masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgDarren O’Day threw a bullpen session today between games of the doubleheader. He’s got another one scheduled and also will pitch in two simulated games on the road.
More good news for the Orioles, who completed their sweep of the Rays with an 8-6 win before 33,040 at Camden Yards.
The Orioles (44-30) move a season-high 14 games above .500. They can complete their first four-game sweep of the Rays in Baltimore with a win Sunday.
T.J. McFarland earned the win as the 26th man for the…

Darren O’Day threw a bullpen session today between games of the doubleheader. He’s got another one scheduled and also will pitch in two simulated games on the road.

More good news for the Orioles, who completed their sweep of the Rays with an 8-6 win before 33,040 at Camden Yards.

The Orioles (44-30) move a season-high 14 games above .500. They can complete their first four-game sweep of the Rays in Baltimore with a win Sunday.

T.J. McFarland earned the win as the 26th man for the doubleheader before returning to Triple-A Norfolk’s roster. Brad Brach walked two batters in the eighth and stranded them by striking out Logan Forsythe and Evan Longoria, and Zach Britton notched his 23rd save.

chris-tillman-white-follow-through-Sidebar.jpgChris Tillman allowed six runs and 10 hits in five innings, but he was spared the loss by the latest Orioles comeback. He also was bailed out by Adam Jones, who made a sensational diving catch in right-center field to leave the bases loaded in the third.

Matt Wieters homered twice for his fifth career multi-home game and his first since Sept. 16, 2012. Jones and Davis also homered, and Davis gave the Orioles a 7-6 lead in the seventh with an RBI single off left-hander Xavier Cedeno.

Here’s a sampling from manager Buck Showalter:

On qualities that allow team to keep coming back:
“Double play balls. Some of them. I know Chris got a big double play ball, believe it or not, at 4-0 and so did McFarland. And of course Brad, that’s a tough spot to pitch in, obviously, first and second. That part of the order, to be able to get Forsythe and Longoria, that’s hard to do.”

On Jones’ catch:
“Huge play. It’s like a double play ball. That game can get away from you right there. I’m glad that we make note of that. That’s a huge play that will get overlooked by some. That’s a play, too, you just played nine innings and you won a game, it’s sticky out there and some people would say, ‘I’ll take this on one hop. Not sure I can catch it.’

“Those are the type of split-second decisions these guys have to make at this level every night. But it’s like I tell them all the time, you feel something, you’ve got to go for it. And if it doesn’t work out, at least you don’t wonder if I could have.”

On winning two games today:
“Winning two games in the major leagues, you look at the percentage of the ones that are split, lose two. Sometimes you go into it just hoping your pitching staff stays intact and you’re able to split and live to fight another day. So, to get through those two games without having to overuse anybody … Once Chris got that big hit off a left-hander who’s tough on lefties, we decided to go for it.”

On Tillman struggling:
“Struggle? It’s easy to say now, but a lot of it was them. When you face a team as many times as Chris has faced them, I thought they had some pretty good swings on off-speed pitches that they were kind of looking for in certain counts. But he uncharacteristically didn’t have command of his fastball. He was missing a lot arm side up and away. That’s not like him. So, to survive that from him …

“He usually kind of gets back in step and pitches (well) in the sixth or seventh, but that didn’t happen tonight.”

On Tillman waiting to pitch Game 2:
“He’s handled it real well. That’s why we wanted him to pitch the second game. His mental toughness. Chris has had a lot of experience with it. He’s not getting here at 9 o’clock and playing bingo. He handled it well. That would be a convenient excuse.

“The tough part of it is, after you’ve won a game and you’re kind of playing with house money, there’s two ways to approach it. You let it rip or you remind yourself how hard it is to win two games of a doubleheader. That’s why we were kind of relentless about trying to get that lead and holding it.”

On Wieters:
“He’s won like it seems five or six games with huge hits. You give Zach a little cushion, that was a big hit and to get us back within one. Matt’s been doing that for a lot of the season. He’s had a lot of pick-us-up hits. That’s why we were so excited when we were able to get him back with us this year.”