Showalter speaks after 4-3 win

No matter what happens over the next three games, the Orioles are assured of at least being tied for first place in the American League East at the All-Star break. The Orioles have taken two of three from the Nationals following tonight's 4-3 victory at Camden Yards. Wei-Yin Chen will have a career-high nine wins at the break in 12 decisions. He allowed three runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings tonight, and the bullpen covered the rest. Here's manger Buck Showalter: On Jayson Werth fouling a Zach Britton pitch off his foot in ninth and staying out of box "Got hit with one of Zach's sinkers. It hurts. Anybody here who's ever been there, it hurts. Like taking a sledgehammer and hitting it off your foot. I'm fine with it. Just trying to get the feeling back. Adam (Jones) does that a lot. Once he does, I'm not real sure what the rest of the conversation was, but that's their business." On Chen's outing "I thought he was real crisp. He was carrying a pretty good finish on his fastball. I know he'd like to have the pitch back to Werth and bounce it instead of throwing it for a strike. But that's a good club. I'm glad they're somebody else's problem. Of course, it doesn't get any easier with the Yankees coming in, and our schedule the rest of the way." On Chen being 9-3 "I said many times, sometimes a W is one of the least things a pitcher has control over, a starting pitcher. If you're consistently good, you increase your chances of getting one, but there's so many variables that come into play. You've got to catch it, you've got to score runs, you've got to have a little fortune and good luck. But it is what it is. Over the course of a season, if you pitch well it will always give you a better chance to end up with a W. Wei-Yin's so close going seven or eight innings, but it's the consistency of the off-speed pitches that keeps him from quite making that last jump. But they've gotten better, a little more consistently. Does it feel like he's got nine wins? It feels like our team gets the win. Just got to stay engaged in the game somewhere between five and seven and have a rested bullpen to have a chance. I think everybody sits up here and says that." On Darren O'Day escaping bases-loaded jam in eighth "Tommy (Hunter) had some big outs for us, too, and because of the job that our two relief pitchers, (Brad) Brach and (Brian) Matusz did last night, we had all the guys, all the bullets with them. Darren, he manages innings pretty well and he reads swings well. It's very hard to do at the level that Darren's doing it right now and he's been a rock for us." On decision to intentionally walk Bryce Harper with one on and two outs in eighth "There's a lot of variables that go into it. I think we did it over there. Guys like him and a lot of guys, you know they're due and it's just a matter of time and you create the best matchup you can. That stuff about the tying run and the winning run, I don't pay that much attention to it. Playing the lines. Are you trying to win the game or keep from losing it? That's the way I look at it. I know what the weather says, I know what our bullpen is after Zach and I know that there's about three variables there. I think our chances diminish in extra innings because of the way things go, so you kind of go for certain things at certain times. And sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't." On taking two of three from Nats "We've got to play them again on, I think we heard today they're going to make us play at night there. That's their prerogative. It's a good team, two good teams. Playing good baseball, games are starting to dwindle now, getting close to ... play the 100 game mark before too long. It's not necessarily the way you play, it's just a little different feel to the games as you get past the All-Star break and you grind like heck to put yourself in position to play meaningful games. Starts about the middle of August, but they count the same in April. We all know that." O'Day lowered his ERA to 1.11 in 40 2/3 innings. He's struck out a batter in eight consecutive appearances, the longest stretch for an Orioles reliever this season. He hasn't permitted a run in his last 10 outings, walking two and striking out 15. Hunter hasn't allowed an earned run in his last 10 appearances and 12 1/3 innings since June 18. Britton extended his home scoreless streak to 30 1/3 innings 22 appearances. Nelson Cruz's 74 RBIs before the break rank sixth in club history. Adam Jones has a nine-game home hitting streak. He's 14-for-31 (.452) during that stretch.