TORONTO — Orioles manager Buck Showalter refused to engage in a war of words with Toronto slugger Jose Bautista on Wednesday, a day after Bautista pointed blame at Showalter while accusing the Orioles of intentionally throwing at him during the Orioles' 13-6 loss to the Blue Jays.
After Tuesday's game, Bautista said that he thought Rule 5 pick Jason Garcia was trying to hit him intentionally when a 0-1 fastball sailed behind him in the seventh inning. Three pitches later, Bautista hit a two-run homer off Garcia, admiring the blast, trotting slowly around the bases and staring into the Orioles dugout after touching home plate.
Bautista's display drew the ire of several Orioles players, including center fielder Adam Jones, who engaged Bautista in an obscenity-laced verbal argument between innings.
After the game, Bautista mentioned Showalter unprovoked, saying, "It's all pretty well planned out and premeditated, and I think they hide behind the way their manager acts and conducts himself on the field. They're going to continue to keep doing that until something comes down from MLB."
On Wednesday, an unusually large group of reporters and TV cameras surrounded Showalter for his pregame media session in the Orioles dugout. When asked about Bautista's quote, Showalter said he hadn't seen it and he didn't want to see it.
"I really don't have [a reaction]," Showalter said. "I really don't pay much attention to those things. We didn't play very well last night. … I try to have a grip on reality. I'm 58. I'm supposed to be able to do that. I always feed off what's important to our players. It's about them and their game.
"Whether it be our players, their players, it's their game — those 18 guys that night and 50 players. You deal with each day as it comes. That's the challenge of a long season. It's something that's very important to a lot of people and there's going to be some emotion involved."
Bautista was out of the Blue Jays starting lineup on Wednesday after re-aggravating a right shoulder strain he had been playing through. He said he aggravated it while attempting to throw out Delmon Young at first base on Young's single to right field.
Bautista is considered day-to-day.
Showalter 'bothered' by defensive miscues
Despite having the reputation of being one of the top defensive teams in baseball, the Orioles have been lacking in fundamentals on defense the past two games, which has drawn the ire of Showalter.
Showalter isn't critical of his team often, but he said Tuesday's game was one of the sloppiest his team has played defensively this season.
"I was really bothered with some of our defensive plays last night," Showalter said. "Very uncharacteristically, we missed a lot of cutoff men and gave away some outs on the bases."
So Showalter called a meeting with the team's outfielder's before Wednesday's game to remind them of the importance of doing the little things well.
The Orioles have committed five errors over the past two games, including two on Tuesday that played a part in a six-run second inning.
"It has been [uncharacteristic] in the past, but I don't want to make it a characteristic this year," Showalter said of the errors. "So we're capable of it. It's the one constant. We're not the kind of pitching staff that's going to strike a lot of people out consistently so we have to do those things. We did it last year with this pitching staff and we're going to have to do it again this year. It's more than the physical errors. The good thing is that it bothers our players more than it bothers me."
Tillman hoping for better success, deeper start against Jays
In his last start, right-hander Chris Tillman was two outs away from a quality start before he was forced from the game because of a high pitch count. In a 4-1 win over the Red Sox at Fenway Park, Tillman allowed just one run on six hits over 5 1/3 innings, leaving the game after throwing 105 pitches.
The Orioles starting rotation entered Wednesday's game without a start of six or more innings in more than a week. Right-hander Miguel Gonzalez went seven innings in a win over the Yankees on April 15.
So going into his next start Thursday against the Blue Jays, Tillman said his goal is on getting deeper into the game.
"The way our bullpen has been used the last week, two weeks, I think it's our job to start getting these guys some rest," Tillman said. "That's my main focus, going out and give our team the chance to win and hopefully give these guys some rest."
Tillman will also work to lower his 5.52 ERA, which ballooned after he was charged with seven earned runs in a short 2 2/3-inning outing against the Blue Jays on April 12 in a 10-7 loss at Camden Yards.
"You're champing at the bit still," Tillman said. "It's early in the season so you still want to get out there. I didn't have a good one against these guys last time, so I think that's always there. … I'm a firm believer that it's not how you start, it's how you finish. With that being said, I'm not going out there not caring because I care just as much in every start I make."
Around the horn
Pitching prospect Hunter Harvey threw a 15-pitch bullpen session off a half mound on Wednesday, his first session throwing from any kind of mound since going on the minor league disabled list with a slight fracture of his right fibula. … Head trainer Richie Bancells will be away from the team on Thursday and Friday as he gets inducted into the Eastern Kentucky University Hall of Fame. Bancells is in his 28th season as the team's head athletic trainer and in his 32nd year with the major league club. … Showalter said that the Orioles saw two replay angles that showed Dalton Pompey was out on his slide at home in the second inning of Wednesday's game. The Orioles challenged the call, but it stood, meaning there wasn't enough conclusive evidence to overturn it. "I'm just hoping the ones we have aren't better than the ones they have in New York," Showalter said.
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