Mychal Givens on recent struggles: "It's just baseball"

The Orioles have 25 players on their active roster for tonight's series opener against the Rays at Camden Yards.

Never take it for granted.

Manny Machado's suspension has ended, with the Orioles going 2-2 in his absence. He's back in tonight's lineup at third base. All is right with the Orioles' world.

Well, just about all of it.

Manager Buck Showalter shook his head Wednesday while noting how quickly the Orioles' disabled list grew to four players. Shortstop J.J. Hardy has returned, but left-hander Brian Duensing joined relievers Darren O'Day and Vance Worley and catcher Caleb Joseph.

O'Day threw off a half-mound yesterday at Camden Yards. I didn't know Camden Yards had a half-mound. It's no longer exclusively a Sarasota thing.

O'Day hasn't pitched since June 1 against the Red Sox, when he worked two-thirds of an inning and Chris Young hit a leadoff home run in the eighth. He still needs to progress to regular bullpen sessions and go on an injury rehab assignment before the Orioles can activate him.

"Right now, it's just us trying to pull through for Darren to come back," said Mychal Givens. "It's tough right now not having our captain there and our leader. We're just pulling through trying to maintain the load that we get. We've been doing a pretty good job. Now we're just taking it a pitch at a time and a day at a time and still keep our lead in the standings."

The lead is down to 1 ½ games after the Red Sox rallied yesterday for an 8-7, 10-inning win over the White Sox.

Givens is 5-1 with a 3.78 ERA in 28 appearances. He's hit a rough patch, allowing eight runs in his last four games covering 3 1/3 innings and raising his ERA from 1.80 to 3.78.

In his last appearance, Givens failed to retire any of the five batters he faced after replacing Tyler Wilson and was charged with four runs in a 10-7 loss to the Padres, his first decision that put him on the wrong side.

After posting a 1.64 ERA in eight May appearances, Givens has allowed eight runs and nine hits in 10 1/3 innings this month for a 6.97 ERA.

Is there something going on with Givens that requires an adjustment?

"No, it's just baseball," he replied. "It picks out people, I guess, and right now it's my time to struggle again.

"(Tuesday), it's just not giving an opportunity for Wilson to get the win and having my bullpen come and pick up the load, but at the same time, it's going to happen. It's baseball. It's a game of failure, so just get back in the saddle and try to win a ballgame."

Givens hung at the dugout railing long after coming out of the game.

"It's just that I love being out there," he said. "I don't really like going back in the clubhouse. I like being out there supporting my teammates and hopefully we come back. That's the big thing. I like being in the dugout with my team."

Left-handers are batting .459/.545/.676 against Givens. Right-handers are batting .178/.279/.289.

Givens has faced the Rays six times in his career and allowed two runs and seven hits in 7 1/3 innings, with three walks and 12 strikeouts.

The Orioles' reconstructed bullpen still ranks third in the majors with a 3.07 ERA. Their 18 wins rank first.

Tampa Bay relievers are 13-13 and rank 19th with a 4.08 ERA.

The Rays have lost seven games in a row and are in last place in the American League East, 9 ½ behind the Orioles. They're 6-for-56 with runners in scoring position in their last eight games.

The Orioles are 3-2 against the Rays this season, winning twice at Camden Yards and having an April 9 game postponed by rain. The teams will play a split-doubleheader on Saturday.