Cruz on the Home Run Derby, Joseph on his offense, Schoop on teammates' support

After last night's game, when he hit his 26th home run on his 34th birthday, Nelson Cruz said once again that he will be skipping the All-Star Home Run Derby. "They asked me," Cruz said. "Like I've said in the past, I was in that once. I think the best thing for the team right now and for me is to stay out of that. Take that time to rest and come back strong for the second half. Try to help the team." While he has just three hits over his past 24 at-bats over the last six games, two of those hits were homers. Cruz is starting to hit the longball again after going 14 games without one from June 4-18. He now has hit five over his last 13 games. Cruz is now 7-for-19 with two homers in five games on his birthday. Meanwhile, catcher Caleb Joseph is not just helping the Orioles with his defense. He homered and drove in a career-high three runs last night. Joseph is starting to feel more confident when batting. "Yeah, I think so," he said. "Each and every day, you get more and more confident being in there. Taking more swings and the daily reps, you start to feel more comfortable. My No. 1 goal (last night) was to try and get T.J. (McFarland) as far as possible. Hitting that home run was kind of icing on the cake, but I feel comfortable." Over his last eight games, Joseph is 6-for-20 (.300) with a double, three homers and seven RBIs. He had just nine hits in his first 68 at-bats as an Oriole. Orioles second baseman Jonathan Schoop had two more singles last night and scored twice. Schoop has put together three straight two-hit games for the first time in the majors and is 6-for-12 over the three games with four runs and a double. "The hits started falling," he said this afternoon. "Things started to go my way a little bit. This whole year has been a learning experience. Some ups and downs. But sometimes when you are down, you learn more. The team is winning and I've had some big hits. All that matters is winning." Schoop's three-game run has raised his average from .213 to .227 and OPS from .589 to .613. He said one thing that has been big for him this year is the support of his teammates. He said they have helped him stay mentally strong throughout the ups and downs of his rookie season. "This game is tough. When things don't go your way, you have to stay strong," Schoop said. "The guys give me compliments and confidence. They'll remind me I'm just 22, still young. Just need experience. They've taught me a lot of things and been really, really good to me."