Showalter on Britton, Gonzalez and scoreboard watching

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Orioles manager Buck Showalter won't commit to left-hander Zach Britton closing tonight if there's a save situation - at least not while he's talking to reporters in the dugout during batting practice. That's information he prefers to keep private.

Britton said he's available after resting the past two nights. Showalter isn't going to tip off the opposing manager by laying out his bullpen plans and which relievers can be used.

"I'm not going to tell you Zach is going to pitch tonight or not," Showalter said. "I'm not going to broadcast that to the world."

Showalter is proud that he manages the bullpen in a way that places the greatest emphasis on keeping his relievers healthy. It's the right call for Showalter.

"Every time? Yes, always," he said.

"We're are all very proud of the health of our bullpen and I'm not going to waver from that. There's times where you take care of them and times where you do push the envelope a little bit. Not very often, as you all know. When you say something and all of a sudden the situation changes, I've seen a lot of people change that. But we're fortunate to have Darren (O'Day).

"On paper, Darren has done such a good job in the last two years of attacking left-handed hitters in a more efficient way. (But) we would have done it whether we had Darren or not."

Showalter confirmed that Miguel Gonzalez will throw a bullpen session on Sunday if the pitcher's shoulder and elbow respond favorably to today's 120-foot flat ground session.

"He'll take a side on Sunday," Showalter said. "That was encouraging today. He's got a good look in his eye. You can tell he's feeling good about the progress he's making. That was a pretty good test today.

"The biggest one isn't so much how he throws Sunday, but how he feels the next day. He's got his normal stiffness now instead of something spot related, an elbow or shoulder. Both of them are in good shape. We'd like to get him back."

Gonzalez is lined up to face hitters on Tuesday or Wednesday, perhaps in a simulated game.

"I know Wally (Dave Wallace) was talking about it today, but he said let's just slow down and go one step at a time. So far so good."

Gonzalez could come off the disabled list next weekend at pitch in Boston.

"We'll see," Showalter said. "I'm not going to throw some...let's get to how he feels tomorrow after throwing 120 feet today. But it's encouraging."

The Orioles are two games below .500 and 4 1/2 behind the Astros for the second wild card. Showalter said he isn't scoreboard watching, in part because it's hard to find one at Tropicana Field.

"I personally am not," he said. "It's all about our nine innings. I personally am not. Every once in a while you guys will let something out about standings and record and whatever and I don't. I just don't think it's productive to be dwelling on that all the time.

"We're trying to win every baseball game and we know if that doesn't happen it doesn't matter what anybody else is doing."

It's too soon for Showalter to consider the importance of finishing with a winning record if the Orioles miss the postseason.

"I'm not going there yet," he said. "It's about being the last team standing. That's all it is. We're not ever going to give into that until... We've got, what, 16 games? We're going to try and win the next 16 games. We'll see if that's good enough."