Wilson called on for spot start against Rays
ST. PETERSBURG -- Orioles right-hander Tyler Wilson will make a spot start on Friday, pushing the rest of the rotation back a day for the remaining three games of the series against the Rays at Tropicana Field.
"I'm really excited for the opportunity," said Wilson, who found out on Thursday. "Hopefully I can just go out and attack the zone, throw strikes, get ahead and give our team a chance to win tomorrow."
With Thursday's upcoming off-day, the move could also skip struggling right-hander Mike Wright -- who allowed six earned runs over three-plus innings on Wednesday -- in the rotation, though manager Buck Showalter wouldn't commit to that.
"Not for sure. He's still in the mix both ways," Showalter said of Wright's role in relief or as a starter. "We are going to serve the needs of the club each day and what gives us the best chance to win that day. ... Mike is still an option for us both ways."
Wei-Yin Chen and Kevin Gausman will follow Wilson in the Rays series, with Ubaldo Jimenez starting Monday's series opener against the Nationals in D.C. Showalter said Miguel Gonzalez -- who is currently on the disabled list -- and his progress could alter what they do later against the Nats as well.
Wilson, recalled at the end of the Triple-A season on Tuesday, is 2-1 with a 2.19 ERA in six games (two starts) in six stints for the Orioles this season. He is the O's No. 9 prospect, according to MLB.com, and he was the organization's 10th-round pick in the 2011 Draft.
"Athletic, can repeat his delivery, makes up for maybe not being able to light up the radar gun with command and knowledge of pitching, repeating his delivery," Showalter said of Wilson. "He's very professional. He's had quite a history of figuring out how to win baseball games and that always plays."
Wilson last pitched for Norfolk on Sept. 10, and he said being in the bullpen over the past few days has prepared him to pitch every day. He's also not looking at the start as an audition.
"It's important to just focus on the game at hand," Wilson said. "There's a lot of things that go into this game that are out of my control, those decisions that people make. This opportunity that has presented itself tomorrow is just something I have been afforded the opportunity to do. So each time I go out, I just go out there and compete.
"I try to control the things that I can, focus on the work week moving up to it, the scouting report and the plan of attack going in to tomorrow and just [execute]. And let everything else take care of itself."