TORONTO — Orioles manager Buck Showalter refused to engage in a war of words with Toronto slugger Jose Bautista who pointed blame at Showalter for throwing at him during the Orioles' 13-6 loss to the Blue Jays, prompting several verbal confrontations with Bautista.
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 to left off Garcia, admiring the blast, trotting slowly around the bases and staring into the Orioles dugout after touching home plate.
After the game, he said "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."
Showalter said he hadn't seen Bautista's quote and he didn't want to see it and didn't offer much of a reaction.
"I really don't have one," 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 is not in the starting lineup tonight. He is day to day after aggravating a right shoulder injury attempting to throw out Delmon Young at first base late in Tuesday's game.
Showalter seemed more concerned about his team's sloppy play on Tuesday. The Orioles have committed five errors over the past two games, including two on Tuesday. He called an outfielders meeting before the game to address multiple missed cut-off throws on Tuesday.
"It has been [uncharacteristic] in the past, but I don't want to make it a characteristic this year," Showalter said. "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."
-- Showalter said that the Orioles saw two replay angles that showed Dalton Pompey was out on his slide at home in 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.
-- 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. He also threw long toss.
-- 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 31st season as an Orioles trainer.
Here are the starting lineups:
Orioles:
De Aza RF, Paredes DH, Davis 1B, Jones CF, Snider LF, Machado 3B, Flaherty 2B, Joseph C, Cabrera SS, Jimenez RHP
Blue Jays:
Reyes SS, Travis 2B, Donaldson 3B, Encarnacion DH, Smoak 1B, Martin C, Pompey CF, Pillar RF, Goins LF, Sanchez RHP