Note on Jason Garcia and tonight's game

The Orioles will continue to handle Rule 5 pick Jason Garcia with care, inserting him into high-pressure situations only out of necessity. If they can't stash him, they can at least try to protect him.

The task becomes simpler after rosters, including the bullpen, expand in September. The Orioles could summon Oliver Drake, Cesar Cabral and Jorge Rondon from Triple-A Norfolk. They're on the 40-man roster. Chaz Roe and Mike Wright eventually will come off the disabled list.

Steve Johnson isn't on the 40-man, but he's on the Orioles' radar again with his outstanding work at Norfolk.

As for Garcia, he hasn't allowed a run or hit in three appearances covering four innings since returning from the disabled list and his injury rehab assignment at Double-A Bowie.

"He seems a little more crisp arm-wise and a little more finish to his pitches," said manager Buck Showalter. "What comes first, confidence in your stuff or command? Guys who aren't confident in their stuff pick around the zone a lot. He gets out of whack a little bit, but the times we've put him out there since he's been back, he's been better.

"It's hard. The difference with a guy like (T.J.) McFarland is that he had pitched successfully at the Triple-A level. Jason is basically A ball. That's the tough part. Will they throw it over?

"We're going to try to figure out a way to make him part of our organization next year."

It gets a little easier with each passing game in August.

The Orioles were swept by the Mets in a two-game series at Citi Field back in May, with Jacob deGrom earning the victory in the finale on May 6. They put runners on base in every inning except the sixth and stranded 10. deGrom struck out nine over seven innings.

Now look who's in Baltimore.

deGrom will try to beat the Orioles again tonight in his first appearance at Camden Yards. He's 11-6 with a 2.03 ERA in 22 starts this season and 20-12 with a 2.35 ERA in 44 starts over two major league seasons.

deGrom has allowed three earned runs or fewer in 15 consecutive starts and two earned runs or fewer in 14 of 15. He's surrendered home runs in only seven of his 22 outings (11 total) in 146 2/3 innings.

Right-handers are batting .172 against deGrom and left-handers are batting .221. He's 6-2 with a 1.46 ERA in 12 starts at home and 5-4 with a 2.70 ERA in 10 starts on the road.

Jimmy Paredes is 1-for-4 with an RBI against deGrom, Manny Machado is 2-for-3, Chris Davis is 0-for-3 with three strikeouts, Caleb Joseph is 0-for-3 with two strikeouts, and Gerardo Parra is 0-for-6 with two strikeouts.

Kevin Gausman appeared in the May 6 game at Citi Field and struck out two in a scoreless inning. He's 1-4 with a 4.47 ERA in eight starts over 48 1/3 innings and 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA in eight relief appearances over 12 innings.

Yoenis Cespedes is 3-for-9 with a home run against Gausman. Curtis Granderson, Lucas Duda and Michael Cuddyer each are 0-for-1 with a strikeout.

The Mets lead the National League East by 4 1/2 games, but they've lost three in a row and are 21-34 on the road, compared to 42-21 at home.

The Orioles improved to 38-5 last night when Joseph has at least one RBI and 19-2 when he collects two or more. Joseph is batting .342/.359/.816 (13-for-38) in August. Ten of his 13 hits have been for extra bases.

Jonathan Schoop has hit safely in 13 of his last 15 games, batting .400/.426/.545 (22-for-55) with five doubles, a home run and seven RBIs.

Darren O'Day extended his scoreless streak to a season-high 10 games last night. He's allowed five earned runs in his last 44 appearances spanning 43 1/3 innings.

According to STATS, Steve Clevenger is the first Baltimore-born Oriole to homer at Camden Yards.

J.J. Hardy was in a 2-for-32 slump last night before his single in the sixth inning.