More on the first half

The Orioles won't strand any runners in scoring position tonight. They won't lose more ground in the American League East. They won't break your hearts or cause you to smash your fine china on the floor.

You should get a reprieve unless you have serious coin riding on the Home Run Derby.

The Orioles lost 10 of their last 13 games and are a .500 team for the first time since June 14. The Yankees won yesterday, leaving the Orioles four games back in the American League East.

This is now a third place team, but it's not ready to be blown up with an eye toward 2016.

I keep seeing the suggestions. Trade the pending free agents and forget about this season. Well, the Orioles aren't conceding anything on July 13. This is the same club that won 18 of 23 games. You can't print the playoff tickets when times are good and tear them up at the All-Star break.

Let's take some deep breaths here. This isn't the NFL. It's a long season. You want to quit now with your team only four games out of first place?

The Red Sox were the popular choice to win the division. They were buried in last place. Now they're five games under .500 and 6 1/2 out of first.

As always, I'm curious about the next wave of changes to the roster. Do the Orioles try to make room for left-hander Wesley Wright this week or designate him for assignment after signing him for $1.7 million over the winter?

The Orioles would like to bring back Mychal Givens, who has a 1.81 ERA at Double-A Bowie after allowing one run yesterday in 1 2/3 innings. But how do they create a spot? And manager Buck Showalter is more comfortable when he's got left-hander T.J. McFarland in his bullpen as a long man, but that would require another spot.

Rule 5 pick Jason Garcia made his third appearance with Bowie yesterday and tossed two scoreless innings. He allowed two hits, walked two and struck out three. He's eventually going to require a spot unless the Orioles put him on waivers and, if he clears, offer him back to the Red Sox.

The Baysox opponent, the Altoona Curve, started right-hander Steven Brault, who was included in the Travis Snider trade with the Pirates. He allowed six runs and six hits in 1 2/3 innings.

I'm also curious about the Orioles' ability to make a trade or two at the non-waiver deadline. They certainly have needs, but at what price? Can they afford to give up more pitching prospects? Which ones are healthy enough to entice executives?

Showalter seemed to be lowering expectations a few days ago while talking about finding fixes from within the organization. He wasn't comfortable with losing minor league pitchers Josh Hader in the Bud Norris trade and Eduardo Rodriguez in the Andrew Miller trade, though he understood why it had to be done.

Losing pitching depth can be a recipe for disaster, which must make the Orioles hesitant to part with the likes of Mike Wright, Tyler Wilson and Zach Davies.

While appearing yesterday on "O's Xtra" on MASN, I offered my opinion of the good and bad from the first half. The good list starts with third baseman Manny Machado, who has eased concerns over his surgically repaired knees and whether he could play at an elite level. He's the Most Valuable Oriole heading into the break, with career highs in home runs, walks and stolen bases. He's filled the role of leadoff hitter in ways we couldn't imagine.

Ubaldo Jimenez's transformation also deserves high praise. He averaged 5.5 walks per nine innings last season, but he's reduced the figure to 2.9 this year while going 7-4 with a 2.81 ERA in 17 starts. Did anyone see it coming?

The back end of the bullpen has been a plus, with closer Zach Britton saving 23 games in 24 chances and registering a 1.72 ERA, and Darren O'Day allowing only three earned runs in his last 32 appearances. They're a lethal combination.

I also singled out infielder/designated hitter Jimmy Paredes and reliever Chaz Roe for making contributions that couldn't have been anticipated over the winter. Paredes is batting .299 with 12 doubles and 10 home runs in 68 games. Roe is being used in pressure situations and has gone 2-1 with a 2.67 ERA in 20 appearances. He's struck out 30 batters in 27 innings. And his mullet takes a back seat to no one.

On the other side of the ledger, Chris Tillman ended April with a 7.58 ERA. However, he hasn't lost since May 31 and his ERA is down to 5.40. Still not where you want it to be with your opening day starter, but there's been improvement.

Bud Norris struck out two yesterday in a scoreless ninth inning to lower his ERA from 6.98 to 6.86. He's 2-9 and pitching out of the bullpen. Not much else to add except that the Orioles appear committed to keeping him in a relief role for now if they can't find any takers.

The lack of production from the corner outfielders also is a minus. Alejandro De Aza and Delmon Young are gone. Steve Pearce is batting .228 with a .293 on-base percentage, though he's 6-for-19 this month and 10-for-30 in his last nine games. Snider has three home runs in 187 at-bats.

The Orioles were 0-for-16 with runners in scoring position in the Nationals series. They're 1-for-36 in their last six games and 5-for-70 in their last 11. They're carrying a .215 team batting average in 11 games this month, which ranks 25th in the majors, after hitting .273 in June.

The offense is like an automatic transmission. No clutch.

Down on the farm, Kevin Gausman allowed one unearned run and three hits in five innings last night for Triple-A Norfolk. He walked four, struck out three and threw 96 pitches (61 strikes).

Former Orioles reliever Matt Albers got the win for Charlotte with two scoreless innings.

Davies allowed one hit and struck out one over two-thirds of an inning in the Futures Game.