Hardy on turning double plays with Schoop; Aberdeen's lineup and more

Given the chance to turn a double play these days, the Orioles are turning it. J.J. Hardy at short and Jonathan Schoop at second have become a formidable combination in the middle of the diamond for the club. This afternoon, Hardy threw some praise Schoop's way. "From the first time I saw him turn a double play from second base, I thought he was extremely quick. He has good hands," Hardy said. "After I feed him or Manny (Machado) feeds him, he turns the ball well with a strong arm. He's been great." The Orioles lead the majors in double plays: 79: Orioles 70: Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants 68: Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers As Hardy has played with Schoop more, they've gotten more used to each other and it's clear they are a pretty well-oiled machine out there lately. "Just repetition," Hardy said of the improvement. "You want to get used to his tendencies. For instance, Brian Roberts always did kind of a backhand flip to me. Schoopy works on that a little bit, but during a game, he always turns it over and gives me a regular underhand feed. But it's getting to know each other and how they like the ball." Scouts say players like Hardy and Schoop, who may not be fast runners on the bases, can be very quick on defense. It is two different things. "I agree completely," Hardy said. "I don't know how you explain it or prove it but I agree with that. He's handled himself well and has a great attitude. Him and Flash (Ryan Flaherty) both, like having them both out there." Now 3 1/2 games out of first after beating Toronto last night, Hardy said it's good time for a hot streak for the Orioles. "This is a good series to start, no question," Hardy said. "I feel like we're in good position. With what we've dealt with this year and to still be where we are at, yeah I feel like we're in a good position and this is a good series to start." By the way, catcher Caleb Joseph said he did intend to hit Jose Reyes with his throw toward first base in the seventh inning last night. Reyes was called for being out of the baseline. Joseph talked about this four-game series with the Blue Jays. "This is a big series with Toronto and we want to gain some ground on them," Joseph said. "We feel good about where we are at right now and we need to keep doing the small things right that help us win. There is a sense of urgency here." During his press conference today, O's manager Buck Showalter was asked about minor league pitcher Zach Clark. The right-hander, who pitched 869 innings in the organization since 2008, was released earlier today as was first reported here at MASNsports.com. He was attempting to convert to a knuckleball pitcher but struggled to do that. "Good young man," Showalter said. "He'll do well. I wouldn't be surprised if somewhere down the road he doesn't stay in the organization. You know we we down a pretty long road with it. "Kind of sad. But glad we gave him that opportunity and went down that road. He possessed a lot of things it takes to pitch in the big leagues other than actual stuff." Here is the opening night lineup for Aberdeen tonight: CF - Jay Gonzalez LF - Sam Kimmel 2B - Steve Wilkerson 3B - Cam Kneeland C - Alex Murphy 1B - Hector Veloz RF - Oswill Lartiguez DH - Cory Segui SS - Justin Viele RHP - Janser Severino