Gentry fractures finger in 1-0 13-inning win

The Orioles will get Adam Jones back in the lineup on Saturday after tonight's ejection, but they won't be able to count on Craig Gentry for a while.

Gentry suffered a non-displaced fracture in his right middle finger while attempting to bunt in the third inning. He's scheduled to see a hand specialist over the weekend and appears headed to the disabled list.

The injury is more serious than the laceration announced earlier, before the Orioles defeated the Blue Jays 1-0 on Jonathan Schoop's walk-off double in the 13th inning.

"It's a laceration and a fracture," said manager Buck Showalter. "Doctor says it's not displaced, which would be a longer term. We'll have a better idea how long in the next day or so when the doctor looks at him."

Gentry completed the at-bat by striking out and Joey Rickard replaced him in the top of the fourth inning. Gentry was filling in for Jones after the ejection by plate umpire Pat Hoberg in the first.

"I was talking to him in my office before I came here," Showalter said. "Pretty tough. He's been a big piece for us. That's a loss for us."

Showalter has long valued Gentry's running, defense and overall approach to the game. He feared that the veteran outfielder would be claimed off waivers after the Orioles designated him for assignment earlier this summer, and they didn't run the same risk last month after needing a roster spot for Rule 5 pick Anthony Santander, choosing instead to option Rickard.

Putting Gentry on the disabled list would allow the Orioles to recall one of their pitchers who hasn't been down for the minimum 10 days. Donnie Hart and Mike Wright suddenly come into play. Alec Asher is eligible on Saturday.

"Obviously, he's not going to be able to play for the 10 days," Showalter said. "It's just a matter of how long."

Gentry's season isn't necessarily over despite the fracture.

"The one thing he can do is run, so you've got to weigh that against it," Showalter said. "Once you get the splint on it and the (protective) mitt over it, he might still be able to bring that to us in 10 days.

"There are some moving parts there. We're going to have to see what the doctor says, the risk involved. I'm sure there's going to be a period where the swelling's going to have to go down where you won't even risk sliding with it. We'll see what he says."

Schoop's 101st RBI of the season, on a double into the right-center field gap off Aaron Loup, scored Manny Machado from first base and moved the Orioles (69-66) within 1 1/2 games of the Twins for the second wild card.

"I think there was a lot of pressure on Manny to score for Jon or he never would have heard the end of it," Showalter said.

Is Schoop becoming a more viable candidate for Most Valuable Player in the American League? You don't have to convince Showalter.

"I was talking about it two months ago, if you all remember, so I could use some help," Showalter said. "I'm talking about both sides of the ball. But a lot of them who were shoo-ins a couple months ago have kind of, might be behind him now. I'm trying to stay off the bulletin board here. I'm not too good at it."

Here's more from Showalter:

On whether Jones said something in dugout to get ejected: "I think it was from the batter's box to the dugout and I didn't get over in time. You'd like to think that ... it's unfortunate. It's not like he's up there around the plate area arguing anything. He's walked away, he's in the dugout and a pitch away from moving on to the next hitter.

"What are you going to say? It's unfortunate. I don't like it to happen, Adam doesn't. I don't know everything that was said. Other than that, he had a pretty good game behind the game, I thought, for the number of innings and the calls he made."

On Machado's plays and other standouts: "Which play of Manny's? Those plays don't get made by other third basemen, OK? Because he makes them look so ... It's the velocity he can create on the move with different arm angles. Both catchers did great jobs helping put zeros up, and (Miguel) Castro, I didn't want to pitch him tonight. He felt great today and I was trying to stay away from him as much as I could.

"Brad (Brach) and Zach (Britton) each gave us two innings and (Jimmy) Yacabonis got his first win, I would hope. I knew there was a lot of clamoring in the clubhouse before I left. Them celebrating it with him. Let's put it that way."

On Schoop's throw home in the ninth: "Jon might be the only second baseman to make that play because of the arm strength. Caleb (Joseph) stuck it in there because there's a slight backdoor open there from that angle. There are so many plays like that. It's a good game to win, but you've got to do so many things for it to happen.

"I knew about the third or fourth inning, a lot like Dylan (Bundy), (Joe) Biagini had four pitches going at any point in the count and it was a challenge. But our bullpen was as good as theirs tonight."

On Kevin Gausman, who threw six scoreless innings: "He's another guy that really seems to prosper this time of year with the extra rest. This guy's leading the league in starts. Kevin has really quietly come on in a time of need. He was solid. I was hoping to get that other inning out of him but it wasn't there. You could see he was leaking oil. He's maintained stuff later in games. He's really shown durability this year."

On Gausman not searching for splitter now: "Yeah, I think so, and the command of the fastball has been so much better. That's really what's set everything else up for him."

On Trey Mancini's diving catch to end the top of the 13th: "You've all been able to watch the process of him from being a first baseman. We saw in spring training all the work, little by little. I'm sure you watch in early BP, home and away, he's out there, he wants to be good at it. And he knows what an impact. I'll tell you, the last month it's really come together for him. You can tell his breaks, his confidence level, getting a feel for the third deck. I never thought he would throw and pick it up that quickly, but he has."