Notes on Tyler Wilson, Adam Jones and Alan Mills

The Orioles haven't named a starter for Thursday's series finale against the Blue Jays, but rookie Tyler Wilson is expected to get the call.

Manager Buck Showalter is waiting until Miguel Gonzalez comes off the disabled list and makes Tuesday night's start, in case he needs to dig deep into his bullpen.

Wilson is 2-2 with a 3.60 ERA in eight appearances, including four starts. In his last outing, he held the Nationals to two runs over six innings in the Orioles' 5-4 victory in D.C.

Wilson allowed one run in 5 2/3 relief innings against the Blue Jays on June 19 at Rogers Centre.

Showalter spoke to center fielder Adam Jones around noon today and decided to start Gerardo Parra in center field.

Jones woke up with some back stiffness after starting yesterday in Boston and the Orioles are giving him another day to rest.

"Just didn't like some of the descriptions of what he was giving me on what he was feeling, so we'll back off a day and see what tomorrow brings," Showalter said. "He was fine yesterday, but he looked a little gingerly to me. A lot of times, especially in day games, they get loosened up and the adrenaline kicks in and they're on their way, they get through it. But that didn't happen. He woke up this morning a little worse for the wear. Not worse. I think tomorrow we'll get a feel where it is."

Though it's a short flight from Boston to Baltimore, sitting on the charter didn't do Jones' back any good.

"Doesn't help, but we fly all year long," Showalter said. "This time of year it doesn't help. Everybody's beat up this time of year. We've still got a shot, but I don't know what other precautions you take unless you try to parachute them in or something.

"I think it puts Manny's season even in more perspective. There's so many things, one step off the wrong curb. You eat something that doesn't agree with you for two days. Manny's been sick this year, he's had issues, but they've played through it.

"Adam, he gets a lot of cachet with me. I mean, nobody plays it harder. You've all heard me talk about it. He posts up. Probably a lot of guys may not have even tried it yesterday. He wanted to the day before, but I wanted to wait one more day. We'll see. Maybe he'll come in tomorrow and it was a one day thing."

Jones, who's missing his 19th game this season, underwent an MRI on his back while the team was in D.C.

"We feel like Jonesy structurally is OK," Showalter said. "We've done the work on that, which you never know. He's completely different than a pitcher. I know he wants to play some more this year. He wants to play a lot more. We'll see what each day brings. He's very frank and honest with me. Don't ask somebody unless you're going to react to what they tell you. He's very honest about it. There's probably been some times where he could have come in and said something, and he didn't this year because of what he means to the club."

Is it in the organization's best interest to shut down Jones?

"No, we're still in the playoff hunt here, OK, regardless of what someone else might think," Showalter said. "Adam wants no part of that right now, but I know what you're saying. That's why I've used caution with him in the last week and will continue to, but I'm not going to throw that mentality out there yet."

Double-A Bowie pitching coach Alan Mills has joined the Orioles for the final homestand. Triple-A Norfolk pitching coach Mike Griffin returned home.

The Baysox just won their first Eastern League championship.

"I picked his brain about a lot of things," Showalter said. "I was kidding with him. They didn't take the ring sizes. He said, 'I don't think we're getting them.' He was all bent out of shape."

Mills joined the Baysox this season after two seasons at short-season Single-A Aberdeen and one at Single-A Delmarva.

"Alan walks a really good line between pitching coach mechanics and also the mental/emotional side of it," Showalter said. "Alan knows so much of the intangibles. It takes to be successful up here other than a stat sheet or the analytic part of it. He does both. He knows the numbers, but when he paints a picture of the other part of it, which is such a key part of the evaluation ...

"He has great descriptions during the season of an outing that paints a picture of what really happened. He was talking about (David) Hess' outing in the playoffs and I was asking him about (Andrew) Triggs. Even from a pitcher's perspective, if you ask him about (Trey) Mancini, the first thing he'll talk about is their defense. That's what pitchers do. They don't care what they hit.

"Alan's a good evaluator. He can do the tough love thing, too. He's not very political about it, either. Don't ask my opinion unless you want to know how I feel about pitching successfully for the Orioles."

Mills brings an impressive set of credentials that he doesn't shove in the faces of his pupils. He appeared in 474 games over 12 major league seasons, including 346 games with the Orioles.

"I try not to be biased about it," Showalter said. "I've found that's a great door opener, but after about two weeks it's, 'Am I getting results from the things that you're telling me that I should try?'

"Alan is the type of guy who won't tell you about his resume and at some point you're going to find out about it. You may look it up and it means so much more when that person knows it as opposed to you telling him. Alan doesn't need that to start making a point. He doesn't go around saying, 'Read the bio.' If Alan had never played in the big leagues, he'd be a good pitching coach.

"I had Alan in Fort Lauderdale. I've had him since he was a puppy and he's always bit back. He's always bit back."

Just ask Darryl Strawberry.

For the Blue Jays
Ben Revere LF
Josh Donaldson 3B
Jose Bautista RF
Edwin Encarnacion DH
Chris Colabello 1B
Dioner Navarro C
Kevin Pillar CF
Ryan Goins SS
Munenori Kawasaki 2B

Marco Estrada RHP