Orioles outright Fry to open 40-man spot (O's lose 7-3)

The Orioles have cleared a spot on their 40-man roster. Feel free to speculate on how they're going to fill it.

Left-hander Paul Fry cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk. The Orioles made the announcement during today's game against the Red Sox at Camden Yards.

Fry is 1-0 with a 6.56 ERA in 14 relief appearances with Norfolk. He has a 1.50 WHIP in 23 1/3 innings.

The Orioles acquired Fry from the Mariners on April 14 for international bonus slot No. 105, which is worth $198,000. They designated pitcher Parker Bridwell for assignment to make room and traded him to the Angels three days later for a player to be named later or cash.

Fry has been designated for assignment twice in three months.

The Orioles recalled Fry on April 24 and optioned him two days later. He didn't appear in a game, putting his major league debut on hold.

Catcher Francisco Peña occupied the last spot on the 40-man roster after the Orioles selected his contract from Norfolk and placed Welington Castillo on the disabled list. Today's move creates another opening.

Pitcher Edwin Jackson agreed to extend his opt-out clause until Monday and the Orioles could select his contract and make another bullpen move. They have some optionable pieces if they decide to go that route.

They also have Ubaldo Jiménez, who's always included in the roster speculation and intrigue when he's struggling.

Jackson threw a scoreless inning yesterday with two strikeouts to lower his ERA to 3.10 in 12 appearances.

Pedro Álvarez remains with Norfolk beyond his second opt-out date, but there isn't an easy method for getting him back to the majors with the Orioles sticking with a four-man bench.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox scored two unearned runs in the top of the sixth inning to lead 5-3.

Chris Tillman retired nine in a row before Mitch Moreland's leadoff single. Jackie Bradley Jr. and Pablo Sandoval walked with one out, but Sandy Leon struck out.

Tillman got two strikes on Deven Marrero and bounced a knuckle-curve. Peña blocked the ball, fired to third trying to nab Moreland and sailed it down the left field line to let the tiebreaking runs score.

Tillman came out after throwing 103 pitches in six innings. Mike Wright replaced him and served up Andrew Benintendi's second home run today to increase the lead to 6-3.

This is Benintendi's first career multi-homer game. This is Wright's third appearance in five days, and though the Orioles are off Monday, he may be vulnerable to another ride on the Norfolk shuttle.

Update: Wright was charged with another run in the ninth after Richard Bleier replaced him and gave up Benintendi's RBI single.

Update II: The Orioles lose 7-3 and settle for a split of the four-game series.

The Orioles are 29-26 overall, 21-13 in the American League East and 19-10 at home. They remain 3 ½ games behind the first-place Yankees, who lost to the Blue Jays.