Orioles option Stinson

The Orioles optioned pitcher Josh Stinson to Triple-A Norfolk following today's 7-2 victory over the Rockies at Camden Yards. A corresponding move will be announced before Monday's game against the Rays at Camden Yards. The Orioles have a three-man bench, so a position player is likely to come up. Danny Valencia isn't in Norfolk's lineup tonight and is the likely choice. Stinson, 25, appeared in the last two games for the Orioles after being recalled yesterday, tossing 2 1/3 scoreless innings. He allowed a hit and walked a batter today in the ninth. "Stinson's impacted our team two nights in a row, so that was a good move by our people," said manager Buck Showalter. Scott Feldman improved to 3-3 by holding the Rockies to two runs over 6 2/3 innings. "Thought he had some quick innings, minimized pitch counts," Showalter said. "He'll kick himself a little bit for giving up a couple runs that he feels like he probably shouldn't have, but he was solid. Scotty is, with one or two exceptions, he's given us a chance to win every time out." Brian Roberts had a big two-run single in the eighth. He's recorded multi-hit games in five of his last six games and has hit safely in six of seven, going 11-for-23 with two doubles, a triple, seven RBIs, five walks and four runs scored. "We found ourselves a DH now," Showalter quipped. "The problem is, he won't be DHing tomorrow. I was kidding him. "Robby, sometimes you just trust people and realize there's a lot of game speed he's missed at this level. Kind of trust people and keep running him out there and he'll catch up. He's been a force for us, especially down at the bottom of the order. We need something down there, especially the people who have been hitting behind him." Is this the best that Showalter has seen of Roberts? "No," Showalter replied. "I got to see him some, especially in spring training and spurts here. But I'm hoping this is going to be a long period that we're going to see him here. He's already meant a lot to our club getting him. You can tell he's having a lot of fun, competing for something this late in the year. It's what he's made a lot of sacrifices for. A lot of people would have just said that's enough. "You know, to get back, I think a lot of his momentum in his rehab was knowing he had the chance to come back to a club that was competing." No. 3 hitter Chris Davis was 4-for-5 with a double, home run, two RBIs and three runs scored. Cleanup hitter Adam Jones was 3-for-5 with a double, home run, two RBIs and two runs scored. "A lot of hits from that three and four spot, and I thought Nicky (Markakis) had some better at-bats today," Showalter said. "I thought Chris' home run was big for us. You look up there and see that he's hitting .300, and Jones has very quietly snuck back over .300 after a frustrating two or three games for him toward the end of the trip. I'm real proud of both of them and they've been solid as a rock for us." The Orioles needed to win this series with Tampa Bay coming to town tomorrow and the Orioles facing a slew of division opponents. "We came off actually not as bad a road trip as everybody might have felt toward the last part of it. But this time of year, the games are dwindling," Showalter said. "You've seen our schedule the rest of the way. I knew coming back the first day, I really felt that was still another day that you're going to have to fight through physically. But everybody's kind of got their clocks readjusted and things that every club has to fight through. "I'm not going to place any more importance on this and that. It would have been a tough start to the rest of the season if we weren't able to win the series. I thought Scotty's outing was big for us." It can be argued that the Orioles control their destiny. "If you're behind, you don't control it," Showalter countered. "That's different. We've been through this before, last year, and especially a lot of people saying it won't happen. This is a group that kind of likes being in that position. I think the last thing I would ever do is underestimate what they're capable of."