Wrapping up an 8-5 win

MIAMI - The Orioles are discussing whether they need to call up a fresh arm from Triple-A Norfolk before Saturday night's game against the Marlins.

Brad Brach and Tommy Hunter aren't available after pitching tonight, according to manager Buck Showalter. Tyler Wilson registered his first major league win, but he could be optioned.

Showalter is meeting tonight with pitching coach Dave Wallace and bullpen coach Dom Chiti.

"I thought Tommy had probably the big outing of the night, coming into the game in that situation and holding the lead," Showalter said following an 8-5 win. "Brad gave us another... Both of those guys pitched yesterday, so they're down tomorrow. We'll see where we are.

"Tyler, I thought the inning before he did well. He gave up two blocked base hits to right and a ground ball that went through. Boy, is this field fast. The ball just flies through the infield here."

The Orioles (19-20) have won four of their last five games and are one below .500 for the first time since May 6. They were down 3-0 in the fifth when Showalter sent up Delmon Young to pinch-hit for starter Ubaldo Jimenez with two on and no outs. Young responded with an RBI double as part of a two-run inning.

Easy decision to remove Jimenez for Young?

"Yeah, because I knew he was going to hit a ball off the center field wall," Showalter quipped. "No, you don't know those things. You kind of start that part of the game with who do you, I don't want to say need the least because Delmon can play left and right. Plus, I think he's one of our best pinch-hitters and we've got a chance to get back in the game. But hats off to him. Plus, Ubaldo had 86, 87 pitches.

"There was a scenario where he would have hit. If we had two outs and nobody on, he would have continued."

Manny Machado, playing his first game in his hometown since the Orioles drafted him in 2010, had a big two-run double and a diving stop and throw.

"Manny's been doing that for a while," Showalter said. "There's two ways to look at it when you know Manny's coming back here. Is it going to be a distraction to him or is he going to... He always seems to rise to moments like that.

"You know it means a lot for him playing here. He grew up here, basically. But we have four or five guys not staying at the hotel here. Delmon lives here, (Everth) Cabrera lives here, Rudy Arias lives here. This is a big kind of return home for them."

Another big play occurred in the sixth when Marlins starter Henderson Alvarez fielded J.J. Hardy's bunt and threw the ball over third baseman Martin Prado's head, allowing a run to score. The Orioles tallied four runs in the inning.

Hardy was bunting with the count full.

"He did that on his own, and he's probably one of, if not our best bunters," Showalter said. "A lot of times they kind of relax a little bit. It's hard to bunt the ball, sacrifice on this fast of grass unless you can really put it where you want to put it. It ended up being a key play. He'll tell you that they might have had a play at third, but it put a little pressure on them there. There's no guy more team-first than J.J."

Jimmy Paredes had three more hits and an RBI to raise his average to .353. He now qualifies for the batting title in the American League, and he's second to former Oriole Nelson Cruz, who's hitting .354 with the Mariners.

"I was going to sit him tomorrow. You all screwed that up," Showalter quipped.

"Jimmy was at the wrong place a couple times at second, but that's the reason why we wanted his bat in the lineup and we'll see if I can find a place for him tomorrow. Got any ideas? Thinking about left field. We'll see."

Showalter saw Bud Norris' line at Triple-A Norfolk today - 2 2/3 innings, nine runs and 12 hits - but he didn't have any additional information. He needed to speak with Tides manager Ron Johnson and pitching coach Mike Griffin. In the meantime, Norris has returned to Baltimore.

Caleb Joseph had three hits, two RBIs and two runs scored tonight for the Orioles and seems to be coming out of his offensive funk. His average is up to .279.

"There's an ebb and flow," he said. "I've been catching quite a bit and I just try to keep my legs under me. I try not to do too much. Sometimes, when I kind of hit that valley, I start to try not to do too much. I just try to stay within.

"Big win for the team. They're a tough team to play against. It was good to get a win today.

"Every win in the big leagues is huge, but especially when you have those kind of long games when you're mentally in it for a long time and there's a lot of pitching changes, a lot of matchups played. Big rain delay. Our team is built for that. We like to think that we're mentally tough and it shows in these type of games."

Hunter replaced Wilson and gave the Orioles two scoreless innings - also stranding two runners in the sixth - to lower his ERA to 3.93.

"He was huge," Joseph said. "In these interleague games, especially when you play National League teams, you see a lot more matchups and pitchers exiting early. To have guys that can come in in the back end of the bullpen and shut the door, pick Tyler up there, it was huge. You got a ton of quality outs. He made a couple of really good plays in the field to kind of keep us in it. We had a few hits later on and then kind of stretched it out there."

Less than a week after Mike Wright earned his first major league win, Wilson did the same after allowing one run and three hits in one-plus innings. He struck out Ichiro Suzuki, a story he can tell his grandchildren.

"He got his first strikeout, his first 'W.' It was big," Joseph said. "I can remember like it was yesterday, my major league debut. It's an exciting time. I know tonight wasn't his debut, but milestones like your first home run, your first extra-base hit, but for him, a big strikeout. To get a W is big. He's come in and done a good job for us so far."

"It's awesome," Wilson said. "It was great to get out there and obviously get a win, But I think I was just a benefactor of Tommy Hunter coming in and then pitching exceptionally well, honestly. Just being in the right place at the right time. And the guys had a big-four run inning there in the top of the sixth and the team just played really well today.

"I was fortunate to be in the at position to get the win, but it was definitely a lot of team things to make that happen."

In his debut on Wednesday, Wilson coaxed a double play grounder from the Mariners' Robinson Cano. He took down Suzuki tonight to end the fifth.

"That was definitely pretty cool," he said. "Ichiro was one of my little brother's favorite players growing up, so it was kind of a cool connection there. I shouldn't have gone 3-0 in the first place, but I was excited to battle back and get the out there."

Jimenez would have come back out for the fifth if the game hadn't been played under National League rules.

"It's the toughest thing about playing in the National League, because I could have gone one more inning at least or two more," Jimenez said. "You never know high 80-something pitches. You could go two more innings and 20-some pitches. But it is part of the game. Hopefully, I don't have to pitch any more in the National League."

Showalter wasn't concerned that Jimenez allowed three runs and seven hits - all singles - in four innings.

"I'm OK with his stuff," he said. "I think he had a little bump there. He has been pitching at a very high level. I don't get any 'uh oh' out of today. I think he's OK."

The Marlins put Alvarez on the disabled list following the game with right shoulder inflammation.