The rain has stopped at Camden Yards, the sun is shining and the tarp is peeled back off the infield. It remains folded in the outfield.
I'd feel better if it were rolled up.
Adam Jones is back in the lineup tonight after missing two of the last three games with "general soreness," as manager Buck Showalter put it. Mostly in his legs.
"Better," Showalter said. "He's ready to go. We'll see. He got shortened up a couple games in New York, so I'm hoping he's over some of that Toronto stuff."
The Orioles committed eight errors in the past week. Could fatigue play a factor as the regular season grinds to an end?
"There's always that part of it for every team this time of year, but we've had guys play this much before and not," Showalter said. "It's something we haven't been as good at as we've been in the past. That's for sure."
The Orioles are 16th in the majors with 87 errors. The Athletics have committed the most with 118 and the Marlins own the fewest with 65.
The Orioles' .984 fielding percentage is 13th and their .687 defensive efficiency ratio is 17th.
"I look at us comparatively speaking to other clubs, we want to be first. We don't' strike out that many people. When the ball's in play, we've got to be able to catch it, we've got to be able to turn two on it. So, that's an area that's been more of a challenge than it has been in the past. And as far as the reasons why, I certainly have a lot of reasons why, but I'm certainly not going to talk about them publicly.
"It's something we certainly need to get better at as we go forward. That's for sure."
Triple-A Norfolk manager Ron Johnson and pitching coach Mike Griffin have joined the Orioles for the last homestand. One of them will be designated as an extra coach for each game.
Zach Britton extended his scoreless streak against the Yankees to 24 1/3 innings yesterday while recording a four-out save. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it marks the longest current streak against the Yankees and the longest since the White Sox's Britt Burns strung together 31 innings from 1981-1982
The Yankees haven't scored a run off Britton since Aug. 13, 2014.
Showalter garnered a lot of attention yesterday for ordering an intentional walk to Aaron Judge with two outs, Jacoby Ellsbury on third base and the Orioles clinging to a 6-4 lead. Gary Sánchez represented the potential winning run, but he struck out.
"They're both really good hitters," Showalter said. "I have confidence in Zach with either one. Came up heads today. Tomorrow might be tails."
They're both really good hitters and a threat, having a big year, and they're going to have great careers. Give Zach some wiggle room there. (Didi) Gregorius was there, too, and even though he's left-handed, he's capable of doing things, too.
"You're really just picking your poison there."
Update: The Orioles took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on Jonathan Schoop's fielder's choice grounder after Tim Beckham's leadoff walk and Manny Machado's single.
Update II: The Orioles expanded their lead to 4-0 in the second on Austin Hays' two-run double with the bases loaded and no outs and Machado's sacrifice fly. Hays grounded a ball up the middle that deflected off the bag and bounced into shallow left-center field.
Update III: The Orioles lead 5-0 in the third inning after loading the bases again with no outs. Welington Castillo's sacrifice fly scored Jones, who led off with a walk.
Update IV: Mookie Betts' run-scoring single in the fourth reduced the lead to 5-1. Brock Holt led off with a double after replacing Dustin Pedroia, who took a foul ball to the face after it bounced off the edge of the plate.
Update V: The Red Sox sent 10 batters to the plate in the fifth and scored six runs to take a 7-6 lead. All six runs were charged to Dylan Bundy, who lasted only 4 1/3.
Mookie Betts had a three-run double off Mychal Givens to move the Red Sox ahead.
Update VI: Pedro Ãlvarez homered off Fernando Abad in the bottom of the fifth inning, his first since the Orioles selected his contract from Triple-A Norfolk earlier this month, and we're tied 7-7.
Update VII: Beckham's RBI double in the fifth gave the Orioles an 8-7 lead.
Update VIII: Xander Bogaerts led off the top of the seventh with a game-tying home run off Donnie Hart.
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