Orioles option Wilkerson and Wynns after 8-1 loss

The Orioles made two roster moves following today's game, optioning infielder Stevie Wilkerson and catcher Austin Wynns to Triple-A Norfolk.

The corresponding moves are coming prior to Tuesday night's series opener against the Rangers. Chance Sisco is the obvious replacement for Wynns and the Orioles could activate Chris Davis from the 10-day injured list.

Wilkerson went 0-for-4 today with two strikeouts and committed a costly error on a potential double play ball that led to two unearned runs. He's batting .235/.283/.412 in 35 games with six doubles, five home runs and 14 RBIs.

The arrival of center fielder Keon Broxton pushed Wilkerson to the bench, though he started at second base today. Hanser Alberto is capable of handing the super-utility role.

Wynns is batting .233/.283/.256 in 15 games with one double and three RBIs. He's been sharing time with Pedro Severino behind the plate.

Sisco didn't break camp with the team despite going 13-for-34 (.382) with a double, four home runs and 11 RBIs. He recovered from a slow start with the Tides and is slashing .289/.383/.530 with 10 doubles, 10 home runs and 37 RBIs in 44 games.

The 10 home runs are a career high for Sisco, who's hit safely in nine of his last 11 games and posted a .378 average (16-for-42) with four doubles, three homers, 12 RBIs and a .431 on-base percentage. He's thrown out 6 of 33 runners attempting to steal this season.

Sisco wasn't in Norfolk's lineup today and can meet the Orioles in Texas.

Davis said earlier today that he expected to be activated on Tuesday. He took some swings to test his left hip and must have alleviated any lingering concerns or doubts.

DJ Stewart's roster spot would appear to be safe now despite Davis' return and an 0-for-16 stretch.

The Orioles dropped the last two games of the Giants series, losing today 8-1 and disappointing manager Brandon Hyde with a "flat" performance and some fundamental breakdowns.

Gabriel Ynoa was charged with two earned runs and four total in five innings.

"I thought Ynoa threw the ball really well," Hyde said. "I just thought we got down and that was one of those games and we haven't had many of them where I thought we just got really flat. Once they took the lead we just ...

"It was just one of those games, we hurt ourselves defensively, a couple walks. But I think Gabby threw the ball really well. We didn't score many runs, so tough to win that way."

Besides Wikerson's fielding error, Stewart tried to nab a runner at third base and enabled Steven Duggar to advance to second, where he scored on Evan Longoria's two-out automatic double. It was the latest instance where an outfielder missed the cutoff man.

"We addressed it and we threw to bases a couple times and today we decided to try to throw out a guy at third from deep right field and not have the double play in order," Hyde said.

"Something we have to stay on them and drill into their heads. Hopefully, with some experience, we'll get better at it."

The Orioles haven't won a series since April 22-24 or consecutive games since May 4-6. Trey Mancini homered in the first inning for a 1-0 lead, but Jeff Samardzija retired 16 of the last 17 batters he faced while holding the Orioles to three hits in six innings.

"I just thought we got beat today," Hyde said. "I thought Jeff threw the ball really well. We took some pretty good at-bats off him. We didn't hit the ball hard, but we got his pitch count up. I think (Jonathan) Villar saw numerous, numerous pitches, battled through his at-bats. But Jeff's an experienced guy and he's facing inexperienced hitters and he's able to move the ball around and stay off the barrel.

"We got beat, but we beat ourselves defensively. We didn't put zeroes up out of the 'pen to keep us in the game and it was just kind of a rough game."

Mancini hit his 12th home run after the Orioles passed around orange T-shirts to players and staff promoting him for the All-Star Game. Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson held up the shirt while shown on the video board.

"I told myself I wouldn't let myself get caught up in any of that and I just want to go out there and try to help the team win, which unfortunately didn't happen today, but not really anything I'm trying to think about too much," Mancini said.

"You guys know me, I'm not much of a self-promoter or anything like that, but it's an honor to have the shirt there and to have the support of my teammates and people like Brooks Robinson. I saw that during the game. That was extremely humbling to see him hold that shirt, so it was really neat to see that."

Mancini and Samardzija attended Notre Dame, so the Orioles first baseman got early bragging rights before the right-hander settled down.

"After that, he threw a great game," Mancini said. "He's got a running fastball and he ran it in really effectively and located. He just made that one mistake there and after that he was pretty lights out. Jeff threw a great game for them.

"After the first game the other day that was a win that you think maybe can give you some momentum and it really stinks to drop the last two games of that series after that. But we're going to have to find ways to string some together, especially after a win like that to keep the momentum going. As an offense we didn't do as good of a job the last couple days as we had in the previous week or so, so we've got to figure some things out there."