Trumbo could return from injury today
Beckham ‘doing great’; Norfolk’s Stewart has hamstring tightness
ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. — Slugger Mark Trumbo was out of the starting lineup for the fourth straight game Sunday, but he was available off the bench for the Orioles’ series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays, manager Buck Showalter said.
Trumbo’s balky right knee, which he aggravated sliding into second base during a four-hit effort Tuesday night in Chicago, has responded well to a cortisone injection, and Showalter said he believes Trumbo will be able to return to the starting lineup for the Orioles’ afternoon Memorial Day game on Monday at Camden Yards.
“I expect him to be a player Showalter said.
Trumbo had been one of the Orioles’ top hitters since returning from a nagging quadriceps injury that crept up during spring training and forced him to open the regular season on the disabled list. Trumbo is hitting .309/.317/.469 in 20 games with the club. He’s been produced hard contact, averaging an exit velocity of 93.9 mph, but he has only two homers to show for it. [Monday],” Trumbo Beckham doing well: Infielder Tim Beckham rejoined the team this weekend while the Orioles have played in Tampa Bay as he continues to rehabilitate from core muscle surgery.
“He’s doing great,” Showalter said. “It’s great to see Timmy. I think even here in Tampa, he was playing through [it]. It’s one of those things that [had] gradually gotten worse and I think he’s appreciative of the diagnosis and going in there and fixing it. I think he’s going to find it’s kind of hampered him some. … He said it’s always been kind of a nagging thing.”
Beckham, who is on the 60-day disabled list, can’t return until late June at the earliest. He faced a two-month-return timetable since having the surgery in late April.
“I’m glad we were able to fix it,” Showalter said. “I think he’s going to be pleasantly surprised with the lack of hamper he’s going to have with it.” Stewart leaves game in Norfolk: DJ Stewart, a 2015 first-round draft pick, left Saturday night’s game with Triple-A Norfolk with hamstring tightness. The severity of the injury is unknown.
Stewart, a left-handed-hitting outfielder who is not on the 40-man roster, is hitting .271/.363/.451 with six homers and 26 RBIs in 41 games. He has a .902 OPS in 23 May games, with 10 extra-base hits over that stretch.
The Orioles have been without a true outfielder who can hit from the left side since optioning switch-hitter Anthony Santander to Double-A Bowie after he fulfilled his Rule 5 draft requirement.
Switch-hitter Cedric Mullins could be another potential option to provide outfield help from the left side. Mullins is hitting .365/.410/.500 in 24 games in May and has an .854 OPS this season. Rickard on the mark: The Orioles’ 5-1 loss to Tampa Bay on Saturday could have been worse had the Rays not erased three runners with sloppy play on the base paths.
For the second straight game, Tampa Bay ran into three outs on the bases. Credit Orioles right fielder Joey Rickard for some heads-up throws to make those outs possible.
Rickard recorded three outfield assists, becoming the first player to do that since Sept. 12, when then-Miami Marlin Giancarlo Stanton accomplished the feat in a 15-inning game against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Rickard was the first Orioles outfielder to have three assists since Joe Orsulak on Sept. 12, 1991, against the Cleveland Indians at Memorial Stadium. The only other time an Orioles outfielder recorded three assists in a game was John Shelby on Sept. 11, 1983, at Philadelphia, according to STATS. Jones gets rest: Center fielder Adam Jones received Sunday off. He had played 51 of the first 52 games. Showalter said he timed the day of rest to get Jones off Tropicana Field’s artificial turf and give him a breather in the first of two consecutive early-afternoon games. “I just thought it was best, talking to him,” Showalter said. “We’ve set up kind of a plan before the year started to do some of this. We’ve been on the road for what, two months it seems like.” Jones spent several minutes before the game signing autographs for fans.