Boston – With half of the Orioles’ 20 hits Friday coming from the trio of 25-year-olds Manny Machado, Jonathan Schoop and Trey Mancini, it was the potential turnarounds of veteran sluggers Mark Trumbo and Chris Davis that manager Buck Showalter noticed were starting to make a difference.

Such has been the tease for the Orioles all season as they stare down the final 33 games of the season — what would it look like if the players they thought would be supplementing their offensive core but instead have become it are joined by those who have been displaced from the heart of the lineup?

The closer the end of the season comes, the less likely it will happen. But Friday was the rare night when everything worked in concert.

Schoop’s four hits led the way and brought his batting average to a team-high .306, while Mancini drove in four runs and had three hits of his own to leave him batting .289. Machado’s three hits pulled his average up to .268 with an .818 OPS — his highest marks since early this season.

All that meshes with what Showalter saw while diving through the statistics packet before Friday’s game.

“I was looking today at stats a little bit with the team stuff and those three young players are really putting together solid years,” Showalter said. “Every time we think Trey’s getting ready to kind of be a little more rookie-like, he gets right back on the horse.”

Combining those three’s sustained production with that of Davis and Trumbo, who each homered Friday, would be a boon for a team that has produced only in fits and starts this year. Their 232 runs in their first 40 games after the All-Star break are the most in the majors, but it still only got them 21 wins.

Adding more from Davis and Trumbo, along with the spark of Tim Beckham at the top of the lineup and Adam Jones’ consistent bat hitting fourth, would make the lineup a nightmare. Showalter’s hope that that is happening could be well-founded. Davis hit .326 with three home runs in 11 games before Saturday, since he got a day off in Oakland. Trumbo had two hits Friday, three more Saturday and reached the 20-homer mark for the sixth time in seven seasons.

“We’re young, but we learned from the best — Jonesy, J.J. [Hardy], Davis, all the guys who were before us and teach us the right thing to do, teach us the right way to handle business,” Schoop said. “We’re out there and bring the energy for the team.”

Showalter sees separation coming: Showalter was left to defend the possibility that the second American League wild-card team could end up a few games over .500 with a negative run differential, indicating that team is fortunate for the record it has.

Showalter didn’t believe it was bad for the game, though he acknowledged that the five playoff teams from each league would all be playing a different game come October.

“I bet it’s real good for the team that gets in and goes ahead and wins,” said Showalter, whose Orioles are 64-65 but with a run differential of -24. “It’s all about whose pitchers are hot and who’s out of it right now. A wild-card team wins the Super Bowl; is that bad for football? I’m all for having the regular season matter for home-field advantage and all that, but after that, there’s such a small separator for teams. These are the best players in the world ... and on a given night, a team that can lose 100 games can embarrass you if the pitching’s right, if certain stars are aligned.”

Even so, Showalter sees the possibility of a team just a few games over .500 making the postseason as a slim one.

“I’ll believe that when I see it,” Showalter said. “September is an eternity. Trying to close out a good season as a divisional champion, and trying to catch up — September is an eternity. I keep trying to tell our guys, we inch along, and each day there will be a different angle. You just try to keep reality in mind.”

On Saturday, he Orioles moved two games out of the second wild-card spot, held by the Minnesota Twins, who are 66-63 with a -33 run differential. Between them are five clubs, and only one — the 64-65 Texas Rangers — has a positive run differential at +26.

Around the horn: Hardy played again for Triple-A Norfolk on Saturday as he rehabilitates his fractured right wrist. It was his fifth rehab game. “Everything’s good,” Showalter said. “Things are going well. We’re hoping he’s not too far away.” ... Showalter passed Hall of Famer Clark Griffith for 23rd place on the all-time wins list Friday with 1,492 victories.

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