Sisco says trip to minors was a help

If Sisco had something to hang his hat on and build off of, the struggles that come with being a 23-year-old rookie catcher with a veteran pitching staff on a struggling team might have been easier to manage. Altogether, it made for a cocktail that was difficult to stomach.

His problems throwing were among the Orioles’ biggest concerns when they sent him down, but the club is confident he’s come through it with his time at Norfolk.

He allowed 10 stolen bases in as many tries in five games for the Tides, but manager Buck Showalter noted that while he was down, pitchers there weren’t as conscientious about holding runners as they need to be.

Sisco went 1-for-4 at the plate Thursday and was back in Friday’s lineup to catch David Hess, finishing 0-for-3 in the No. 9 hole, but Showalter said it’s “too early” to tell what the time away did for him.

“He caught one game,” Showalter said. “We’ll see. But as far as catching and calling a game, I’ve been really impressed with Chance. We knew, like a lot of young players, he’s going to have his ups and downs offensively, and he was throwing real well early in the season.

“We gave him a chance to take a blow and work on a few things without the impending major league game right there. It’s a little early. Ask me in a couple days.”

Sisco believes the opportunity to play with some of his longtime teammates in Norfolk and get back into an environment where he’s had success played a role in the good run he put together in Norfolk. He hit two homers and went 6-for-17 (.353) in five games there.

As a career .312 minor league hitter who has never hit below the .267 batting average he posted for the Tides last season, the hitting problems he’s had with major league pitching are new. Sisco doesn’t know whether success at the plate would have bled into everything else before he went down, though.

“It’s a tough one to answer, because it’s not the situation,” Sisco said. “I don’t really know what it would be like. I’m just looking forward to the days to come, and just trying to bring a really different mindset into it.”