masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgMark Trumbo reached base twice last night on a walk and infield hit. He also threw out Troy Tulowitzki at the plate to conclude the third inning, and it wasn’t close.
Tulowitzki went in standing and ran into catcher Matt Wieters’ tag. He could have just stopped and held out an arm.
Trumbo has 16 career outfield assists, the most recent before last night coming on June 27, 2015.
The Orioles lead the majors with 49 outfield assists since the beginning of the 2015 season.
* Manny Machado…

Mark Trumbo reached base twice last night on a walk and infield hit. He also threw out Troy Tulowitzki at the plate to conclude the third inning, and it wasn’t close.

Tulowitzki went in standing and ran into catcher Matt Wieters’ tag. He could have just stopped and held out an arm.

Trumbo has 16 career outfield assists, the most recent before last night coming on June 27, 2015.

The Orioles lead the majors with 49 outfield assists since the beginning of the 2015 season.

* Manny Machado extended his hitting streak to 12 games last night with a home run in the fourth inning. He also doubled in the eighth.

Machado has hit 38 home runs as a third baseman since the start of the 2015 season to rank second in the American League behind the Blue Jays’ Josh Donaldson (41).

Chris Davis laughing.jpg* First baseman Chris Davis made two more outstanding plays last night, lunging to his left to smother a grounder from Ryan Goins and record the out as a run scored, and leaping to catch a high throw from shortstop J.J. Hardy and tagging Goins on the way down.

Davis has taken his defensive game to another level.

* Mike Wright has allowed 13 earned runs in the third inning in his career, including two last night. He’s registered an 11.70 ERA in 10 innings.

The 13 runs are the most he’s surrendered in any inning.

* Tyler Wilson has allowed one run in eight innings over his three appearances. Sounds great on the surface, but the tack-on run that scored against him last night in the top of the seventh was critical.

Wilson also was critical – of his outing. He retired the first two batters and was burned by a single, walk and Jose Bautista’s RBI double.

“I bear a lot of responsibility for the way the game went today,” Wilson said last night. “Got two quick outs and I have to be able to shut the inning down a little faster. That’s my role, that’s my job, to come out there and give our team a chance to get back into the dugout and score some runs. That’s exactly what they did. I just have to be a little more efficient, a little better next time.”

Showalter agreed that the tack-on run hurt, but he was effusive in his praise of Wilson earlier in the day.

“He’s an Oriole, he’s a contributor,” Showalter said. “I’m telling you, he’s one of those guys that people just sell short a little bit. There’s a reason why winning has followed him around. His versatility and what he brings, and a delivery that stays together and what he does and Mac (T.J. McFarland) does are so important to a club staying healthy. That’s one of the things I’ve been real proud of because what they’re able to do allows everyone else to stay away from league leaders in appearances and stuff. We’re not going to do that. And we’ve gotten a very good return on it.

“They may not be particularly sexy on a given night. Sometimes because he doesn’t throw 97 (mph), people sell him short. There’s no unbelievable out pitch that you can’t wait to get to. It’s a sum of all his parts that make him effective. And he’s very trustworthy. You can count on him. He’s very strong mentally. When you’ve been told, ‘You’re not quite good enough’ as many times as he has since the 10th grade, you get a good chip on your shoulder. He’s a guy who loves the competition, he loves the responsibilities that come with being up here.”

* Mychal Givens walked a batter in the ninth, but he kept the score 4-3 by retiring Donaldson and Bautista.

Givens has allowed three earned runs (four total) and nine hits, with three walks, in 6 2/3 innings. However, he’s also struck out 13 batters.

What is Showalter seeing with Givens?

“Statistically, it’s pretty obvious,” he replied.

“Mike’s got good stuff. He gets a little flat-plained sometimes with his fastball and gets a little … Jim Palmer’s got a great saying for it. He gets a little of the merry-go-round going instead of the Ferris wheel. He’s going side to side instead of straight, even though his arm angle’s a little bit lower. And that’s what gets him out of whack a little bit and flatten his ball out. But Mike’s an athletic guy.

“I think we’ve all got to keep in mind how little pitching he’s really done professionally. He’s working on little things like his times to the plate and holding runners and understanding different parts of it. He’s got a chance to be a good piece for us and he’s learning from some of the best down there. But there’s some growing pains along the way.”