O's notes: The 50-RBI club, Joseph's one liner and more

SEATTLE - When the Orioles' Manny Machado drove in a run with an eighth-inning single Thursday at Seattle, it was his 50th RBI of the 2016 season. The Orioles now have four players with 50 RBIs or more, as Mark Trumbo has 60, Chris Davis 52 and Machado and Adam Jones have 50 each. The Orioles have played less than half the season at 78 games. So obviously, those four players have a shot to drive in 100 runs. Jonathan Schoop has 46 RBIs and he is on a 95-RBI pace.

There are 22 players in the American League with 50 or more RBIs right now and nearly one-third of them play for the Orioles or Mariners. Seattle's trio with 50-plus RBIs are Robison Cano at 54, Nelson Cruz at 53 and Kyle Seager with 50. It is the first time Seattle has three with 50 or more RBIs before the All-Star break since 2006. It was Raul Ibanez at 70, Richie Sexson with 59 and Jose Lopez with 58 that year.

More innings for bullpen guys in the minors: Orioles manager Buck Showalter got onto the topic of minor league relief pitchers throwing multiple innings during his pregame media session here yesterday. He noted that Single-A Frederick lefty Garrett Cleavinger had struck out eight in 3 2/3 innings for the Keys on Tuesday night.

"Something we are really trying to do more of is have less outings but pitch more innings," Showalter said. "That is something we've talked about with Oliver (Drake). It is good to see them stretching Cleavinger out a little bit. We're doing the same thing some with Tanner Scott.

"The problem is you have 13 pitchers and you need to pitch them. If you have some guys pitching two or three innings, there could be guys not pitching for four or five days, and that's not good."

At Frederick, 14 of Scott's 23 outings have been two innings or more. Stretching out bullpen pitchers on the farm can have several benefits. Longer outings gives pitchers a chance to work on more pitches. And it prepares them to be more than a one-inning guy if and when they get to the majors.

Joseph's one liner: Catcher Caleb Joseph officially returned to the Orioles' active roster yesterday. He was officially cleared to catch again Monday at Frederick. It was his first game behind the plate since May 30, and he surely missed the chance to put on the gear and catch. He caught in three games with the Keys before rejoining the Orioles in Seattle yesterday.

"When there is something you do every day and you don't do it for three weeks, you miss it," Joseph said. "You watch TV, but not being able to do it for weeks is tough. When I got to start doing drills and doing well with that, before I knew it, I was catching in the game. I've felt tremendous. There is something to be said about rest, too."

Joseph is one of the more self-deprecating players on the Orioles roster. So it was not surprising to hear his quip when I asked him yesterday if he had passed every test in his rehab on the farm or if there are more to come.

"Maybe (get) an RBI in the big leagues," he said with a laugh. "No, I think I'm good, ready to go."

Joseph is quite aware he has had 66 at-bats this season without an RBI. He is 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position. Last season, he knocked in 49 runs in 320 at-bats and hit .316 with RISP.