Notes on Gonzalez, the bullpen, the rotation and more

Miguel Gonzalez has allowed two earned runs or fewer in six of his last seven starts heading into tonight's game against the Twins. However, he's picked up only two wins in his last nine outings. Gonzalez has worked into the seventh inning in 13 of his 20 starts. Manager Buck Showalter will take that kind of length tonight, knowing he's got a red-hot bullpen to close out the game. This next part should come with a jinx alert. Avert your eyes if you're a believer. The Orioles' relievers strung together 14 1/3 scoreless innings in the four-game series against the Rays, allowing four hits, walking two and striking out 11. According to Elias, it's the longest stretch of scoreless innings by the club's bullpen since it totaled 15 1/3 on June 22-24, 1979 in a four-game series against the Tigers. Doug DeCinces' home run really did have magical powers. Overall, the Orioles' bullpen hasn't allowed a run in 16 straight innings. The 3.58 staff ERA would be the lowest in a full season since 1979 (3.26). The lowest in club history is 2.53 in 1972. That team didn't even make the playoffs. Showalter was told today that left-hander T.J. McFarland recorded eight outs on only 15 pitches in a July 26 game in Seattle. McFarland replaced starter Bud Norris and allowed one hit in 2 2/3 scoreless innings, with 13 of his pitches going for strikes. "That's hard to do," Showalter said. "Try doing that at home, kids." As I wrote earlier, Wei-Yin Chen and Kevin Gausman remain the scheduled starters on Sunday and Monday after being optioned to the Gulf Coast League team. Is that the plan moving forward? "I'm worried about tonight," Showalter said. "We've got Gonzalez tonight. We'll see what the game brings. We'll see what's the best direction to go as we go forward, but they're scheduled to pitch Sunday and Monday. That's where we're going right now. "We'll see what the game presents tonight. Didn't present anything last night that would change that. We'll see if their plane gets back. That could present a challenge. I think they're traveling today." Showalter had good news regarding third baseman Manny Machado, who's in Los Angeles following season-ending surgery on his right knee. "Manny texted me today. We're text buddies," Showalter said. "Everything's going good, said he felt really good after the surgery and said he'd see us potentially on the 17th." Machado and Matt Wieters want to be around the team despite being done for the season. "They would do that if we were competitive or not competitive," Showalter said. "That's one of the essences that makes this group kind of special to me. They like each other. They respect each other, more importantly, and they like competing with each other." The Orioles begin the night with a 76-56 record. With their 82nd win, they would clinch their third straight winning season for the first time since 1992-1994. Excluding strike-shortened seasons, it would be the first time since a four-year stretch from 1982-1985. Steve Pearce is batting .333/.375/.778 (15-for-45) during an 11-game hitting streak, with five doubles, five home runs, six RBIs and 11 runs scored. The Orioles lead the majors with 170 home runs. The Rockies are second with 151, and their air is thinner. Two players moved up from the Gulf Coast League to short-season Single-A Aberdeen: Nick Merullo, son of IronBirds manager Matt Merullo, and Derek Peterson, son of Orioles director of pitching development Rick Peterson. Christian Walker, Dariel Alvarez, Oliver Drake and Niuman Romero were named to Eastern League All-Star team.