Tate wants to keep earning Hyde's trust

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Orioles manager Brandon Hyde is measuring the level of composure that Dillon Tate brings into the first set of major league games. He already knows how the rookie can handle an uncomfortable situation while sitting in the clubhouse.

Tate removed his earbuds and put down his phone yesterday afternoon as a reporter approached him, braced for a set of questions related to Tommy Pham's accusations of head hunting and dugout chirping. They came a little later in the session and Tate fielded them cleanly.

He learned about Pham's tantrum from teammates and had no intention of hitting the Rays outfielder or engaging in a silly war of words. He took the high road without veering toward an exit.

"All I can really say is I'm not going to take shots at another man through camera or interview like that," Tate said, "so that's all I really have on that."

It was a mature reaction. A measured response with no emotion in his voice.

"I commend him for that," Hyde said, seething at Pham's comments and the creation of a story that had no business existing in the first place.

Tate, 25, didn't appear to be rattled in the 10th inning, plopped into a high-leverage situation against a team leading the wild card race. Two ground balls didn't bring the desired results, with the shift denying the Orioles of a double play and Pham's scorcher at Rio Ruiz finding the fake grass in left field for the walk-off.

The Rays didn't smack him around, but he was handed the loss.

"I felt like I made some good pitches," Tate said yesterday, "but the ground balls, sometimes you're shifted and sometimes you're not and at the end of the day it's just my job to get the next out. So it doesn't matter where anybody is positioned or anything like that."

More maturity on display at The Trop.

A one-out walk to Joey Wendle was the biggest sin of the inning.

"Anytime you give up a free base you hurt yourself," Tate said, "so it's self-inflicted right there."

A rookie pitcher taking responsibility for his own actions and owning up to a mistake. Feels like a win with Tate despite the final score.

The Orioles are keeping him in the bullpen, at least through the month. They like having Tate and Hunter Harvey as late-inning options, the rookies possessing electric arms that contrast a lot of what Hyde has been exposed to this season.

Hyde has to trust the young duo, ignoring their limited time in the majors, and it isn't lost on Tate that he got the ball as a game moved past regulation.

"I'm definitely, I would say, 'honored' isn't really the word that I'm looking for, but I'm definitely happy that the manager put me in in that situation because those are the kinds of situations that I want to be in," Tate said.

"And all I can really do is continue to work and gain that trust again to be put in that situation again so I can succeed the next time."

Minus the unnecessary drama, of course.

Hyde keeps winning over the clubhouse by defending his players, the latest examples being Tate after the Pham fiasco and Richie Martin and Trey Mancini after the runner interference call and check swing, respectively. The latter argument earned him an ejection, his third this season.

"You know he has our backs," Martin said. "We love playing behind him because you know he's always going to be on your side. He's going to support you no matter what, through ups and downs, and I think that's the qualities of a good manager. We all love him, so it was nice to see the support."

Hyde hasn't used Mychal Givens for more than one full inning in the right-hander's last eight appearances. Since a blown save against the Astros. And Givens has responded with eight scoreless, including the eighth inning of Game 1.

Rather than try for the six-out save, Hyde turned to Richard Bleier in the ninth and the left-hander retired the side in order. Did it with ease, too. Strikeout, comebacker, grounder to short.

I'd expect Hyde to continue using Givens in this manner. No more multi-inning appearances, and especially with more relievers on an expanded roster.

The Game 2 loss marked the fourth defeat for the Orioles while allowing two runs or fewer and the first since June 30 against the Indians.