Coolbaugh on Santander: "I like what I see from him"

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Rule 5 pick Anthony Santander cooled off last night inside Tropicana Field, where it's always 72 degrees and able to withstand heavy rains like the kind that pummeled it for much of the game.

Santander had five hits in his last eight at-bats, including three doubles, before going 0-for-4 in the Orioles' 7-0 loss to the Rays.

The Orioles were held to four hits and suffered their 11th shutout of the season. Their 80 runs in September are the fewest in the majors.

Manager Buck Showalter could keep playing Santander through the weekend. He's up to three consecutive starts.

"It's definitely a great experience, something that I hope is going to help me to compete next year, so that's the way I'm approaching it," Santander said via translator Ramon Alarcon.

"The game in the big leagues is very quick. Another thing that I've noticed is you have to take advantage of the pitcher's mistake. If you don't take advantage of the pitcher's mistake, you may not be able to get another opportunity."

The chances keep coming for Santander, who retains his Rule 5 status for the first 44 days of next season. He must break camp with the team or be placed on waivers and, if clears, offered back to the Indians.

How often does a player begin two consecutive seasons as a Rule 5? It happened to Santander because of an elbow injury that kept him on the disabled list and prevented him from spending the required 90 days in the majors.

"I'm not really giving that a whole lot of thought," he said. "I'm just concentrating on going out there, prepare myself, help my team, take advantage of this great opportunity, this great learning experience and hopefully contribute to the team, as well, next year."

Santander blends easily in the clubhouse. He's a quiet personality, but friendly to visitors and receptive to veterans offering him a hand.

"Just to name a few, Adam Jones helping me out there in the outfield, as well as (Jonathan) Schoop, Manny (Machado), (Mark) Trumbo, (Seth) Smith," he said. "They've all been very helpful, sharing their knowledge, sharing their experience and trying to get me to become a better player. Good teammates."

The early signs are encouraging to hitting coach Scott Coolbaugh.

"I like what I see from him, as far as a hitter," Coolbaugh said. "He's got potential from both sides, he has power to the opposite field. The only thing that any young player has to go through is the adjustments with major league pitching and know what they're trying to do, know what they're capable of doing against them. And he's shown a pretty good job of doing that.

"Typical the other night, the guy threw him early-count breaking balls, out in front, and he made the adjustment with two strikes and got a base hit to right. So those types of things are what you look for, if some young hitters can make some in-bat adjustments, and so far he's been able to show that.

"He works hard, he's in-tune to the games, he's really paying attention to what the pitchers are doing up here. With that being said, that's all you can ask for."

Miguel Castro is preparing for his first major league start tonight after 75 career relief appearances. He's gone 3-5 with a 4.25 ERA in a bullpen role, notching four saves with the Blue Jays in 2015 before they traded him to the Rockies.

The decision to make Castro a closer at such an early age was a curious one and did nothing to accelerate his development. Ask around the industry and the shoulder shrugs could appear on an exercise video.

Castro has made 35 starts in the minors, including five with Triple-A Buffalo in 2015. The Orioles are hesitant to remove him from the bullpen because he's been so valuable in the middle innings and has handled the pressure in close games, but the priority always is to develop starting pitchers and they need plenty.

The rubber arm may be tiring. Castro has been scored upon in his last six appearances, allowing nine earned runs and 10 total in 10 innings. He's racked up a combined 87 1/3 innings this season, the highest total of his professional career, and isn't counted upon tonight to work deep into the game. The bullpen will be busy, but it's a chance to evaluate Castro in a different routine.

Castro has made five appearances against the Rays and allowed two earned runs (four total) in nine innings. He hasn't pitched since facing them on Sept. 22 and allowing one run and three hits in 2 1/3 innings.

Steven Souza Jr. is 2-for-5 with a double against him and Logan Morrison has a home run.

Right-handers are hitting .187 against Castro this season and left-handers are hitting .256.

Chris Archer has made three starts against the Orioles this season and allowed 14 earned runs (16 total) and 21 hits in 16 1/3 innings. He's also walked eight batters.

Schoop is 10-for-24 (.417) with two doubles and three home runs against Archer. Pedro Álvarez is 6-for-15 (.400) with three doubles and two home runs. J.J. Hardy is 9-for-28 (.321) with two doubles and a home run.

Chris Davis struck out three times last night to give him 191 in 450 at-bats.

The Orioles are 10 games below .500 for the first time since ending the 2011 season at 69-93.

Orioles pitching has yielded 10 walks in a nine-inning game three times this season. They did it in three games combined from 2009-2016.

Wade Miley is the first Orioles pitcher with five September losses since Daniel Cabrera in 2007.