O'Day is a big fan of Showalter's use of the bullpen, plus other O's notes

There are a few reasons why the Orioles have a good bullpen. They have good pitchers and that is pretty important. But they also have a manager who uses his bullpen in a way to best benefit those pitchers.

In a recent interview, Darren O'Day threw some big praise Buck Showalter's way for how he handles the Orioles bullpen.

This includes not overusing pitchers - but also not letting them go too long without being used.

Take the night of Aug. 25, for instance. In that game, O'Day pitched the eighth and Zach Britton the ninth. Nothing too unusual there, except the Orioles had a 9-1 lead on Tampa Bay.

But both pitchers had gone four days without pitching and needed an inning to stay sharp.

O'Day said he has a manager who knows when to use - but not overuse - bullpen arms.

"It depends on the guy, it depends on the time of year plus your workload. He knows us pretty well. He knows that, three or four days (without pitching) is when we have to start thinking about getting in a game to get some work in. We communicate with him well and he does a great job managing us," O'Day said.

"I've never played for a manager that is as good as handling a bullpen as Buck. He takes care of us and in return we try to pitch well."

There is a real balancing act for any skipper to know when some rest is too much. That is how top bullpen arms get into a 9-1 game.

"It's tough," O'Day said. "It is an underrated skill. There are managers that can sabotage a year the way they handle a bullpen, especially early in the season. And there are those that can make it a real strength. Buck does an excellent job.

"I've been pitching long enough that I have an idea when we are going to go in and there are times he'll surprise me and he'll explain it to me and it makes a lot of sense."

A few more notes on the Orioles:

* Wei-Yin Chen has allowed just one run over 13 innings his last two starts. After his win yesterday, he is 1-0 with an 0.69 ERA in two September starts. In 10 starts since the All-Star break, Chen is 6-1 with a 2.67 ERA and .228 average against.

* The Orioles are 17-3 since 2012 when Chen goes seven or more innings.

* Caleb Joseph had a homer, three hits and three RBIs in Wednesday's win. The Orioles are 17-1 when Joseph has an RBI.

* Ryan Flaherty had a career-high four hits. During a four-game hitting streak, he is 8-for-18 with two doubles and three RBIs.

* The Orioles improved to 28-1 since July 19 when scoring four runs or more. They are 68-14 (.829) on the year when they score four or more.

* The Orioles have lost just two of their last 16 series against American League East teams, going 12-2-2. They are 37-22 for the season versus the division, including a 21-10 mark in AL East road games.

* The Orioles are 28-13-7 in series in 2014. Their .656 win percentage in those series is the best in Major League Baseball.