Orioles on deck: Birds add Mancini, activate O'Day, plus what to watch Sunday vs. Rays

Orioles (81-67) vs. Rays (64-84)

Where: Camden Yards

First pitch: 1:35 p.m.

TV/Radio: MASN2/105.7 The Fan

Starting pitchers: Orioles LHP Wade Miley (8-13, 5.80 ERA) vs. Rays RHP Jake Odorizzi (9-6, 3.81 ERA)

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Orioles add Mancini, activate O'Day

The Orioles made three roster moves Sunday morning, selecting the contract of infielder Trey Mancini from Triple-A Norfolk, reinstating setup man Darren O'Day from the 15-day disabled list and placing infielder-outfielder Steve Pearce on the 60-day disabled list with a right flexor mass strain.

The move ends Pearce's season. He played in 25 games with the Orioles after being acquired on Aug. 1, but was limited by his arm injury throughout his return to the club.

Mancini, 24, joins the club for his first major league stint after batting .282/.357/.458 with 26 doubles, five triples, 20 home runs and 68 RBIs over 142 games between Double-A Bowie and Norfolk this season. He was twice named an Orioles Minor League Player of the Month (April and June). He was the Orioles' 2015 Brooks Robinson Minor League Player of the Year.

O’Day, 33, was placed on the DL on Aug. 13 (retroactive to August 12) with a right shoulder rotator cuff strain. Over 30 games with the Orioles this season, O’Day has gone 3-1 with three saves, a 3.95 ERA (12 ER/27.1 IP), and 33 strikeouts.

Pearce, 33, was acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays for catcher Jonah Heim at the nonwaiver trade deadline. He hit .288/.374/.492 with 13 doubles, one triple, 13 home runs and 35 RBIs over 85 games between the Orioles and Rays.

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What to watch

1. Seeking a split: The Orioles need to win today to guarantee they won't be more than three games out of first place going into their critical four-game series against the Boston Red Sox. They lucked out Saturday night that they didn't lose their padding in the wild-card race as the Toronto Blue Jays, Detroit Tigers, Seattle Mariners and New York Yankees also lost. The Orioles remain tied with the Blue Jays, but lead the Tigers, Mariners and Houston Astros by three games.

2. Must go with Miley: The Orioles send trade-deadline acquisition Wade Miley to the mound this afternoon, hoping it can't get worse for the left-hander. Miley has an 8.41 ERA in eight starts with the Orioles, and a 9.99 ERA over his past six outings. He allowed six runs in 1 1/3 innings his last time out.

3. Encore: The Orioles tagged Jake Odorizzi, the Rays' starter today, for seven runs in four innings 12 days ago. It was the first time since July 10 that the right-hander allowed more than three earned runs. He had a 1.89 ERA in his nine starts before the Orioles ran him over, and bounced back for two earned runs in seven innings against the Blue Jays in his only start since.

Orioles lineup

CF Adam Jones
LF Hyun Soo Kim
3B Manny Machado
RF Mark Trumbo
1B Chris Davis
2B Jonathan Schoop
SS J.J. Hardy
DH Pedro Alvarez
C Caleb Joseph

Orioles on deck: Birds add Mancini, activate O'Day, plus what to watch Sunday vs. Rays

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