Showalter on Jimenez's struggles and hold on a rotation spot, plus more

ANAHEIM, Calif. - Orioles right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez struggled again today. He gave up six runs over 5 2/3 innings in this afternoon's 10-2 loss to the Los Angeles Angels. He is 2-5 with a 6.04 ERA. But manager Buck Showalter said postgame that Jimenez is not in danger of losing his rotation spot. At least not right now.

"No, we're not at that point. What other options you talking about? I'm answering your question," Showalter said.

The indication there is Showalter doesn't have a pitcher on the farm right now he's prepared to call up and/or that he wants to give Jimenez more time to work it out.

Today, one big inning got him again. Jimenez allowed five runs in the third as the Orioles fell behind 6-0. What happened during that frame and how can Jimenez change that?

"If we knew that, we'd stop it," Showalter said. "I thought the lob shot that they threw out there was unsettling. Made some good pitches. They hit some balls hard, but some fell in, a lot like for us the first game. That one inning kind of gets away from him. I'm proud of the fact he went out there and gave us some innings after that. You saw how well he pitched after that.

"I wanted to get Dylan (Bundy) back out there and (Vance) Worley back out there. We got that done. Came out of this series with everybody intact for Tuesday, so that had a lot to do with Ubaldo getting through that. But I know that was frustrating for him.

"We didn't make any adjustments to what (Jered) Weaver was doing. Tough to see the ball out of those rocks today and he was working with a, you know, generous strike zone. I think he threw 64 out of 100 or so off-speed. Lot like last night and we're going to see a lot of that."

Showalter was asked if this tough stretch - Jimenez has an ERA of 7.16 his past five starts - is testing the right-hander's confidence?

"No, that is part of the reason why every outing ... If you just throw out that one inning," Showalter said. "I thought he was crisp today too. No, it doesn't. ... Guys at this level, most of them, they get here. I think he had his 1,500th career strikeout today. They're strong mentally. He'll get it going."

Was he encouraged that Jimenez settled in to not allow any more runs after the third?

"I'm always encouraged. But it's that one inning. I thought he went out and had a pretty good first inning. I know that is frustrating for him and us. That one inning is that one inning. He's capable of better," Showalter added.

Jimenez was asked to explain the big inning that sunk him and the Orioles today.

"I don't know. I think I was the same," he said. "I was aggressive in the zone, and they found a way to put good swings on the ball. The one that hurt me the most was Albert Pujols. With two runners on base, I got ahead of him and wanted to go inside. That's where I went, and he just put a good swing. There's nothing you can do about it. I watched the video. The ball was inside, and he found a way to hit the ball to the line.

"The first baseman (C.J Cron) hit a double that looked like a foul ball, but it stayed right on the line. Those types of hits, there's nothing you can do. I think I made a couple good pitches in that inning. It just didn't go my way."

Is this testing Jimenez's confidence right now?

"It's always a test, any time you're not good for the team," he said. "But the thing about me, I never lose my confidence. I have it in my mind that things are going to change. I'm going to find a way to get back on track, and I have to always take the good thing out of the game. I think I was able to command my fastball today, and be aggressive in the zone. Things have to change one of these days."

Jonathan Schoop hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning for the Orioles' only runs off Weaver, who allowed five hits in seven innings.

"It was a slider that stayed up in the zone a little bit," Schoop said of the home run pitch. "I was trying to put a good swing on it. He mixed his pitches pretty good. He threw his curveball for strikes, slider and his fastball. He got us off-balance a little bit."

Showalter provided a positive update on Triple-A pitcher T.J. McFarland, who has a left knee injury. McFarland left a start Friday night after one inning and returned to Baltimore today for an exam and an MRI.

"Looks pretty good. Nothing structurally wrong," Showalter said. "They injected it. He's going to go back to Norfolk, let it rest for a day or two. Then take side work. Got pretty good news on him today. Nothing structurally there, kind of a bruise underneath the patella there. That was good news."

O's right-hander Yovani Gallardo provided an update on his pregame bullpen session, which went quite well. He threw 25 pitches, including sliders, as he works his way back to the rotation. I'll provide some Gallardo quotes in an entry shortly.