Showalter on Wynns and a rookie catching tandem (O's up 2-1)

FLUSHING, N.Y. - Catcher Austin Wynns' cheering section is getting in position behind the visiting dugout at Citi Field, the group including parents Jeff and Laura, close friends Chris and India Rowe and agent Michael Bonanno. Other seats will be filled later.

Wynns' family made the trip from San Diego and he's also got a group of friends who boarded flights to Flushing. He said Jimmy Yacabonis' parents, who are like a "second family" to him, also are here.

This is only the second time that Wynns has been to New York. He also celebrated New Year's Eve in Times Square while in college.

Wynns will try to avoid having the ball drop tonight.

The Orioles have liked Wynns' work behind the plate, which is why they protected him in the Rule 5 draft, and decided to give him a closer look while optioning Andrew Susac to Triple-A Norfolk.

"Exciting," said manager Buck Showalter. "I don't know if 'refreshing' is the word. He's just got the right kind of excitement. Taking it all in. A really good senior sign. One of those guys who at every level managers loved to have him because just such a high-energy effort, always on.

"R.J. (Ron Johnson) and Gary (Kendall) used to talk about how it didn't matter the rain, sleet, hot, he was just always the same. I know he's looking forward to the opportunity."

Susac was 3-for-26 before the Orioles optioned him.

"I was telling Andrew Susac when he left, he was swinging the bat so well and then he got hurt, and when he came back he wasn't really swinging it like he's capable of," Showalter said. "I told him, 'We may have done a disservice not waiting until you got it going.' He's hopefully going to go down there and get back to where he was."

Caleb Joseph remains with the Tides and is the designated hitter tonight in Columbus while Susac catches.

"Caleb's making some progress offensively," Showalter said. "Just not quite there yet. But his catching has always been good since the day he got down there. Just trying to give him some consistent at-bats and see if he can get in a groove."

Is there any significance in a last-place team, 24 games below .500, having two rookie catchers on the active roster for the first time since 2008 with Guillermo Quiroz and Omir Santos? Two rookie catchers who are carrying a much heavier burden?

"We have some depth in our catching," Showalter said. '

"There's some growing pains with it. We kind of know where we are with Caleb and Andrew, and it's a good opportunity for Chance and Wynns to get a feel and get their feet wet. We think it's a potential strength of ours if we can get keep them all in the mix.

"On paper there are some challenges with having two catchers in the big leagues who haven't had a lot of experience at this level, but hopefully that will be a short learning curve. I know it has been with Chance. He's picked it up pretty quickly."

Sisco threw out nine of the first 18 runners attempting to steal against him, but the last 15 have been successful. Blame can be placed on the catcher in some instances and the pitcher in others.

"He'll be the first to tell you there were some he could have thrown out," Showalter said. "I think it's a combination. I think, as you all know, we've been very hard on our pitchers about giving them a chance, and there are some he had a chance and he didn't throw out. Those are the ones he was really frustrated with, but he got off to a good start, so we know he's capable."

I wrote earlier that Single-A Frederick hitting coach Kyle Moore will manage short-season Single-A Aberdeen while Kevin Bradshaw recovers from an injury. Moore's duties with the Keys will be filled at various times by manager Ryan Minor, field coach Jack Graham, minor league hitting coordinator Jeff Manto and roving instructor B.J. Surhoff.

Update: Manny Machado had an RBI single in the first inning and Danny Valencia lifted a sacrifice fly to left field to give the Orioles a 2-0 lead.

Update II: Alex Cobb didn't allow a hit until Jay Bruce's leadoff single in the fifth. Bruce scored on pinch-hitter Jose Bautista's fly ball to left field to reduce the lead to 2-1.