The San Diego Padres had watched Orioles reliever Willis Roberts flex his muscles to celebrate each strike. They'd seen him point to the sky as he walked off the mound after stifling their sixth-inning rally Monday.

So Bubba Trammell decided to rub it in a little Tuesday when he hit a game-tying, two-run single off Roberts in the eighth inning. Trammell lifted his arms in the air while running to first base and made a fist pumping gesture like Tiger Woods after a big putt.

"I'm not proud of what I did, but there's no place in the game for that," Trammell said of Roberts' antics.

Orioles manager Mike Hargrove has had several discussions with Roberts about his gestures. But once Roberts toned down his act, he started pitching more passively, and that wasn't good either.

Taking a cue from the way the Houston Astros handled Jose Lima a few years ago, the Orioles decided to let Roberts be himself.

"A lot of hitters have told me something bad [about the antics]," Roberts said. "But this is me. I don't care."

For the most part, Roberts has been brilliant this season, posting a 1.78 ERA. But he still hasn't established himself as a pitcher the Orioles can count on in tight situations. He entered Tuesday's game with the bases loaded, then walked Ron Gant on four pitches, forcing home a run.

In his past four appearances, Roberts has walked the leadoff batter three times.

"Until [Tuesday] night, Willis had settled down and been pretty good," Hargrove said. "He has a tendency to come in and overthrow to the first hitter before he settles in. But Willis has been good a lot more times than not. He's got a one-something ERA, so he's obviously come in and done his job."

Ryan's challenge

Roberts and left-handed reliever B.J. Ryan, both age 26, are considered two key pieces in the Orioles' youth movement, and Hargrove doesn't mind the growing pains as long as he sees progress.

While Roberts is struggling with the first hitters he faces, Ryan is having trouble later in his appearances. On Tuesday, Ryan entered in the seventh inning and retired two batters to strand a runner on second. But he went back for the eighth, and the first three Padres hitters reached base.

Those three runs were charged to Ryan, lifting his ERA to 7.84.

"I think with B.J. it's more of a mental thing than anything," Hargrove said. "He's not tired. ... If he has a rap right now, it's you better be careful about leaving him in past an inning where he's already pitched. That can be overcome, but the only way to do it is to work with him and put him in those situations."

Douglass dilemma

The Orioles are having a tough time finding innings for Sean Douglass, and there's been talk of trading for a veteran reliever, which would allow them to send Douglass back to Triple-A Rochester.

"We've discussed that quite a bit lately," Hargrove said. "Shawn needs to pitch, and if we can't get him innings here, we need to think about getting him somewhere he can get them."

Douglass has been with the Orioles since April 25, but he has made just six appearances, including one in June. Douglass is 0-1 with a 6.33 ERA. The Orioles know he would be better off starting every fifth day in Rochester, but they don't have anyone else ready to take his spot.

"The whole thing is you have to have a viable alternative for that to make sense," Hargrove said. "When Sean does pitch, he helps us win. You don't want to make a move just to make a move."