Castro and Givens' innings, Hays in right and more (O's down 6-1)

Kevin Gausman will start the first game against the Pirates on Tuesday night in Pittsburgh, the latest rotation revelation for the Orioles as they weigh all of their pitching options in the final week of the season.

Manager Buck Showalter said Wednesday was "a little up in the air."

"We've got on our board five options, depending on who we have to use out of the bullpen and some other things that go on there," Showalter said.

Miguel Castro isn't likely to get a start next week, mostly due to his 87 1/3 combined innings in the majors and at Double-A Bowie. He's been scored upon in his last six appearances.

"One of the problems is getting to a spot where we can do that with him because we have to use him out of the bullpen," Showalter said. "Like last night, we had to pitch a lot of innings out of the bullpen again, which he does.

"I don't think it's a priority. I'd like to in a perfect world, but because of his inning count and you look at his background ...

"We talked a lot about, you've got a young guy who's kind of making his way in the big leagues and he's doing pretty well in that role, and now all of a sudden you put him in the rotation and he really struggles or something and then you try to put him back there. I just really want him to end the year thinking good about his future and where he's going. And it could be as a starter.

"We could start him and have him pitch two or three innings from that role, but the problem is getting there with two or three days off or four days off because we're having to use him to get through games and stay competitive with that. So that's the challenge. And he's getting a little close to that area in innings where we want to be careful."

Castro started at Bowie and has "the repertoire to do it," Showalter said.

"We've been on him. Like last night, he was 1.2 (seconds) to the plate and the one the guy stole on him, he was almost 1.6. That can't happen, we can't do that, and that's the challenge we face with a lot of young pitchers, the little things like that," Showalter said.

"If you're 1.5, 1.6 up here as a starter, they'll run you out of the league. Plus we've got catchers who can throw you out if you give them a chance. And they won't run. Things like that.

"The changeup's there, the breaking ball's there. You can take the 97-98 (mph) and understand it's going to be 93-94 as a starter, 95. That means he's going to have to have other pitches. But he's certainly somebody that's on the radar with that, somebody that we will consider. But to base it completely on his performance in the spring next year would be, you leave yourself wide open for mistakes. But what else do we have to go by?"

Mychal Givens set his career high in innings last night with 75 over 66 appearances.

"With Mike, it's good for him," Showalter said. "He's obviously not thrown many innings in his career. He needs ... I think sometimes we forget how few reps and how little experience he has as a professional pitcher. It was a pretty fast move to the big leagues and I try to keep that in mind.

"I think every rep that he can get I think is good for him. Physically, he's in good shape. He's not even in the league leaders in appearances. But it's been a challenge with our starters to keep those guys out of harm's way this year in the bullpen."

Showalter said closer Zach Britton's left knee remains a little sore following the stem cell injection.

"I think he's got one more day before that starts going in the other direction," Showalter said.

Austin Hays remains in the lineup in right field and Seth Smith spends another night on the bench. Smith is fine physically. But he's also a pending free agent and Hays could break camp next spring as the starter in right.

Smith hasn't played since Sept. 17. He's batting .257/.341/.434 with 19 doubles, 13 home runs and 32 RBIs in 108 games.

Showalter recently met with Smith in his office to discuss the reduction in playing time.

"He almost pinch-hit last night," Showalter said. "He'll play between now and the end of the year. We've got a pretty good idea. If you look at Seth's track record, he's right about where he's been for the last three to five years. He's proven that he's still performing at the level that he came in here with."

Joey Rickard hasn't been in the lineup since Sept. 16 and has received only one at-bat.

"I think we've got a pretty good idea of what Joey's capable of bringing and I think these opportunities to take a look at Austin as much as possible to make good decisions about what level he may play at next year are important," Showalter said.

"You're trying to gather as much information as you can. Plus, he's playing well and you want to see what type of trust factor you have. He's actually played under control a lot more than I was expecting from what I was told. Just little things. Not running until you're out and not diving after a ball that you're 10 feet away from. Sometimes you get a little overzealous and try to make something that's not there.

"He's engaged. That's good to see. He's not aloof with this and I think he understands what this opportunity could mean for him."

For the Rays
Kevin Kiermaier CF
Lucas Duda 1B
Evan Longoria 3B
Logan Morrison DH
Steven Souza Jr. RF
Corey Dickerson LF
Wilson Ramos C
Brad Miller 2B
Adeiny Hechavarria SS

Jake Odorizzi RHP

Update: Jonathan Schoop doubled with two outs in the first inning and scored when Adam Jones reached on an infield hit and Rays first baseman Lucas Duda committed an error while flipping the ball to pitcher Jake Odorizzi covering first base.

Update II: Lucas Duda hit a three-run homer off Jeremy Hellickson with two outs in the third inning to give the Rays a 3-1 lead. Hellickson retired the first eight batters.

Update III: The Rays scored two unearned runs off Richard Bleier in the seventh on errors by Manny Machado and Hays to take a 5-1 lead. Hays made a sensational running, leaping catch against the right field wall to rob Adeiny Hechavarria and end the inning.

Update IV: Logan Morrison homered off Mike Wright in the ninth to expand the lead to 6-1.