Mancini moves past snub while Orioles lose 6-3 (Kline optioned)

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Trey Mancini just wanted to get back to playing baseball tonight. No more sadness, no more painful conversations with family and friends. Push it aside, grab a bat and mitt, and resume his professional life.

Mancini started at first base for the series opener against the Rays, but a crowded outfield is the reason why he didn't make the American League All-Star team as a reserve.

Knowing that the media wanted him this afternoon and always accommodating, Mancini walked over to his locker before batting practice, nodded at a member of the public relations staff and waited to be grilled about his feelings. He smiled and shared his thoughts - candid throughout the process - thanked the group and prepared for the game.

Playing yesterday provided a needed three-hour distraction, he said. Tonight was about normalcy, which of course included a single in his first at-bat.

Tom Eshelman made his major league debut and lost his command in the first inning, nerves perhaps influencing his ability to locate, but he strung together four scoreless innings before Kevin Kiermaier hit a three-run homer off Branden Kline in the sixth to steer the Rays toward a 6-3 victory at Tropicana Field.

Eshelman retired 13 of the last 15 batters, but the bullpen failed him and the Orioles fell to 24-60 with five games left before the break. Their 60th loss last year arrived on July 3.

The Orioles tied the game in the sixth off Chaz Roe on Renato Núñez's leadoff double, a wild pitch and Pedro Severino's single. They took the lead when Adam Kolarek replaced Roe with two outs and pinch-hitter Rio Ruiz poked an RBI single into left field.

Kline walked the first batter he faced, Ji-Man Choi, Avisaíl García singled and Kiermaier cleared the center field fence for a 5-3 lead. Kline was done after three batters and Eshelman would have to wait for his first major league win.

Choi was in a 5-for-39 slump before tonight and García was 1-for-24. They both had run-scoring singles off Eshelman in the first and Choi brought home Yandy Díaz with a single off Miguel Castro in the seventh for a 6-3 lead.

Castro walked Díaz and threw a wild pitch before the single, a familiar and toxic cocktail.

The Orioles stranded Mancini in the fifth after he drew a 12-pitch walk, his concentration coming back to him.

Manager Brandon Hyde had the pleasure yesterday of summoning left-hander John Means into his office with news that the rookie made the All-Star team. The conversation with Mancini had a different tone.

"He called me into the office and just said he was really upset and disappointed that I didn't get chosen," Mancini said. "The way that the roster works and shook out, they had so many worthy players that I didn't make the cut. That's kind of unfortunate how it is. We're a last-place team right now and you're likely to get only one guy on the team in that situation. I know how that works and how that goes, but it doesn't mean that it doesn't sting a little bit still.

"I went through the five stages of grief, honestly. It was a full day. I can't name all five off the top of my head. I know sadness, I know anger. That's a couple of them, I think. I can tell you I went through the full five.

"It was a full day, probably the most emotional day I've had in a very long (time). I'm really not that emotional of a person. Yeah, it was tough. I felt every emotion in the book and I had some thankfulness, too, just for all the support I got from my teammates, from my family, my friends. So many people reached out and that means the world to me, too.

"I'm lucky to be surrounded by so many great people and it definitely helped make yesterday a little less bad."

The phone calls were the worst, playing out the exact opposite of how he imagined.

"It was tough," he said. "My parents were in the car. One of our best family friends. Their daughter is about my age and they live in Sarasota. They were going into their daughter's baptism, so I told them. They said it was kind of tough to keep a happy face throughout the whole day. That was more important than anything else. So it was tough.

"I could just hear it my parents' voices. They just wanted it so bad for me and so did my sisters. They took it pretty hard, too. They said it was really tough to kind of hear me like that yesterday, but like I said, that's how life goes and things could always be worse. Again, I'm so thankful for them and everybody that I have around me because it made yesterday a lot better.

"It's been a dream of mine to make an All-Star Game. Especially last year around this time, it was a goal that I'd set for myself. I definitely thought about calling my parents and getting to tell them that and my sisters and all my friends and stuff and some people already they... not made plans, but a couple of my friends said they were going. I'm like, 'You guys need to chill out. Don't ever say any of these things until it happens.'

"That's life. Sometimes things don't always go your way. It stunk having to call and tell them that I didn't make it. They all just told me how proud they are of me, still and that meant a lot. I'm still thankful for everybody."

Mancini could make it to Cleveland as an injury replacement, but that isn't how he wants to fulfill the dream.

"You don't want anybody to get hurt, so I hope that doesn't happen, honestly," he said. "It's an honor to even considered one of the top snubs or whatever you want to call it, but I'm not really hoping for that because that means somebody went down and I don't want to wish that on anybody."

Being kept home at the break could provide more motivation for a player who's fed off it in the past. He's always had to prove himself, always had to hush the doubters.

"I think it's kind of something I've done my whole life anyway," he said. "It's not really anything I talk about too much. I've got a big chip on my shoulder. I can go back to high school. I didn't get offered a scholarship from any Florida schools. Some things like that. I had a Little League coach tell me I was too slow to play high school ball. Things at every level.

"Through the minors, people in the minors didn't take me too seriously, I feel like, until I got to Bowie. There are things that kind of drive you. I'm never one to go out there with the biggest chip on the shoulder attitude. I have enough motivation as it is.

"I just want to be a great teammate and player for everybody here and I always wanted to do that, so I'm going to keep trying to do that. This doesn't change anything in that regard. I'm just going keep trying to perform at a high level."

Eshelman tried to get there after a first inning that included two runs, four hits, a walk and 29 pitches - none registering as fastballs on Statcast. Balls clocked at 85-87 mph were labeled changeups.

In a stunning and impressive reversal, Eshelman began piling up the outs after five of the first six batters reached against him. He retired the side in order in the second and fourth innings, the latter on only nine pitches. Leadoff singles in the third and fifth didn't hurt him.

Eshelman allowed two runs and six hits with one walk and no strikeouts and Hyde removed him after 75 pitches.

The Orioles stranded two runners in the first against opener Ryne Stanek but broke through in the fourth with left-hander Ryan Yarbrough on the mound. Dwight Smith Jr. had a leadoff walk and Núñez singled, both runners moved up a ground ball and Hanser Alberto poked an RBI single into center field with the infield playing close enough to smell his breath.

Keon Broxton struck out twice in his first three trips to give him 43 in 89 at-bats with the Orioles.

Jonathan Villar and Anthony Santander were thrown out trying to steal second base in the fifth and seventh, respectively.

Update: Asher Wojciechowski will make the start Tuesday night and the Orioles made room by optioning Kline to Triple-A Norfolk.

Wojciechowski will be the 46th player used by the Orioles this season.

Eshelman had his parents, fiancé, brother and agent in the stands tonight for his debut.

Hyde on whether he was worried in first: "We have a normal seven-guy 'pen. We were a little bit limited tonight, so (Jimmy) Yacabonis was our long guy. So, yeah, there were some moments there where I was hoping ... we needed some at-'em balls and got some.

"He grinded through five innings. I thought he found a nice little rhythm there after the first inning and did a really, really nice job. Gave us five really good innings and left with a lead."

Hyde on taking out Eshelman after fifth: "That was going to be his third time through the order, so we were going to get him out. Kline, Castro, Yac were kind of our guys today. We just didn't get it done."

Hyde on whether pitch count made him reconsider: "No, it was more about the quality of swings. Kind of hung one to Díaz there that fortunately stayed in the ballpark so we were going to somebody else after the fifth."

Hyde on Eshelman attacking zone: "He can locate the baseball and you can pitch in this league if you can locate the baseball. And we have some guys in our bullpen who have premiere stuff that have a tough time locating the baseball, and so hence you see the 6-8 ERAs not because of stuff but because of command and walking leadoff hitters, center-cutting 3-1 fastballs. It does not play in this league and this guy Eshelman did a great job of pitching and we just have a long way to go with a lot of our guys."

Hyde on whether he wants to see more of Eshelman: "Yeah, yeah. I was impressed. He gave me a little Kyle Hendricks feel - of a guy being able to work both sides of the plate and throw off-speed in fastball counts. Nice tempo, looked like a pro."

Hyde on getting big lift from younger players: "We're inexperienced. Santander and Means and (Chance) Sisco and some of these guys who are getting an opportunity to play here and it's an incredible experience that might not happen in other places right now. And they're getting valuable experience playing in tough games. It's just disappointing because do such a nice job of coming back and we just have such a hard time with shutdown innings, so that's the frustrating part."

Eshelman on start: "It was pretty surreal. Going out there stretching and getting ready for the start, it was something that I've always dreamed of and for me to be able to do it here is unbelievable. So I was really excited to get that first strike. After the bumpy first, get in the dugout and kind of reset and go back out there and give my team the ability to win, it was just a great opportunity."

Eshelman on first inning: "I think it was just a lot of nerves, a lot of excitement. Anxious to get out there. It was definitely something that I got back to what I was doing to get there. I was pretty happy with it."

Eshelman on climb to majors: "It's been a long road. I got drafted by the Astros and quickly traded within a year, within four months, and then got to the Phillies, was there for four years. Got sent to extended this year, so it's a long road, especially in this time. But for me to be here, it's unbelievable. Hopefully, I can work hard enough to stay."

Eshelman on thinking he can't get knocked out in first: "One thing I wanted to do was go deep in the game and give the bullpen a break. That's just my No. 1 goal each and every time I go out to pitch, no matter what team it is with. I think it was more, I'm here. Once they got that two spot I was like, all right, let's go pitch. Took a breath in the dugout, got back out there, and doing what I did to get here and move forward."

Severino on Eshelman: "For his first time, he was great. He gave a great start right there. He executes every pitch except the first inning. His first start he's kind of nervous, like everybody, but after that he just located every pitch."