Cashner frustrated by quick hook
Starter says he didn’t know he was on pitch count; Jones, Davis sit
TORONTO – The look Andrew Cashner gave manager Buck Showalter on Sunday afternoon was first of confusion, then frustration as Showalter emerged from the dugout to pull Cashner with two outs in the sixth inning and the Orioles clinging to a one-run lead.
Cashner, making his first start since July 10 after a brief disabled list stint following a pressure-point injection in his neck, had thrown just 79 pitches. TheOrioles were leading 2-1and Cashner hadput runners at the corners following a double by Randal Grichuk and a walk to Kendrys Morales.
Cashner stood onthe moundforafewmomentsbefore giving the ball to Showalter, muttering to himself while walking back to the dugout. After the game, Showalter said he had Cashner on a pitch count of 70 to 80 pitches or five to six innings, but Cashner said he knewnothing about that going into the game.
“I’m sure he was pitching carefully [to Morales] with a base open,” Showalter said. “That was about the extent of it. I welcome his effort to want staying in the game. I’ve been around enough of them looking for you to help them. That’s why we like him so much. I wasn’t going to tell him exactly howmanyhewas going to throw today because that doesn’t [help sometimes].”
Cashner has acknowledged it’s been a frustrating season for him. On Sunday, he was one out shy of his 10th quality start in 19 outings this season and wasdenied his first winin morethan twomonths. Cashner is winless in eight straight starts, with his last victory May 21 against the Chicago White Sox. His record is 2-9, and the Orioles are 5-14 in games he’s started, which isn’t indicative of how well he’s pitched to help his team win on most nights.
“I thought I made some pitches throughout the game today,” Cashner said. “I thought maybe if I make some other pitches earlier in the game, maybe I stay in there. But it’s not my call. I have to respect that. I have a lot of respect for Buck, so it’s just be more efficient early and maybe I stay in there.”
Cashner had allowed one run on five hits over his first five innings. He benefited from a pair of double-play balls, but still managed went through the Toronto batting order twice with little harm. Showalter and Cashner met after the game to clear the air. “Yeah, I wanted to talk to him just kind of [about] where I thought I was at,” Cashner said. “I didn’t know I was on a pitch count. Had I knownthat, maybe I would do things different. It’s his decision. I have to respect that.”
“We talked after the game,” Showalter said. “That’s the least of my worries. I’d like to have more guys like him.” Cashner Jones, Davis sit: The starting lineup the Orioles put out Sunday looked more like a spring training lineup than one for mid-July, with center fielder AdamJones and first baseman Chris Davis both getting the day off.
Showalter said he was giving Jones the day off to keep him off Rogers Centre’s artificial turf but also to help relieve soreness after he fouled a ball off his foot in Friday’s series opener.
“You’d figure he’d be sore, if not sorer today,” Showalter said. ‘That was a pretty good one. We were contemplating it yesterday. … He’s fine. We just want to keep him that way.”
Giving Davis a day off allowed Showalter to move Trey Mancini to first base and give Jace Peterson a start in left field. Hart optioned again: The Orioles once again put left-handed reliever Donnie Hart on the Triple- ANorfolk shuttle, optioning him back to the minors before Sunday’s series finale against the Toronto Blue Jays.
It marked the eighth time the Orioles have optioned Hart since spring training, the most of any player this season.
Hart has a 3.72 ERA in 92⁄ relief innings, and made just two appearances in his most recent stint with the major league club, allowing one run on two hits over two innings. Around the horn: Jonathan Schoop’s solo homer Sunday was his 14th career home run against the Blue Jays, his most against any opponent. … Mark Trumbo recorded his 16th multihit game of the season, five of those coming this month. … The Orioles recorded 15 strikeouts, their fourth game this season with 15 strikeouts or more.