Showalter, Bundy, Hart and Joseph wrap up 5-2 loss

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Orioles manager Buck Showalter confirmed this afternoon that Vance Worley will start Tuesday night against the Yankees in the Bronx.

Worley retired all five batters he faced today and threw 13 of 16 pitches for strikes after relieving Dylan Bundy in a 5-2 loss to the Rays before 16,161 at Tropicana Field.

The abbreviated outing allows Worley to come back two nights later and fill the fifth starter's spot. His last start was April 15.

"That's why we shortened him up today," Showalter said. "We were hoping to get him out there for about 20 pitches, just kind of let him have a little workday and he did well, so Vance will pitch Tuesday."

Top pitching prospect Hunter Harvey will have an MRI on his right elbow on Monday. He left his start last night at short-season Single-A Aberdeen after 1 1/3 innings and 23 pitches due to soreness in his right flexor mass.

Bundy made his first major league start today and allowed four runs on three homers over 3 1/3 innings. He threw 70 pitches.

"Real strong, crisp," Showalter said. "He's got a good arm. Obviously, we know that. He got a couple of pitches they blocked the other way. (Evan) Longoria ambushed him for one. It's all a part of the process.

"It was more about us not scoring any runs today. We had a couple opportunities and could have cashed in on and didn't. (Jake) Odorizzi was good."

Showalter noted how Bundy is now "thinking like a pitcher," the result of being healthy.

"He's not thinking about a lot of things that have been challenging him," Showalter said. "Now, it's about the competition, trying to give us a good chance to win. More times than not, giving up four, we'll be in that game a little bit more than we were today."

The Rays added a tack-on run in the eighth on another Longoria home run, this one off Odrisamer Despaigne. Despaigne relieved Donnie Hart, who made his major league debut and retired both batters he faced in the sixth.

"I thought the fifth run was key, giving up that one on the changeup," Showalter said. "It keeps us from having one pitch bringing the tying run to the plate.

"Worley threw well. He had I think 10 days off from pitching. I wanted to get those guys out there. Despaigne had eight, Hart had eight, so we got some things accomplished. And Dylan had been off a while, so it's a real challenge after the All-Star break trying to get everybody back in the rhythm again. And I wasn't going to pitch (Brad) Brach or (Zach) Britton today."

Today's game was a continuation of Bundy's pitching education. He's lined up to start again on Friday against the Indians at Camden Yards, though it's not official.

"Just like he first started out, some scuffles in the bullpen, some good and some bad. And then in his last three or four ... so it was time for the next step," Showalter said.

"He's a smart guy. He'll learn. He's competitive. It's kind of like Kevin Gausman. You learn and you go forward."

Hart, with a large cheering section of family and friends, retired Corey Dickerson on a fly ball and struck out Kevin Kiermaier on a 75 mph slider. Another left-hander, Oswaldo Arcia, was lifted for a pinch-hitter and Hart came out of the game to another ovation.

"When Donnie went out there he was real talkative with Caleb (Joseph) and everything," Showalter said. "That could be a good weapon for us. We've been looking at him really for a year and a half. If get Darren (O'Day) back and have him and Mychal (Givens) and everything, it would really make our bullpen work well."

Hart actually throws two types of sliders.

"He's got a harder one and a softer one, but we're not going to broadcast it," Showalter said. "You've got a little pitcher ambush going early because people don't really know him, so I'm glad he got that out of the way. I'll be anxious to see how he does next time out. Not anxious, but curious because he'll get a chance to pitch in New York with those lineups."

Hart joined the Orioles after the break, with the club selecting his contract from Double-A Bowie. His family today included his twin sister, Donna, and his mother, Kathy, who easily could be heard beneath the dome.

"It was fun," he said. "I didn't really notice them until they said I was making my debut. I could hear my mom. That's the one person I can hear no matter how many people are in the stands. I heard that and kind of smiled a little bit inside and said its time to go to work. It was fun.

"Darren mentioned something to me earlier in the week about how you aren't going to feel too much except your mechanics. I kind of told myself just stay with your mechanics. Once I got a nice popout, it was a nice breath of fresh air. Now, I've got to get back to work.

"I was talking to my family about that. I just wanted to get the first one out of the way. Once I get that first one out of the way, then really starting to work and try to get better."

Showalter wanted to find the right spot for Hart, who may emerge as the lefty specialist that the Orioles have been trying to find.

"I saw the lineup today and saw the three lefties in a row and kind of knew those were the guys I would get," Hart said. "It's nice it worked out in a fresh inning."

Hart's locker contained a souvenir from his debut.

"I got the game ball, so that's pretty cool," he said. "It's going to go to Mama Hart."

Bundy may end up with his own souvenir once he gains his first major league win as a starter. In the meantime, he can look back on today's game and learn from it.

"Well, it's the most pitches I've thrown up here in my career, so that's a positive," he said. "Had a good fastball, but the command of it wasn't there like I wanted it to be and they took advantage of it."

Two of the three home runs, from Arcia and Brad Miller, went to the opposite field.

"They were pretty much where I wanted them," Bundy said. "Arcia, that ball was off the plate and he was able to go get it. These guys are good hitters up here and we've just got to be able to make better pitches.

"It was different. In the bullpen you get 10, sometimes 12 pitches to get ready for the game and then you're in there. I threw more warmup pitches to get my off-speed stuff to where I wanted it. But I've done it before, I've started before. Nothing different."

Another start could be different, with Bundy perhaps allowed to throw more pitches. He'd like to be more economical with them.

"I think that was the pitch count today, 70-75 depending on how it went," he said. "I got to it pretty early, which hopefully next time I can go more innings than that. Fastball command has to be better and I'll work on it.

"The Rays are aggressive and were looking to get on that fastball. One (out) I think was on the ground, so that's not very good from a starter. I've got to work on movement of it and getting the two-seam over the plate and keep the ball down."

Catcher Caleb Joseph was impressed with Bundy and anticipated better results down the road.

"I thought his stuff was really crisp," Joseph said. "I thought he had a nice tempo out there. He left a few balls out over the plate. He didn't give up many hits, but when they did, it seemed like they hit the barrel pretty hard.

"I thought today was not a good idea of what we're going to get. He's going to put together some really nice innings for us and it's just a batter of their bats waking up at the right time. I thought his stuff was really crisp. I thought he did well."

The Rays seemed to be sitting on fastballs.

"You're trying to work in the off-speed pitches there," Joseph said. "When a guy is really throwing it by guys, you run into the issue of not wanting to speed their bat up, but I think he just missed on a couple of pitches. A couple of opposite-field homers. Sometimes you just have to tip your cap. I don't think that's going to be a very common thing when Dylan is on the mound."

Bundy didn't appear to be nervous, exhibiting the usual low-key personality.

"Yeah, he looked really calm to me," Joseph said. "You could tell he was really amped up. My palm is still killing me, but I think for the most part he probably wants to take back a few pitches, a couple walks there. Usually, he's had pinpoint command and sometimes in this situation, you might have a little more, I don't want to say jitters, good energy, excitement, it might pull the ball, yank it a little bit.

"He looked fine to me. His stuff was crisp today. Today is not going to be an everyday occurrence for him."

Teammates were looking forward to Bundy getting a start. They see his stuff, know his draft status and imagine what lies ahead.

"He's done really well out of the 'pen," Joseph said. "It's not something you want to put pressure on. We know what he's capable of. We believe in him. He's shown good things. I think the anticipation is more or less the timeframe of how it's taken him a few years to get here and now he's finally here. I think that's the only thing we kind of feel. But in terms of performance, there was no 'Bundy's got to save us' attitude on this team. He's done great for us and he'll do great for us again."

Maybe next time, the Orioles can provide more offensive support. They went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and stranded seven, resulting in the end of a four-game winning streak.

"We had him on the ropes a few times and just couldn't cash in," Joseph said of Odorizzi. "He made a few quality pitches. This is a hard ballpark to hit in because they've got that gap out there in left-center field. We've hit quite a few balls out there that probably would have gone out at home. It's not an excuse for anything, but you want to take advantage of those situations early in the game when you feel like you're still within reach and this offense is never out of it.

"We were in it all day, just couldn't get that clutch hit."