Showalter speaks after 6-5 loss

Orioles manager Buck Showalter had a decision to make tonight in the top of the seventh inning. Bases loaded, two outs and left-handed hitting Stephen Drew pinch-hitting for injured Brett Gardner.

Left-hander Brian Matusz was ready in the bullpen, but Showalter stayed with right-hander Tommy Hunter, who fell behind 3-1 and surrendered a grand slam that gave the Yankees a 6-4 lead.

Drew was 0-for-5 against Hunter and Matusz in his career. He struck out three times vs. Matusz, who worked two innings yesterday against the Blue Jays.

Showalter figured that Yankees manager Joe Girardi would have made a counter move.

"I'm trying to stay away from Brian," Showalter said following a 6-5 loss. "We've had a couple short starts and we only had three pitchers we were going to use in the bullpen, so it's tough. He's also got another weapon over there in (Chase) Headley, too, so he can do it if he wants to."

Hunter walked a batter and gave up two singles, including an infield hit from Jacoby Ellsbury with two outs on a slow roller to the right side that got past the mound.

"Tommy had some walks that got in his way, but I had confidence that Tommy could get the job done for us. It didn't work out tonight," Showalter said.

"Brian had pitched two innings last night also. I was trying to stay away from him if I could and shorten him up. Tommy made a good pitch, but he just didn't execute the defensive play."

The Orioles had a few chances to not make it matter, but they left the bases loaded in the seventh after scoring a run, got a leadoff single and a walk in the eighth without scoring, and stranded pinch-runner David Lough in the ninth after former Orioles left-hander Andrew Miller hit Delmon Young on the foot.

"I thought we did well offensively against, obviously, a lot of good pitchers," Showalter said, including starter Michael Pineda and reliever Dellin Betances. "You look at those three guys they run out there. You score the number of runs we did, I was proud of the way our guys handled it offensively. A lot of good at-bats and it was a close game. Small margin for error."

The Orioles are down to two left-handers in the bullpen with Wesley Wright on the disabled list, and Showalter conceded that it's a disadvantage in certain situations.

"It's going to be four to six weeks on Wesley," Showalter said. "He's going to head to Sarasota in the next day or two. They found some inflammation there in the shoulder, showed up in an MRI that wasn't there on the MRI... You compare it with the one that was taken with the physical, so he's got some things that need to be cleared up there. Four to six weeks and hopefully he can get going again.

"But the biggest thing is when you get a couple short starts and you've got guys that you're going to stay away from so you can keep people healthy. We will. We'll get deeper in the games with our starters and we'll be able to use some people differently in the bullpen."

Showalter removed left-hander Wei-Yin Chen after six innings. Chen allowed two runs and four hits while giving the Orioles their third quality start in seven games.

"He had to go to the tank two innings in a row there with people out there and that was about where we were going to take him tonight anyway, especially after his last outing," Showalter said. "I'd rather he finish on a good note. He pitched well, gave us a good chance to win. More times than not, I like our chances of pitching those last nine outs."

The Orioles had three runners thrown out on the bases.

"They made some good plays," Showalter said. "Catcher threw the ball well and the left fielder threw the ball well. Obviously, there's a time and place for all of it and they had to make really good plays to get them. That is such a fine line. You're trying to stay aggressive because if you get passive in this game, it will blow right by you. You want them to trust their instincts. If they see something, go for it, because if you're constantly being cautious on it... Over the long haul, it will be on the plus side of that."

Adam Jones remains red-hot, going 10-for-14 with three home runs on the homestand.

"Adam, there's going to be ebb and flow to the season and the good players are not going to be perfect every night, but Adam's in a good spot right now and is putting a lot of good swings (on the ball). And some of the balls he's not squaring up are finding holes, too," Showalter said.

"That was a big blow there to get us where he got us, but it kind of see-sawed back and forth. Obviously, you get toward the end there with those two guys, it's tough."