Showalter on Miley: "He's capable of better"

BOSTON - Wade Miley hadn't faced the Red Sox in his career before tonight's start at Fenway Park. He'd like to wipe the slate clean and try again.

Baseball implemented instant replay, but not do-overs.

Miley doesn't want to spend much time reviewing his brief tenure with the Orioles, which includes an 8.41 ERA in eight starts following tonight's 12-2 loss to the Red Sox.

Asked to assess how he's pitched since the July 31 trade, Miley replied, "Obviously, that's not really a good question. I mean, obviously it hasn't been really good."

What's holding him back?

"I don't know," he replied. "I mean, if I knew, I wouldn't be in this position right now. "

Miley retired only four batters, his shortest career start, and was charged with six runs.

"They just came out swinging," Miley said. "Probably the best I've felt in a while. They came out and they attacked. I didn't make the adjustment early enough. They had some jam jobs in there. I don't know. It just happened fast. It happened real quick and it was done with.

"I watched some video and they caught me off guard. I didn't think Dustin (Pedroia) was going to swing at the first pitch. I was just trying to get ahead right there and he got it. I made a pretty good pitch to (Xander) Bogaerts up and in, he was able to place it in a pretty good spot. Things kind of unraveled. I feel like everything I threw, they just kind of hammered.

"I made a few good pitches in the first inning. Hanley (Ramirez), jammed a shot over shortstop and Chris Young, same thing. Thought I made a pretty good pitch on him. He was going hot and things kind of opened it up on him and they took off."

Miley thought he had a good game plan going into the game.

"But obviously not," he said. "Obviously, a pretty good team over there. They swing the bats pretty well, so they got me. "

Manager Buck Showalter felt that Miley was carrying a plus-fastball tonight, but command again was an issue.

"And they're a really good offensive club like we are and they're going to make you pay for those mistakes," Showalter said. "Made a lot of them. Kept hoping he might find his step, but he didn't. They hit a lot of balls hard and they kind of flip one over first base and you know it's not going to be his night.

"He's not the only one. We had trouble pitching with other people, too."

The Red Sox scored in the first seven innings, including a five-run first. They were in pure ambush mode.

"They came out swinging and they didn't stop in the first inning, either. They were swinging all day," said Steve Pearce.

"They're a great hitting team. We just didn't have an answer for them tonight, but there's still two games left in the series. Got to chalk this one up tonight and go get 'em tomorrow."

Pearce hopes to be available after feeling another twinge in his right elbow/forearm area on a throw to second base, a reoccurrence of the same problem that sidelined him earlier.

"Kind of tweaked it a little bit," he said, "so we will see how it feels tomorrow.

The Orioles were held to two hits, tying their season low. David Price gave up home runs to Chris Davis and Manny Machado over his eight innings of work.

Price has allowed two earned runs or fewer in each of his last six starts.

"He was good," Pearce said. "He was pounding the zone, mixing up his pitches, keeping everyone off balance. I don't know his final numbers, but he was definitely tough tonight."

He's been tough for a while, which the Red Sox expected after signing him to a seven-year, $217 deal over the winter.

"They used, what, eight pitchers yesterday? And a guy like David is pitching as well as anybody in baseball right now," Showalter said. "That's why he can command those types of commitments that they made to him. Tonight's a good example of how important those guys are. He's become so much of a pitcher and now his stuff is up to par, too, so you give him really four pitches to work with, it's a tough proposition."

Pearce thought he caught David Ortiz's drive in left-center field in the first inning, but it was ruled a long single that loaded the bases with no outs. Mookie Betts followed with a two-run double and the Red Sox scored five runs before Miley was back in the dugout.

"I know I caught the ball," Pearce said. "I felt it bounce around at first, but I felt like I had a tight grip on the ball. I tried to get it in too fast and that's when I lost control of it. I saw it on video and it definitely looks, not conclusive, but I know I caught it."

Showalter asked for a challenge and lost.

"Steve's a good defender," Showalter said. "It's a tough place to play. I don't know. I thought he caught the ball. Obviously, they didn't. (Orioles) replay guy tells you that he caught it. It's an important part of the game. What are you going to do?"

Pearce couldn't get to Betts' liner in the first, the ball smoked to his left.

"Those balls were hit hard and there's a quick reaction and he just didn't get to the right place," Showalter said.

"He had a stinger there on one of the throws. He's been doing so well with that forearm issue. We'll see how he is tomorrow. It bit him a little on that first throw to second. He's been doing so well with it lately. It's kind of disappointing that it hit him again."

Miley was disappointing again at a time when the Orioles can't afford any breakdowns in the rotation, whether they're going with five or six starters.

"He's struggling a little bit with his delivery, trying to find it," Showalter said. "It's a tough time to be searching for it. It's there. He just hasn't been able to get to it and tonight was an example of that. He's capable of better."