Buck Showalter: "The best retaliation would be to win another game" (O's win 5-4)

WASHINGTON - Orioles manager Buck Showalter said there's no reason to gather his players today and warn them against retaliating for last night's incident involving Nationals closer Jonathan Papelbon. He trusts them to take the high road, no matter how much it challenges their self-control.

"Retaliation? No, you're not supposed to do that. The best retaliation would be to win another game, right? That's usually how it works," Showalter said.

"Did I have to remind Darren O'Day last night that he was our only available experienced guy to pitch that inning and what that game meant? If you have to remind somebody of that ... If it's not something you want done, then you've probably got the wrong people or you haven't prepared them for that situation to start with. It is what it is."

Papelbon drilled Manny Machado on the left shoulder and was ejected. O'Day recorded his fifth save without incident. The benches cleared once, and it happened with Papelbon pitching.

"Sometimes, the toughest thing to do is what Darren did last night. That's the hard thing to do," Showalter said.

"The greatest form of revenge is success. Isn't that what they say? That hurts more, especially when you take the high ground. I know Manny wasn't too interested in the high ground for a while there. But you have to play the game with emotion and there are a lot of different ways to show it."

Showalter rushed out of the dugout and met Machado along the first base line.

"I was just trying to get a good view," he quipped. "I was really trying to keep Kirb (Wayne Kirby) under control. Seriously. It was about 50-50."

Papelbon stayed in the dugout after his ejection, which isn't allowed.

"Any suspensions handed out today?" Showalter asked. "Did they come down with anything?"

Apparently not.

Tyler Wilson, who starts today's series finale, can't afford to pitch with any concerns about accidentally hitting a batter and being ejected. He can't be careful to the point of sabotaging his outing.

"I hope not," Showalter said. "He's a guy who's really going to have to have command to pitch well and he's going to have to pitch inside and outside.

"Tyler's been pitching winning baseball since he was a sophomore in high school, probably Little League. It's more about trying to beat a very good team in a time of need for us."

I wrote earlier about today's roster move involving outfielder David Lough.

"David will be here at game time," Showalter said. "He'll help us in the outfield and with other things. Adam (Jones), making sure we cover Gerardo (Parra) if there's an issue. I was talking to Dan (Duquette) about it at about 7:30 this morning."

Jones left the club today and headed to Baltimore for an MRI on his back.

"He'll be here at game time. Hopefully he'll be available in some capacity," Showalter said.

"Decided to make sure that structurally everything is OK. It's getting better every day, but not at the rate you hoped, so you just want to make sure we have the right information. I know Dr. Jacobs said he'd have the findings about 3:30. We'll have an idea.

Closer Zach Britton still isn't expected to be available due to soreness in his left lat muscle.

"Zach had an MRI on Tuesday," Showalter said. "Same thing with Adam. We had some time to play with, gathering information, make sure there's not something we were missing. That's behind us. He feels pretty good today."

Former first-round pick Hunter Harvey, who hasn't pitched this year, received positive news on his right elbow from team orthopedist Dr. Michael Jacobs.

"I talked to Dr. Jacobs. He saw Hunter and he was real encouraging," Showalter said. "He said the MRI was good. He'll see Dr. (James) Andrews and hopefully they concur and he'll get back to pitching again. That was encouraging.

"Dylan (Bundy) isn't ready to pitch yet, but he's making progress."

Update: The Orioles grabbed a quick 1-0 lead on Parra's leadoff double and Machado's RBI single.

The Orioles worked Tanner Roark for 24 pitches, but they settled for one run. Machado was thrown out trying to steal second base.

Update II: Matt Wieters led off the fourth with a walk and Jonathan Schoop followed with his 15th home run, a shot to center field that gave the Orioles a 3-0 lead. Schoop is 2-for-3 with two home runs lifetime versus Roark.

Wilson has thrown 53 pitches in three scoreless innings.

Update III: Wilson has allowed two runs in the fifth on Wilson Ramos' single, pinch-hitter Trea Turner's double, Anthony Rendon's sacrifice fly and Yunel Escobar's RBI single. Orioles 3, Nationals 2

Update IV: Chaz Roe served up a home run to the second batter he faced, Ramos, and we're tied 3-3 in the seventh. Roe retired one of the three batters he faced.

Roe has allowed only four home runs this season.

Wilson allowed two runs and six hits in six innings, with two walks and four strikeouts. He threw 98 pitches, 65 for strikes.

Update V: Escobar doubled off Mike Wright to break the tie. The Orioles picked up their 43rd outfield assist on the 8-4-2 putout that cut down Rendon, but they trail 4-3.

Update VI: Steve Pearce singled off Blake Treinen leading off the eighth an Wieters hit a two-run homer to deep center field, Michael A. Taylor not bothering to move, and the Orioles lead 5-4.

Wieters had two RBIs since Aug. 9.

Update VII: The Orioles completed their three-game sweep of the Nationals with a 5-4 victory. They've won 11 of their last 15 and are 3 1/2 behind the idle Astros for the second wild card.

Brad Brach, who worked two innings on Tuesday, threw 21 pitches and stranded two runners in a scoreless eighth. Darren O'Day recorded his sixth save and his third in the last three days by retiring the Nats in order.

Wright gets the win.

The Orioles (76-76) are .500 for the first time since Aug. 26. They're now 24-25 in one-run games and 34-37 on the road.