The defense can't rest

Please allow me to quote myself from yesterday morning's blog entry.

"Makes you wonder what tomorrow will bring? Since it's the Orioles, there's always the possibility of an injury."

As if on cue, the Orioles are prepared to place Rule 5 pick Jason Garcia on the disabled list and recall pitcher Mike Wright from Triple-A Norfolk. Garcia will be examind by a team doctor. Wright will hang out in Baltimore and wait for the Orioles to make their decision.

Wright has earned a shot. And these homegrown products always make for a good story.

The Orioles had almost as much activity going on before last night's game as during it.

Before batting practice, infield instructor and third base coach Bobby Dickerson worked with Steve Pearce at second base and Manny Machado at third. Outfield instructor and first base coach Wayne Kirby stood in left field with David Lough. The pitchers participated in fielding drills, with manager Buck Showalter addressing the group at one point.

Reminded me of spring training, but without all the different fields. And this isn't a replica Camden Yards.

The extra work didn't really show, with the Orioles committing three errors to tie their season high in a 10-2 loss to the Blue Jays. Their 22 errors in 31 games are the 11th-highest total in the majors. Their .980 fielding percentage ranks 23rd.

Showalter won't tolerate lapses in the field or on the basepaths. These drills are performed at various stages of a season and Showalter chose yesterday.

For Pearce, it's more about learning a new position. He already knows to grab a different glove when he leaves the outfield. He's a quick study.

The rest of the instruction had nothing to do with getting acclimated to a new position.

"It's something we do all year long in some form or fashion. It's just about the timing of it," Showalter said before the game.

"It's got nothing to do with the play necessarily, because if you start doing that to players after things don't go perfectly, it looks very reactive instead of proactive. But we try to be real proactive and we do it all season long. You've just got to pick your spots. It may be on the road, it may be at home. There were a couple things that we wanted to reiterate.

"The problem you have is you go into spring training, and I've seen it before, where once spring training leaves you don't do any of that stuff. If you want to retain something, you want to keep something, you've got to come back and refer to it. And it's important to us. It's who we are. We're not necessarily that more talented than anybody else. We've got to be willing to do some things that other people may not be."

Machado has been a puzzle in the field. A great play is almost assured every night, but he also leads the club with eight errors and was spared another Monday night when Chris Davis scooped his throw to end the game.

Machado's latest miscue came in the seventh inning last night on a fielder's choice grounder by Justin Smoak. He threw slightly behind Chris Tillman covering first while attempting to complete a double play. The ball glanced off Tillman's glove and Machado was given the error.

Machado took Davis' throw at second because of the shift. He's no stranger to turning a double play with his background as a shortstop.

It probably means nothing, but five of Machado's eight errors have come in the eighth inning or later. Six errors have come on throws.

"It's not turning out like it's supposed to be," Machado said. "Keep grinding, keep catching those grounders and keep making those throws."

Davis will need to keep scooping the ball. He did it again last night on a throw from shortstop J.J. Hardy, who later committed an error on a throw to the plate.

Machado tied his season-high with three hits for the third time. He's reached base safely in 18 consecutive games since April 21, one shy of his career high set from June 22-July 20, 2014.

Tillman has lost his last five starts against the Blue Jays, going 0-5 with a 8.78 ERA in 26 2/3 innings.

Over his last eight outings, reliever Brad Brach is 1-0 with a 2.31 ERA in 11 2/3 innings.

The Angels are starting Jered Weaver, Matt Shoemaker and Garrett Richards in the three-game series against the Orioles that begins Friday at Camden Yards.

And finally, a reminder that I'll be at the Hard Rock Cafe in Baltimore today at 12:30 p.m. for the launch of "Early Bird Tweet Up" on the outdoor pier.

Want some inside information? Promise that we're off the record? Cause I've got some stories to tell.

I've also been known to send a tweet or two and consent to the occasional selfie.