As they look at youngsters, will O's stick with Hess in rotation?

ARLINGTON, Texas- Catcher Caleb Joseph said it well after last night's 11-3 loss at Texas. Just about all Orioles players right now - young and older - are "auditioning" for the future. There are spots to be won on the 2019 Orioles pitching staff and especially the young pitchers can state their case right here and right now.

Right-hander David Hess was doing that over his first five major league starts this year. In those games, between May 12 and June 7, he pitched to an ERA of 3.07 and he did that facing three AL East teams and Washington. It was an impressive start to his big league career.

But that initial success has not continued. Hess was knocked out last night during a Texas seven-run fourth. He allowed seven runs (five earned) in 3 1/3 innings. His ERA is 11.14 in his past five Orioles starts. After four of those starts and one relief appearance, Hess was sent back to Triple-A Norfolk on July 6. He struggled in his first two starts when he got back to the Tides, but then threw seven scoreless on July 21 and was called back to the Orioles July 25 after the Zach Britton trade. Now with Kevin Gausman gone, he's getting a shot at the rotation again.

But will manager Buck Showalter keep giving Hess chances?

"There's a way I can answer that," Showalter said. "In the situation we're in, we're going to give some young people an opportunity to ... show us the good and they show us the not-so-good. Let them work through it. It's not always going to be a bed of roses for them. They've got to learn from their mistakes and give them a chance not to repeat them and to learn from them. David's had a taste of the good and taste of the bad and we'll see how he responds."

Showalter has not forgotten what Hess did earlier this year when he threw some solid games. He had a three-start stretch versus Tampa Bay, Washington and Toronto where he allowed two runs over 18 2/3.

"He's shown us he can pitch well. Tonight just got away from him there with the command. Up here you're going to have some challenging innings. You've got to figure out a way to stop the bleeding and keep it to a minimum.

"There's also an adjustment the league makes against you, too. The good and the bad always get exposed and you attack the bad and try and make it better. Part of who he is, he's aggressive down the hill. He's always firing. I'm not going to take that part away from him. Sometimes guys, you have to stick with them and let them settle down a little bit emotionally and mentally, but that's kind of who he is. I've seen him pitch in Bowie in person, and that's the same way he is, and that's also why you like him because he's not going to quit coming at you."

The new guys did well: Friday's game saw the Orioles give up 11 runs, but in the midst of that, two new O's relievers, acquired in the recent trades impressed. Right-hander Evan Phillips retired all six batters he faced over two innings in his O's debut. He struck out three and needed just 25 pitches to get six outs. He threw 19 fastballs at 94 and 95 mph, five changeups at 88 mph and one slider. Then Cody Carroll made his second O's appearance. After Phillips worked the fifth and sixth, Carroll threw a 1-2-3 seventh on 10 pitches, touching 97 mph. He's thrown two scoreless as an Oriole on 31 pitches.

Joseph said this of the duo: "These guys are new. They're hungry. They're trying to make a good impression. They looked really good. Cody has a really nice angle. He's a taller guy. He's got a good angle on his fastball. I'm really impressed with that. He's got a really explosive heater.

"They got away with a few pitches also. There's going to be kind of an adjustment period you get into and then you'd like to see where they're at two or three weeks from now once the book's out on them and everything like that. Three perfect innings, that's really solid for us."

About those auditions: Joseph's comment from last night was a good one. While the team continues to do poorly and is headed for the worst record in team history, individual performances are still pretty important with 52 games left.

"There is something to play for," he said. "There are a lot of younger players that are auditioning for next year and even some of us older players, we're auditioning for next year. Each game really matters. Opportunities are really thin in the big leagues and it's really important for each and every guy to come out there and do their best. If I'm a pitcher, I'm scratching and clawing to get out there and throw up zeros. There are openings all over the place on this staff. You have to seize the moment and take advantage of the opportunities at hand. It's not going to be there over and over and over. They are looking for guys that can get outs now, and some of these guys need to take advantage of their opportunity and not let it pass them by. Same for some of us older guys. We're getting a chance to play more than usual and we need to take advantage of that."

Maryland, my Maryland: Phillips was born in Salisbury, Md. and spent the first two years of his life in Ocean City before his family moved to North Carolina. Last night he became the 25th player that was born in Maryland to play for the Orioles.

Here is the list, starting with those that played the most games with the Orioles to the least: Cal Ripken Jr., Brady Anderson, Bill Ripken, Harold Baines, Steve Barber, Bobby Young, Jack Fisher, Tom Phoebus, Ray Moore, Damon Buford, Jim Fuller, Tim Nordbrook, Dave Johnson, Barry Snetrone, John Miller, Steve Clevenger, Steve Johnson, Steve Lombardozzi, Dave Boswell, John Bale, Leo Burke, Bruce Howard, Jim Lehew, Garrett Stephenson, Evan Phillips.

Three native Marylanders have managed the Orioles and they are Ray Miller, Cal Ripken Sr. and Sam Perlozzo.

Final notes: The Orioles have allowed 28 hits and 28 runs in this series. Their two starters combined to allow 17 runs (15 earned) over five innings. The O's team ERA has increased the past two nights from 4.83 to 4.98.

Texas has not won any of its last 10 series of four games, going 0-5-5. But one more win this weekend and they will end that drought.

The Orioles have won three road series all year and they've lost 12 of their past 13 road games. They are 13-42 away from Oriole Park.

Newcomer Jonathan Villar went 3-for-5 last night and he's 5-for-10 with five singles in his first two games with Baltimore. He matched his season high in hits last night, doing so for the fifth time. Tim Beckham had two hits last night and he's 6-for-14 his past three games and is batting .393 (11-for-28) his past seven games.