Notes
Infielder Janish gets called up as family gets expanded
Baby girl born Friday; hard time for Matusz
Infielder
The two came about a day apart, with a healthy baby girl born Friday morning in Houston and Janish joining the Orioles the next morning ahead of the team's doubleheader against the Oakland Athletics.
“It's been pretty hectic,” Janish said between games Saturday. “Fortunately, everything went about as well as it could have back home. It was a little bit hectic. It was kind of a little bit of guessing about what the team was going to do, and then also trying to keep them up to date about our time frame back home and everything. … We're a little short on sleep right now, running on fumes, but all in all, everything's good. It's good to be back here.”
Janish, 33, was added to the roster as an extra infielder as a bit of a delayed reaction to starting shortstop
“It's just a weird situation … but at the end of the day, everything worked out well,” he said. “I end up back here, and the baby — obviously the most important thing. It turned out well.”
Janish said it's unclear what his role will be — he hasn't had time for a debriefing with manager
“Whatever they decide to do,” Janish said. “Up to now, I've been playing. I had a good spring training. That kind of rolled into this season.”
Janish, who enjoyed a strong spring training with the Orioles, had a .329 average with a .720 OPS in 21 games for the Tides.
The Orioles brought him back as the 26th man for the second game of Saturday's doubleheader, as major league rules allow teams to add an extra player. The normal 10-day requirement for players optioned to the minors does not apply for doubleheader call-ups, but the player must return to the minors after the game.
McFarland went 0-1 with a 4.73 ERA in 131/3 innings over eight appearances.
Matusz came off the disabled list two weeks ago after missing the beginning of the season with a back strain, and has allowed runs in three of his past five outings.
“You're trying to trust him,” Showalter said. “He got a lot of innings, we stretched him out and did a lot of things to try to get him [ready]. I was hoping he'd be a little crisper when he got back, but he hasn't found it yet. We hope he does soon, because he's a valuable guy — can be.”
Statistically, Matusz, who is making $3.9 million this season, is having the worst year of his career. In five appearances, he has a 10.80 ERA with a 3.30 WHIP, and has walked five in 31/3 innings pitched. Eleven of the 21 batters he has faced have reached base.
He is coming off perhaps his best year as a reliever, as Matusz had a 2.94 ERA with 56 strikeouts in 49 innings pitched.