Hearing from Hyde, Armstrong and Eades (O's lead 7-1)

The news has slowed down at Camden Yards as the Orioles perform fielding drills, take batting practice and throw in the outfield. Players are allowed to wear shorts and T-shirts.

Hey, it's their weekend.

Trey Mancini is getting a day off. There's nothing wrong with him physically.

"He needs a breather," said manager Brandon Hyde.

Reliever Shawn Armstrong said his right forearm feels better after the Orioles placed him on the 10-day injured list yesterday with a strained muscle.

"Honestly, it was one of those things where after the game Wednesday it kind of felt like a little bruise in my wrist, not really anything serious," he said. "I didn't think it was anything major. I just let them know. And came in on Thursday and it was pretty tight, so they were going to give me the day.

"It was more of a precautionary thing. I think if I needed to throw an inning yesterday I could have, but with the way the bullpen was, the situation where we needed some length, it was better to be safe than sorry.

"I have full range of motion today. Everything is pretty much back to normal. The plan now is to resume throwing Monday or Tuesday and be back in games on the 1st. Just more precautionary, letting the doctors see it and everything, and I think we're in a good spot right now."

Armstrong said he's never experienced a forearm injury.

"I haven't had anything since I had shoulder surgery in 2008," he said. "It was just one of those things where I think I've done a really good job with my shoulder and arm care and everything, and any time I kind of feel something out of the ordinary, I'm going to say something. It's not worth the longevity of it.

"The doctor seems to think it was just like tweak in the middle finger flexor, not really anything serious. Just ready to get back out there."

Reliever Ryan Eades arrived at Camden Yards today after the Orioles claimed him off waivers from the Twins earlier this month and optioned him to Triple-A Norfolk.

"It was a little bit of a surprise," he said of switching teams. "Things happen quick in baseball. The manager called me in and told me what was going on, that I was going to be joining the Orioles. I talked to those guys and everyone in Norfolk and then got an opportunity to come here. I'm happy to be here and I'm going to try to help the team any way I can."

What does Eades offer the Orioles?

"Hopefully, just get some outs, provide some length out of the bullpen if needed and just do what I can," he said. "Attack the strike zone and just get outs, really."

Eades can become the 55th player and 38th pitcher used by the Orioles this season. There's been a shortage of wins on this team, but not chances.

"I'm very excited for the opportunity," he said. "Just try to make the most of every opportunity that you get, and kind of see what happens."

Eades is waiting to make his third appearance in the majors, the first two coming back in June.

"I think if you're doing your thing, if you're throwing strikes and are able to locate off-speed for strikes and stuff like that, you can still have success," he said.

"Just looking forward to getting out there and competing and just doing what I can."

Hyde is learning about Eades beyond his draft status with the Twins.

"He hasn't been in the organization very long," Hyde said. "He's a former second-round pick out of LSU that was a big prospect. Has only thrown for us a couple times at Triple-A, so not a whole lot to report except he's fortunate we're in the situation we're in. He has an opportunity to pitch in the big leagues, so we'll see."

Jonathan Villar, starting at shortstop tonight, has homered three times in his last five games and is 27-for-81 (.333) in 22 games this month. He's posted a .313 (50-for-160) average with 17 extra-base hits in 40 games since the All-Star break.

"He's really playing good baseball, offensively," Hyde said. "He's going to be a potential 20-20 guy (home runs and steals). That's not easy to do. He's got so many tools. Love his tools.

"I think he's been a little bit more consistent offensively the second half. Huge power, especially from the left side, and obviously has the speed tool. He's just taking better at-bats in the second half and his OPS (.804) is rising. Just done a really nice job offensively."

Villar is two homers shy of 20 and has stolen 28 bases. Manny Machado in 2015 was the last Orioles 20-20 player, collecting 35 home runs and 20 stolen bases.

Here's the list of Orioles to achieve 20-20 status, per STATS:

2015 Manny Machado: 35 home runs, 20 stolen bases
1999 Brady Anderson: 24 home runs, 36 stolen bases
1996 Brady Anderson: 50 home runs, 21 stolen bases
1992 Brady Anderson: 21 home runs, 53 stolen bases
1976 Reggie Jackson: 27 home runs, 28 stolen bases
1975 Don Baylor: 25 home runs, 32 stolen bases
1969 Paul Blair: 26 home runs, 20 stolen bases

"Would like to see him get some more stolen bases, but we've just been down so much this year," Hyde said. "Unfortunately, if we were a team that was playing with the lead quite a bit he'd probably have 40. But we're always down a handful of runs, it seems like, when he's on base and it's just not the opportunity and time to run. He'd be an even higher stolen-base guy on a better club."

Villar has played in every game this season, with the Orioles approaching No. 130 tonight.

"One thing about Jonny is he never takes a night off," Hyde said. "He wants to play every night, so that's a pleasure to have and he's just had a really, really good second half."

Update: A wild pitch from Rays opener José Alvarado gave the Orioles a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Alvarado walked three batters, threw two wild pitches and totaled only nine strikes among 24 pitches.

Update II: Pedro Severino's first career grand slam in the third inning gave the Orioles a 5-0 lead.

Update III: Hanser Alberto and Villar hit back-to-back homers in the fourth for a 7-0 lead.

Update IV: Michael Brosseau homered in the fifth to cut the lead to 7-1.