Wrapping up a 15-6 loss (Tavárez on waivers)

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. - Orioles manager Buck Showalter sensed that it was time to go home, and he knew it long before his team stumbled to a 15-6 loss to the Rays at Charlotte Sports Park.

It got ugly in the sixth inning, when the Rays sent 15 batters to the plate and scored 12 runs off minor leaguers Jefri Hernandez and Brian Moran. A scoring change now tags Hernandez with six earned runs and one unearned and Moran with five earned.

Shortstop J.J. Hardy committed his second error of the day in the inning.

The Orioles got three unearned runs in the seventh on a dropped Mark Trumbo fly ball with the bases loaded. Trey Mancini had a sacrifice fly in the eighth, but Donnie Hart gave up a run in the bottom half on two hits and a walk.

"Got through it," Showalter said. "It was one of those days. Everybody's ready to go. It's time to get through it, be healthy and move on.

"One more."

Chris Dickerson dropped a fly ball that forced Kevin Gausman to increase his pitch count - it reached 75 in 3 2/3 innings - and third baseman Robert Andino was smacked on the forehead by a bad hop in the ninth.

Andino stayed in the game and made a play on another hard-hit ball, much to the delight of Showalter, who pointed out that few guys would "stick their nose back down there" after being hit so hard.

"This time of year, these fields are so beat up," Showalter said.

Gausman walked four batters and threw two wild pitches. He surrendered two runs, but only one earned after Dickerson's misplay.

"Just those two-out walks got his pitch count up a little bit," Showalter said. "He could have gone (more) ... but it wasn't worth pushing it. He got his work in, feels good. Just those walks kind of built up his pitch count a lot, but he's had a good spring for the most part. He's ready to go."

Zach Britton was extended to 1 1/3 innings. He didn't allow a run, but the Rays had two hits and two walks against him.

"A little bit of a command issue, but he's spoiled us with perfection," Showalter said. "He was cutting some balls off, just a little bit off-line. He'll be fine.

"He's going to stay down here when we got Norfolk and he's got an outing (in Sarasota). He'll have a little work day in between. He was talking to Roger (McDowell) about it. They think they know what his issues were. It's tough to correct them during the game."

Update: The Orioles still have plenty of cuts to make before getting down to 25 players, but they took another step today by placing Rule 5 outfielder Aneury Tavárez on waivers, according to two industry sources.

Any team that claims Tavárez must keep him on the 25-man roster all season. If he goes unclaimed, he returns to the Red Sox and can be sent to the minors.

The Orioles want to keep Tavárez in the organization and have discussed the possibility of working out a trade. In that scenario, he could be sent down without Rule 5 restrictions.

Tavárez can continue to appear in games until Friday, as he did in today's 15-6 loss to the Rays. He didn't get an at-bat and is hitting .292 with a team-leading eight steals.

It became obvious that Tavárez wouldn't make the club. The Orioles love his speed, but he's still raw and they appear set with Adam Jones, Hyun Soo Kim, Seth Smith, Mark Trumbo, Joey Rickard and Craig Gentry.

Outfielder Anthony Santander, the other Rule 5 pick, is expected to go on the disabled list with a sore right elbow.

I heard about Tavárez while navigating through Interstate 75 traffic and a second source confirmed it. All that's left now is to find out whether he is a late claim or if the Orioles and Red Sox can reach agreement on a deal.

The Baltimore Sun first reported that Tavárez is on waivers.