The Orioles recalled right-hander Tyler Wilson on Sunday and put him right to work, sending him to the mound for the final 3 1/3 innings of Sunday's 5-3 loss to the New York Yankees.
Wilson, who came up from Triple-A Norfolk to replace optioned reliever T.J. McFarland, was equal to the task on a sizzling afternoon at Camden Yards. He came on with the Orioles down two runs and gave up just three harmless hits to keep the door open for an Orioles offense that had scored 20 combined runs in the previous two games, but would have to settle for a nice warm feeling and the appreciation of his manager.
Starter Mike Wright ran his pitch count up and walked the first three batters of the fifth inning on a day when the Orioles needed to rest the mainstays of a bullpen that had given up just one run over 19 2/3 innings during the previous five games.
"Tyler was big for us today and hopefully we'll reap the benefits of his outing today over the next week,'' Buck Showalter said. "His outing today makes other people better tomorrow. That was big."
Wilson was just happy to get right in there and try to help.
"No matter what the situation is, ahead or behind, my job — especially there being behind a couple runs — is to just try and get quick contact, get the offense back in the dugout, give them a chance to score some runs and build some more momentum for our club.''
Wilson, 25, is 1-1 with a 2.38 ERA in four games (one start) with the Orioles this season. He was brought to Baltimore to start Sunday's game in case Wright was needed in relief earlier in the series. When Wright made the start, it created a spot in the bullpen for Wilson, who initially was scheduled to start Sunday for the Tides.
Though Wilson had to come up and wait to find out whether he was starting or relieving, he said he was ready for anything.
"It has been [a quick turnaround], but it's always great when it ends up here and you're given a chance to help the Orioles out and help the ballclub win,'' he said. "And I'll do whatever it takes, whether it's the morning or the night before, I'm just happy to be here."
It's possible he'll bounce right back to Norfolk, since the Orioles might want another fresh arm for the home-and-home interleague series against the Philadelphia Phillies. If so, Oliver Drake could be a candidate to take his place on Monday.
Gausman possible in Toronto?
Right-hander Kevin Gausman (right shoulder) is expected to start Tuesday for High-A Frederick, but will throw just two innings. The short stint might be viewed as an in-between-starts workday, and it's possible Gausman could start Friday or Saturday for the Orioles in Toronto.
Gausman, 24, has had some success in limited outings against Toronto. He is 1-1 with a 3.78 ERA in seven games (two starts) against the Blue Jays and 0-1 with a 4.15 ERA in four games (one start) at Rogers Centre.
If he and Wright pitch back-to-back games for the Orioles next weekend, it would allow Wei-Yin Chen or Chris Tillman to pitch in Boston instead of Toronto. Chen has been shielded from pitching against the right-handed-heavy Toronto lineup for much of his career (1-3, 5.40 ERA in four starts versus the Blue Jays compared to 6-4, 3.78 ERA in 14 starts versus Boston). Tillman's numbers are much better at Fenway Park (4-1, 2.56 ERA in eight starts) than at Rogers Centre (2-5, 6.54 ERA in nine starts).
It's also possible Wilson could stick around and start versus Toronto. Showalter's not showing his hand.
"It creates a lot of options for us. We'll see how things go for Gaus on Tuesday," Showalter said. "We have some options as we go forward."
Around the horn
The Orioles are expected to soon announce the minor league signing of infielder Corban Joseph, the younger brother of Orioles catcher Caleb Joseph. The younger Joseph, primarily a second baseman, played in two games with the Yankees in 2013. A .277 career hitter in the minor leagues, he was released by the Atlanta Braves organization this month after hitting .268 at Double-A Mississippi. Joseph, 26, likely will be assigned to Double-A Bowie's roster. … When the Orioles scored 11 runs on Friday night and nine on Saturday night, it was only the second time since they arrived in Baltimore in 1954 that they scored nine or more runs against the Yankees in consecutive games in the same series. They also did it during the final weekend of the 2000 season.