Showalter on McFarland and an 8-3 victory

Orioles manager Buck Showalter isn't ready to name a starter for Sunday. He's only willing to include T.J. McFarland in the mix. It's a small mix. McFarland or Kevin Gausman. McFarland stated his case tonight by allowing two runs over five innings in the Orioles' 8-3 win over the Rangers at Camden Yards. "He pitched as well as we thought he could," Showalter said. "One of the reasons why we wanted to be as good as we could in the infield was because we felt like if he's doing well, he'll keep the ball on the ground. He did exactly what we hoped he would do. He makes our bullpen better, but it's nice to know that you have that type of option down there with a guy if you can get the proper rest. He only gets the proper rest because you get a couple good starts from your starting pitchers that allows you to do that. Plus, keep in mind we're carrying eight guys in the bullpen right now. Well, seven tonight because one of those guys started. "I'm always curious to see if he's going to come in from the bullpen directly from there instead of coming in the dugout like starters do. Is he going to throw from the stretch or is he going to throw from the windup? Instead of telling him all these things he should do, you just kind of let him go. Last night, I had Brady tell him, 'You're the first guy out of the bullpen tomorrow.' That was our way of telling you you're starting. I think he knows now that he's starting today. But everybody was pulling for him today. "T.J.'s a guy who's so easy to pull for because he doesn't take himself too seriously. A couple times we've had to send him out and he gets it. He gets what's going on, the whole dynamic of what we're trying to do as a team. He made a really nice contribution to us tonight in a time of need." McFarland notched his first major league win as a starter by throwing a career-high five innings. Elvis Andrus ended the fifth by grounding into a double play on McFarland's 68th pitch. "We thought we had taken T.J. to about where he needed to be," Showalter said. "I thought he deserved it. There are some good hitters in that lineup, especially where they were in the order." Two runs in five innings from a long reliever. No complaints from the home clubhouse. "We would have taken that beforehand," Showalter said. "We felt like if we could keep the ball on the ground, we could stay engaged in the game. It's hard to do with that many right-handed hitters, but he was good. Actually, Andrus was his last hitter on the double play ball, so I was glad he got out of it what he should have. And we did a pretty good job out of the 'pen. We had a lot of guys rested down there from the good start we got from Ubaldo (Jimenez)." It had to come as a relief, so to speak, that the Orioles made it through Tuesday's start without using someone from their rotation. "It worked out well," Showalter said. "We felt like they'd be right-handed against T.J., which I would have too, and we felt like we had some pieces in the bullpen right-handed that could minimize some damage. But the thing about the game is, there's no given what's going to happen the next day. Just because Tilly (Chris Tillman) had a good outing last time, he's had some good outings, you don't know. "You've got to prepare who's going to pitch in the second inning if he gets hit by a line drive or there's trouble. That's why I'm trying to stay away from (Brad) Brach tonight and keep some of our powder dry for tomorrow. (Ramon) Ramirez will be back tomorrow. And we'll have Brian Matusz back tomorrow. And then everybody who pitched tonight is available tomorrow because we were able to shorten them up." The ball's been traveling a long way lately, and the Orioles cranked out three more home runs tonight. "Sometimes, you go through periods and you get some mistakes and you just miss them, but our guys have been on what mistakes they've made," Showalter said. "J.J. (Hardy) hit a ball real well, too. Very quietly, J.J. is hitting 290-something and playing shortstop. He's having another solid year for us. "I thought there were some good at-bats at the bottom of the order, too. Caleb (Joseph) obviously had a couple good swings to drive in some runs. I think Ryan (Flaherty) was on base twice." Nelson Cruz has three home runs in his last seven games, giving him 26 on the season. He totaled 27 with the Rangers in 2013. When a reporter mentioned Cruz's "lull" before the latest power display, Showalter said, "We say 'lull' and I know what you're saying compared to what he was doing. That's not a lull for most people. He spoiled us at a very high level of play and Nellie's been pretty consistent. "I've known him for a long time. It was his birthday today and he hit a home run. When you get to that experience level, you kind of understand what you're doing to get out of whack and you're trying to shorten the lulls. I think we're seeing a byproduct of that a little bit."