After enduring what manager Buck Showalter said is a typical downswing players experience after returning from injury, catcher Matt Wieters showed what his bat, at it's best, can do for the Orioles lineup Friday.
Wieters' second three-hit game in his past three starts accounted for a third of the team's hits in Friday's 3-2 walk-off win over the Washington Nationals.
His one-out double in the eighth inning leveled the score at 2 and set the stage for second baseman Jonathan Schoop's two-out home run in the ninth won the game for the Orioles.
Wieters' second three-hit performance of the season signaled to Showalter that he's poised to break out of the small slump he found himself in during the Orioles' tough start to July.
In his first 10 games (eight starts) after returning from nearly a year missed following Tommy John surgery, Wieters hit .355 with a pair of home runs, four doubles, and eight RBIs.
But he had just four hits, including a homer and a double, over the ensuing 10 games before launching into his current stretch of two three-hit games in three starts. He's now batting .266 in 24 games.
Showalter points to Wieters' first three-hit performance of the season, in Monday's 4-2 loss to the Minnesota Twins, as a turning point.
"Here's what you like about Matt," Showalter said. "Matt had four games where it was a struggle with the bat. It was a day game [Sunday] and usually, he gets there early to go over all the hitters that we're going to face that night when he's catching, and he was in there early.
"He's not going to give in to saying it's just a period he's got to go through. He spent a lot of time in the cage that day. He came out with three hits that [Monday] night. Matt's not going to take mediocrity. He's not going to just say it's just something I've got to go through because I've been out. He wants it to end after every at-bat."
When those at-bats will come, however, has changed.
The plan for Wieters was for him to catch back-to-back games twice in the week leading up to the All-Star break. He caught Monday and Tuesday in Minneapolis before having Wednesday and Thursday's day off to rest his surgically repaired arm. He then was scheduled to again go back-to-back days behind the plate in the series against the Washington Nationals.
But Showalter said Wieters wouldn't catch right-hander Miguel Gonzalez on Saturday, meaning it will be at least another week before Wieters attempts to go back-to-back for a second time.
"We're not going to go back-to-back until after the break, and then see where we are," Showalter said.
Said Wieters: "Doing the every other day, I feel I'm available every day to where I can go in and catch if I need to as opposed to catching back-to-back, it kind of handcuffs the ability to make a move late and go back behind the plate. So I think it felt good doing it, but I think a little bit longer will be good for my arm. Caleb [Joseph] has been catching well, so it's nice to kind of keep us both fresh throughout a little bit longer of a stretch."