McFarland excited for his start, Davis gets reacquainted at third (Wilson to Triple-A)

It is not often that reporters interview the next day's starter after a game. But T.J. McFarland, who will make his second major league start tonight, was made available to reporters after the O's win last night. McFarland has been pitching well out of the Orioles bullpen, but he leaves that role for at least one night to face the Rangers this evening. "I'm extremely excited for tomorrow," McFarland said last night. "I'm anxious, little bit nervous. It's all good emotions. Go out there and do my best. "I've started before. I've only had one other start in the big leagues. Obviously I'm a little anxious for it. But it's nothing I haven't done before. Keep doing what I have been doing." McFarland is 0-1 with a 2.70 ERA on the season. His 0.57 ERA this month is the best of any American League pitcher with 10 or more innings. His longest O's outing this year was 4 2/3 innings and 67 pitches on June 8 against Oakland. Earlier, he went 0-1 with a 3.75 ERA in five starts for Triple-A Norfolk. "We'll have a good game plan. Went over that in our pitchers' meeting. We'll look over it and see what we have to do," he said. What Chris Davis may have to do again tonight is play third base. With Manny Machado now serving his five-game suspension, Davis made his first big league start at the hot corner last night since Sept. 28, 2011. Did it take Davis a few innings to get used to game speed over there? "Yeah, I took a lot of ground balls before the game," he said. "Just wanted to get my feet underneath me, move around a little bit and see how my arm felt. It is probably the most I've thrown in a long time. These guys like to bunt a lot. Didn't see a lot of bunts. They probably looked and saw me there and decided not to bunt. "Anytime you have a position change, the ball will find you. I was trying to do all I could to help Ubaldo (Jimenez) out. He threw the ball outstanding. Would have really liked to have that one back so he could have a shutout." Playing third is certainly not new for Davis. In his minor league career, he actually made more starts at third base than at first (226 to 151). Last night was his 67th career big league start at third and he made 17 starts there for the Orioles in 2011. "I wouldn't say it's a new challenge; the renewing of an old challenge," Davis said. "In 2011, I played a lot of third base before I was traded over here and and kind of got a comfortable feel. Was able to play with Adrian (Beltre) in Texas and learned a lot from him. "Whatever helps the club. Obviously I'm not swinging the bat the way I want to right now, so however I can help. We'll see what happens, ready for anything they throw at me." Davis was asked about the Orioles playing five games without Machado. Is the club challenged to win these games without a key player and with a 24-man roster? "I think it's just big not letting that be something that deters you from playing your game," he said. "We don't have one of the biggest guys in our clubhouse for the rest of the year in Matt Wieters, but we can't feel sorry for ourself. We had to do whatever it takes to get a win. Same case with Manny. Being out for a few days, have to kind of put that behind us and try to get a win." Wilson to Norfolk: Right-handed pitcher Tyler Wilson is being promoted from Double-A Bowie to Triple-A Norfolk and he is expected to start for the Tides on Thursday. Wilson is coming off a start where he pitched seven scoreless innings of two-hit ball and he has an ERA of 1.71 over his last three Bowie starts. He had a 2.65 ERA in June. For the season over 16 starts, he is 10-5 with a 3.72 ERA. In 96 2/3 innings, he has allowed 101 hits with 22 walks and 91 strikeouts. Wilson was the Orioles' 10th-round pick in 2011 out of the University of Virginia. In other movement on the farm today, right-hander Sebastian Vader moves from Single-A Delmarva to Single-A Frederick. Vader went 8-4 with an ERA of 3.04 ERA for the Shorebirds and made the All Star game. Delmarva pitcher David Richardson has been placed on the disabled list, retroactive to June 29. Two pitchers from short-season, Single-A Aberdeen, Nick Cunningham and Garrett Cortright are moving to Delmarva.