Showalter speaks after sweep

The Orioles keep putting their best foot forward despite no longer being in a race.

They know the remaining games are important to teams in playoff contention, so they continue to field competitive lineups rather than experiment. The result today was a doubleheader sweep of the Yankees, including a 4-3 win in the nightcap that's moved them within one game of .500 with one left on the schedule.

"It's just what you're supposed to do, regardless of who you're playing, and our guys have all year," said manager Buck Showalter. "They've never given in and they've competed and I'm real proud of them. I know I put myself in Houston's shoes, I know how I would expect a team to play. But I think we all know that's not always the case. They ran everything they had at us."

The Orioles played small ball in the eighth to break a 3-3 tie, getting a soft single from Paul Janish, a bunt single from Gerardo Parra and two wild pitches from Yankees set-up man Dellin Betances.

"Parra brings that skill set with him," Showalter said. "We got fortunate. Paulie blooped one in there and got a wild pitch. And fortunate because he got one of the better defensive catchers in the league. You're not going to get a whole lot off Betances there, so we kind of scratched one across there. They helped us a little bit."

Janish had two more hits and continues to show his plus-skills in the field.

"It's one of those nights where the ball is kind of skidding on the ground and we were fortunate," Showalter said. "We got some breaks. The relay throw skidded on the grass earlier. But Paulie's a pro. He's 31, 32. The shortstops we had in the majors, Triple-A and Double-A, I'll put them against anybody at those three levels.

"Paulie can defend with anybody. He reminds you a lot of J.J. defensively and that's quite a compliment. He's a baseball player. He moved up on a wild pitch that some people would be cautious on.

"Nolan (Reimold) had a good day all the way around in both games."

T.J. McFarland earned his second win in three days, going four innings on Thursday and retiring all six batters he faced tonight.

"If the season lasts a couple more weeks, Mac can get 20 wins," Showalter quipped.

McFarland has allowed four earned runs in 25 1/3 career innings against the Yankees.

"I thought Mac was key," Showalter said. "He's pitched well against them over his career."

Manny Machado homered again in Game 2, giving him 35 this season.

"I looked up there tonight and I went, 'He's got 35 home runs,'" Showalter said. "One of the most impressive things is 100 runs scored. What he's got, 101 now? It's hard to do. To stay on the field that much.

"I don't know what else you can ask a guy to do. He's stolen a base for us, he's played as good of defense as you can play, he helped us in the one hole when we had a need there. And I think you're seeing a guy evolve into somebody capable of hitting some other spots in the order. And that's kind of how you hope the process goes when you first bring him up."

Ubaldo Jimenez turned in a quality start by definition with three runs and five hits in six innings. He walked three, struck out seven and hit two batters.

"I thought his stuff was pretty crisp," Showalter said. "He ended with about 185, 184 innings. He's been there for us. This guy takes the ball every fifth day and he competes. As he's gotten to know everybody.

"He's a guy that's easy to pull for. He cares. He takes care of himself on and off the field. He cares. You never have to worry about him being there. He's had a very competitive year for us."