's day-to-day with back spasms. Davis is 7-for-20 with a home run, Matt Wieters is 6-for-20, Hardy is 5-for-29 with a double and two home runs and Manny Machado is 0-for-11 with five strikeouts.

Machado will be searching for his 501st career hit. Wieters will return to the lineup against a right-hander.

Davis didn't strike out last night, keeping his season total at 196, three below his team record.

I mentioned how Triple-A Norfolk manager Ron Johnson and pitching coach Mike Griffin have joined the Orioles in D.C. Johnson will stay with them for the rest of the season.

The Tides made the International League playoffs this year despite the usual high roster turnover. They used 57 different players and 18 starters.

"It was probably one of the most fun teams I've ever managed," Johnson said. "I've done this for like 20 years in the minor leagues and it's odd. Sometimes you get a mix of guys that can be challenging and sometimes you get ... This bunch was as good as it gets. I even told them at the end of the year, even with all the changes we had this year, it was probably the most fun group of guys I've ever managed in all the time I've managed. Really good."

Managing a Triple-A team always brings its share of challenges due to the needs of the major league club, but Johnson doesn't want your sympathy.

"It comes with the territory," he said. "I hate to say it's a challenge because that's the job I signed up for. You know what you're getting into. We know what the purpose of the job is, to get guys prepared to come up here. We were able to do that for the most part. A lot of them came up here and had success, which is basically what I'm down there to do.

"It's nice when you can win and get all that stuff on the outside, too. That's great. From a personal standpoint, I loved it. For myself and my staff. But you kind of know what it is. Everybody always brings up that word when you come up here. 'It's challenging. Was it really hard?' Well, that's what I'm hired to do and I take pride in being able to put it all together. Yeah, it was a good year."

The Orioles knew that they needed to upgrade their defense at the top two levels, particularly at shortstop, which would aid the development of their young pitchers. Ozzie Martinez proved to be a plus-defender at Bowie and Paul Janish was exceptional at Norfolk before the Orioles selected his contract.

"If you had to pick a Most Valuable Player on our team, we had a lot of guys who played well, but Paul Janish solidified the left side of our infield," Johnson said.

"The difference between last year's team and this year's team, obviously we had more talent this year, but we were the best defensive team in the International League. We turned a massive amount of double plays and Paul Janish was right at the head of the list. He is a game-changer with the glove. Down there, it was incredible. These young pitchers should pat him on the back. That was a great sign by Buck. So, go get me another one."

Johnson also speaks highly of outfielder Dariel Alvarez, who's at a different stage of his career compared to the veteran Janish.

"He's an exciting player," Johnson said. "I mean, he's got tools. He can do a lot of things. He's going to go through a learning curve, but I tell you what, he was fun to watch. When he hits a ball, it stays hit. You guys have all seen the arm. He can be an electric player at times. It's going to be fun to watch his transition to this level."