OAKLAND, CALIF. — Orioles manager Buck Showalter said he usually tries to take notice of little things that might indicate whether a trade-deadline acquisition is getting accustomed to his new surroundings. But Showalter said Wednesday that he hasn't had any concerns about newcomer Wade Miley in his first 10 days with the club.
"You do look for it, but I would have been real surprised if it was a challenge for him," Showalter said. "He's done it a lot and he rolls with the punches. He's very competitive and I think he's got a lot of confidence that he's going to be pitching every fifth day and he can do the job."
After making his second Orioles start Tuesday in Oakland, Miley conceded he's still getting accustomed to his new team, but said he felt much more comfortable in his second outing than his first. That showed on the mound, where Miley was able to mix his pitches well in tossing a quality start against the Oakland Athletics in the Orioles' 2-1 loss at Oakland Coliseum.
Miley held the A's to just two runs over six innings. Take away allowing three consecutive one-out hits in the third inning, including a slap opposite-field RBI double by Danny Valencia, and the ensuing sacrifice fly, and Miley held the Oakland batting order in check.
Miley came to the Orioles with a reputation of being a ground-ball pitcher, and nine of his 18 outs came via the ground ball against the Athletics as he almost equally relied on his fastball (25 pitches), sinker (20) and changeup (24) to keep hitters off balance.
"A lot of balls on the ground," Showalter said. "… And [he] made very few mistakes. … Everything we were hoping we were getting with him. He's been impressive."
Miley's outing was different from his first start with the Orioles on Aug. 4, when he relied more heavily on his fastball and allowed four runs on eight hits over five innings.
"I still have the jitters going in just like every start, but yeah, it felt a lot better," Miley said. "I felt more relaxed and was able to make pitches at the time rather than the nerves get in the way. It was good."
Even with his shaky debut, Miley has thrown quality starts in five of his past seven starts dating to July 4. He is 2-1 with a 1.80 ERA in three career starts against the A's.
"We probably got him at a time when he was probably pitching [his] best of the year," Showalter said. So you look for [little things], but I saw very quickly it wasn't going to be a challenge."
Orioles shuffle lineup, Davis dropped to sixth
Showalter shuffled his lineup for Wednesday's game, sliding slumping first baseman Chris Davis down to sixth from the cleanup spot for the second time in five games. He also moved shortstop J.J. Hardy, who has hit well from the bottom third of the order, up to the No. 2 position.
"Our guys really don't care, but I guess the people who want to know ask," Showalter said, downplaying the move. "We're facing a left-handed pitcher. We don't have Steve Pearce. There's a lot of different reasons, but nothing really noteworthy in our mind. It's out best presentation tonight. See what tomorrow brings."
The lineup allowed Showalter to stack the top of his lineup with five right-handed hitters against Oakland left-handed Ross Detwiler. He also put second baseman Jonathan Schoop in the fifth spot to separate two of the team's struggling bats, outfielder Mark Trumbo and Davis.
"It's a presentation of where they are in the bullpen," Showalter said. "They took a left-hander out of there and have a left-hander tonight. It was the best fit to try to put Jon in a different place. Sometimes if somebody hits there or hits there, you have to think about all the tentacles of it, too.
"When you're having some challenges, you find yourself starting at the bottom of the order and working your way up instead of starting at the top of the order and working your way down. That's kind of where we are right now."
Around the horn
Left-hander T.J. McFarland pitched three scoreless innings in a Gulf Coast League game Wednesday and will begin a minor league rehabilitation assignment Monday with High-A Frederick. McFarland, who has been on the disabled list with left knee inflammation since June 30, will have a work day Friday in Sarasota, Fla., before heading north. Showalter said he will likely pitch three innings again Monday. "We're going to try to keep him in play here if there's a need," Showalter said. ... Outfielder Hyun Soo Kim's career-high 10-game hitting streak ended when he went 0-for-4 on Tuesday night. ... Shortstop J.J. Hardy's five-game hitting streak was also halted Tuesday. ... The Orioles announced that the annual LUNGevity Breathe Deep Baltimore 5K run and walk will be held Saturday, Oct. 22 at Camden Yards. Registration for the race — which is in memory of former Orioles public relations director Monica Barlow, who died in 2014 following a 4 1/2-year battle with nonsmall cell lung cancer — can be found on www.orioles.com/lungevity.
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