masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgManager Buck Showalter started with the good – Game 1 starter Zach Britton.

Make that the very good.

“He was very good. That goes without saying,” Showalter said. “I think he had five hitters on to lead off innings. Something like that. That’s the beauty of the ground ball. We actually had a chance to turn another one behind him. He had good stuff. I thought his secondary stuff was good, too. Keep them off the velocity a little bit. (Matt) Wieters did a great job with him. They were…Manager Buck Showalter started with the good – Game 1 starter Zach Britton.

Make that the very good.

“He was very good. That goes without saying,” Showalter said. “I think he had five hitters on to lead off innings. Something like that. That’s the beauty of the ground ball. We actually had a chance to turn another one behind him. He had good stuff. I thought his secondary stuff was good, too. Keep them off the velocity a little bit. (Matt) Wieters did a great job with him. They were really on the same page. Quick tempo. Made for a good game. That’s a tough team to keep to no runs, as evidenced by the second game.”

Ah yes, the second game.

“I thought Jake (Arrieta) had really good stuff,” Showalter said. “Too good of stuff to have that type of outing.”

So why were the results so bad?

“A lot of reasons,” Showalter said, choosing his words carefully. “It’s baseball. They’re a very good offensive team. He had some sequences that got a little out of whack and got them on him. And he couldn’t quite make that pitch or get the sequences that should have been to get it done.”

One example came when Arrieta threw two curveballs to No. 9 hitter Mitch Moreland after having a 3-1 count. Moreland walked to load the bases with no outs.

“You give them a lot of credit, one of the best offensive teams in baseball, but I thought we got a little out of sequence there,” Showalter said.

Buck Showalter talks about the ups and downs of today’s double header in Baltimore

Showalter passed along the grim news about shortstop J.J. Hardy.

“Unless something in the early diagnosis is way off, it looks like he’s headed to the DL,” Showalter said. “It’s a whole different spot than the smaller issue he had earlier. So it looks like he’ll probably go on the DL.

“I remember looking at him on the first swing a little. Then if you remember, he took the rest of the pitches. He came in and I went up the runway just to check on him and he said it was in a whole different spot. He’ll probably get an MRI on Monday to make sure what we are dealing with, but I look for him to be a DL candidate.”

As for the corresponding move, Showalter said: “We’re going to talk some more, but Andy (MacPhail) has had seven innings to think about it, so I’m sure he has his hands around what our best move is.”

The Orioles will need a starter for Wednesday. Jeremy Guthrie gets the ball tomorrow.

“He feels good, doctors feel good about it and he’s ready to go tomorrow,” Showalter said.

Showalter doesn’t believe that he’ll need an extra reliever tomorrow.

“We’re in good shape because of the job that (Josh) Rupe and Jak (Chris Jakubauskas) did today, and with the off-day on Monday,” he said. “I could get back there and Andy could have a strong feeling about what we’re going to do.”

Today was a tale of two games and two completely different vibes.

“I’m glad it only counts as one loss,” Showalter said. “I kind of dwell on Jake had really good stuff and deserved to have a better outing than he did. You’ve got to tip your hat to Texas there.”

Just don’t pull a muscle while doing so. Injuries and illnesses are pretty common around here.