Ortiz on promotion: "I was not anticipating anything" (O's up 4-3)

SEATTLE - Pitcher Luis Ortiz said he wasn't expecting the Orioles to contact him. He was prepared to go home after the minor league season and was glad to have his plans interrupted.

One phone call and Ortiz was poised to make his major league debut.

"I was not anticipating anything," he said this afternoon. "I was just going about my business and everything fell in place. Just was thinking about going home. It was a long season. I did what I had to do this year and then this happens. So, it's a blessing.

"Like everyone's reaction, you can't even speak to it. It's unreal."

Ortiz said he isn't winding down physically after tallying 99 2/3 innings.

"Oh yeah, I've got plenty of innings (left)," he said. "I barely got to my max 100 innings this year, and I feel really good about this year and feeling healthy."

The Rangers selected Ortiz in the first round of the 2014 draft and traded him to the Brewers two years later. He was on the move again this summer with the non-waiver deadline trade involving Orioles second baseman Jonathan Schoop.

"Going from Texas to Milwaukee, that whole (situation) helped me," he said. "Being that young and getting traded, I never knew that was going to happen. Getting traded again, I kind of knew what I had to do.

"Another team wanted me more, so I went to Triple-A and did what I had to do. I just went out there and got along with the guys and played baseball."

Ortiz is the sixth of 15 players acquired by the Orioles in July to join them this summer.

"I talked to Luis today," said manager Buck Showalter. "He's going to start out in the bullpen. I would think we'd probably look for a place to give him a start or two. We've got our arms around his inning count and we'll let him be in the dugout for a day or two.

"He had a workday and he's not ready to pitch out of the bullpen yet, but well get him out there, just like we did (Jimmy) Yacabonis last night."

Ortiz went 2-1 with a 3.69 ERA in six starts with Norfolk before the Orioles selected his contract.

"Good hard sink, hard slider," Showalter said. "He throws it over. He's not scared. He's a young man at 22 years old. We're going to have to protect him anyway (in the Rule 5 draft). I know Texas thought enough of him to draft him, I think the 14th pick in the country. And Milwaukee liked him, too. That's why we were able to get him when you give up a good player like (Jonathan) Schoop."

Tim Beckham is out of the lineup for the second time in three days and Cedric Mullins is on the bench again versus a left-hander, Mariners starter Wade LeBlanc, but Showalter said it isn't for physical reasons.

"I'm going to get different looks," he said. "I told them about a week ago we're going to move people around and take a look at different combinations and make sure that everybody gets in the flow. We've seen Tim a lot. We know what he's capable of doing and we don't know about the rest of them. He'll continue to play and we'll get looks at everybody."

Breyvic Valera gets another start at second base and John Andreoli is in left field while Joey Rickard plays center.

"I'd like to see Valera at shortstop, too," Showalter said. "If you're look at a guy as a potential utility guy, you've got to see him play the position. These looks are going to be gone at some point."

Showalter said Mullins' hip isn't keeping the rookie out of the lineup.

"He's good," Showalter said. "Just want to get Andreoli in there and Joey. I'm not saying he's 100 percent, but he'll be back in there today. It just kind of fit better what we needed to look at today.

The Mariners are starting right-hander Mike Leake Wednesday night to close out the series.

"There's a part of the year, too, you've got to keep in mind that when you're playing Oakland and you're playing Seattle and you're playing Boston, New York, Houston, all these teams, there's a certain competitive integrity you have to have with the lineups you put out there, as much as you can," Showalter said.

"I'm always going to do what's best for the Orioles. That always ranks No. 1, but there are some other things you've got to satisfy, too. It's tough to blend that every day."

I wrote earlier that Chris Davis is the Orioles' nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award, which recognizes a player who best represents the game of baseball through "extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field."

Davis also repped the Orioles last summer.

"It means a lot to me," he said. "I know it means a lot to my wife (Jill), as well. We do as much as we can in the community and obviously have partnered with a number of organizations over the years. But to be recognized for that work and really the time and the effort we put out there, it's pretty humbling and a pretty big honor."

The Davis' are involved with the University of Maryland Children's Hospital, Casey Cares, Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter, Inc. (BARCS), Christian Youth Athletics and the OriolesREACH Gameday Experience Program. He vowed to immerse himself in the community after signing his $161 million contract.

"I think that's really the main reason we're here," he said. "Obviously, baseball's a big part of it, but we're in a position where we can help out a lot of people and really do things to make people who have had kind of a tough life to make their way a little bit easier. I know that's important to my family and it has been over the years.

"We've been very fortunate to meet a number of people who are already doing great things and have been able to partner with them and really kind of establish those relationships and cultivate them over the years. And it's something that I look forward to for the next few years."

Now a father of three daughters, including twins, Davis feels the emotional tugs as he visits children battling illnesses and he wants to make certain that his girls become involved in the various causes.

"It definitely changes your perspective once you have your own kids and it's something that Jill and I want our kids to see," he said. "We want our children to understand how fortunate and how blessed they are and we want them to be around some of those kids and interact with them and kind of get a feel for what it's like on a daily basis when you have a life-threatening disease or some kind of condition that really makes life a little bit tougher. So, it's been good not only for our family, but for hopefully the community, as well."

The challenge for Davis is blending all of these commitments with the daily grind of a baseball season. Not cheating one side or the other. Not letting his struggles on the field interfere with everything else that's important in his life.

"It's something that you kind of gauge over the years," he said. "I think the more you work with people and the more you're around them, the more you want to be around them. We have a lot of people who help us make sure that everything's timely and nothing overlaps and we're really grateful for that. But it's something like I said that's been important to us from Day One and something that we're going to continue putting a lot of time and effort into."

Update: Robinson Canó's home run off Alex Cobb in the bottom of the first inning gave the Mariners a 1-0 lead.

Update II: Renato Núñez led off the seventh with a home run off Adam Warren to tie the game 1-1.

Update III: The Orioles scored four runs in the seventh, getting an RBI single from Jonathan Villar and RBI double from Trey Mancini, to take a 4-1 lead.

Update IV: The Mariners loaded the bases against Paul Fry with one out in the eighth. Mychal Givens replaced him and two runs scored on a fielder's choice and throwing error by Valera to reduce the lead to 4-3.