BALTIMORE—After starting 16 games in June and hitting .246 with his first major league home run and eight RBIs, Coby Mayo has started just two games in July. He’s hitless in six at-bats.
Interim manager Tony Mansolino has played Mayo against left-handed starters, and the Orioles haven’t faced many recently. Overall, Mayo is hitting .205 with a home run and nine RBIs in 26 games.
Mansolino says the return of Tyler O’Neill and Jordan Westburg from the injured list has made it harder to find spots for him to play.
“Right now, we’re in a situation where we’re trying to win games,” Mansolino said.
“Coby’s played against every left-handed pitcher so far. I don’t think working your way into the big leagues and learning how to hit lefties is a bad way to do it.”
Mansolino says because he has four outfielders, O’Neill, Colton Cowser, Ramón Laureano and Cedric Mullins along with Westburg playing, it’s hard to find time for both Mayo and Ramón Urías.
“It’s a tough situation, but Coby’s handling it great,” Mansolino said.
“I think in Coby’s case, he’s spent enough time in Triple-A. You’ve got to think through, ‘What’s the benefit of having him in Triple-A, and putting up numbers versus playing against lefties, which he has and occasional righties, and being in the big leagues and getting the opportunity to learn the big league game, to mature in the big leagues.
“He can go down and play every day. You can make that choice right now, and we’ve talked about it…Where we’ve landed right now. He’s playing against lefties…We like how this has been dosed to Coby.”
Mansolino says that the Orioles can’t focus solely on player development.
“We have to make the choice to win to games,” Mansolino said. “The Baltimore Orioles need to win games. We’re still not out of this thing…There’s still a path forward for us, and until that path disappears, our No. 1 priority has to be to win, and second, development.”
Wolfram is back: The Orioles wanted to add a second left-hander to their bullpen to close out the first half of the season, and they recalled Grant Wolfram from Triple-A Norfolk.
As the 27th man, Wolfram pitched two scoreless innings, allowing one hit against the New York Mets in the first game of Thursday’s doubleheader.
“He looked so good the other day against the Mets,” Mansolino said. “It was two innings. It’s 98. It’s a curveball. It’s a slider.”
Because he served as the 27th man, the Orioles didn’t have to keep him in the minor leagues for 15 days, and he wasn’t going to be available for perhaps two days after throwing two innings.
“That’s something you dream of,” Wolfram said of his first major league win. “You go up against a guy like Juan Soto…To get the opportunity to be on a big league mound to face those guys, it’s a dream for sure.”
The Orioles designated right-hander Corbin Martin for assignment. Martin allowed one hit in 1 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out two on July 2nd.
“I wish we would have gotten him in there more,” Mansolino said. “He looked so good the outing in Texas. He looked so good, and we went on this run where we were winning games, so you’re going to use your [top] guys when you’re winning games.”
Note: The Orioles are expected to start Charlie Morton, Dean Kremer and Trevor Rogers in their series at Tampa Bay next weekend.
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