masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Can the Orioles make it out of Tropicana Field tonight without more intrigue regarding an All-Star player’s health? Can they avoid the letters MRI, which are a lot worse than LOB, though they don’t show up in the box score?

Look for Matt Wieters to serve as the designated hitter tonight against Tampa Bay left-hander David Price, which puts Delmon Young on the bench. Nelson Cruz isn’t going to sit, and he’s due for a lot more starts in left field if Wieters remains…ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Can the Orioles make it out of Tropicana Field tonight without more intrigue regarding an All-Star player’s health? Can they avoid the letters MRI, which are a lot worse than LOB, though they don’t show up in the box score?

Look for Matt Wieters to serve as the designated hitter tonight against Tampa Bay left-hander David Price, which puts Delmon Young on the bench. Nelson Cruz isn’t going to sit, and he’s due for a lot more starts in left field if Wieters remains the DH for a while.

Young and David Lough are the Orioles most impacted by this arrangement. Lough served as a defensive replacement for Cruz again last night. The idea of platooning him with Cruz in left no longer is feasible. And Young will find at-bats even more scarce unless manager Buck Showalter decides to rest Nick Markakis and puts Cruz in right field.

Markakis is riding a 14-game hitting streak and has hit safely in 17 of his last 18 games. He’s staying atop the order.

The Orioles can’t provide a timetable for Wieters’ return to catching. Let’s face it, they never provide timetables. They can tell time and they can set a table. Otherwise, not so much. But we can feel certain that he’s going to DH tonight.

Wieters is 14-for-38 (.368) with six doubles and a home run lifetime against Price. He crushes Rays pitching, whether in Baltimore or St. Petersburg, Fla. It doesn’t hurt his right elbow to swing a bat. So …

Shortstop J.J. Hardy still doesn’t have a home run this season and he’s never hit one against Price, but he’s 11-for-34 (.324) with four doubles. Cruz is 9-for-25 (.360) with a double and three homers.

Young is 5-for-16 (.313) with a double and home run, but again, where does he fit in a lineup with Wieters as the DH?

Showalter is pleased with Steve Pearce’s defense at first base since he re-signed with the Orioles and replaced Chris Davis at the not-as-hot corner.

“I’ll tell you, very quietly Steve Pearce has been solid for us at first,” Showalter said. “He’s picking up a guy who finished, I think, third in the Gold Glove. It’s a tough proposition, but he’s held his own. Ryan (Flaherty) does that, too. Ryan plays good defense wherever we put him.”

Zach Britton didn’t allow a ball out of the infield in the eighth inning last night, striking out Evan Longoria and getting bouncers to first and the mound. His ERA is down to 0.89 and he’s got seven “holds,” if you keep track of those things.

“He’s been solid,” Showalter said. “When you’ve got a left-hander who can defend himself against right-handed hitters and a right-hander can defend himself against left-handed hitters, it’s … And Joe (Maddon) has got it over there with (Jake) McGee and (Joel) Peralta. Those are two big pieces. The tough thing is getting to the spot where you can use them.”

You know what else is tough? Carrying four left-handers in your seven-man bullpen, as the Orioles are doing with Britton, Brian Matusz, Troy Patton and T.J. McFarland.

Showalter doesn’t want to overuse Darren O’Day and Ryan Webb, but it’s a tricky proposition when the only other right-hander is closer Tommy Hunter.

I can’t imagine the Oriole sticking with this arrangement for very long.

Webb retired all four batters he faced last night and Hunter recorded the save by stranding runners on the corners.

“With only three right-handers in the ‘pen, I can’t use both of them every night because it presents some issues for us, but we did what we had to do to win tonight’s game,” Showalter said. “We’ll see when the smoke clears who’s available tomorrow.”

Webb picked up the win and lowered his ERA to 4.97.

“He did a nice job for us,” Showalter said. “He got some counts away from him but made some pitches.”

Hunter leads the American League with 10 saves despite routinely pitching in hot water. He still hasn’t produced a 1-2-3 inning in 14 games.

Hunter got a big strikeout of Sean Rodriguez last night after Wil Myers’ leadoff double, freezing him with a curveball with the count full.

A curveball on a 3-2 pitch with a runner on second base and no outs?

Catcher Caleb Joseph, making his major league debut, called for a fastball and Hunter shook him off. Joseph called for a curve and Hunter made it work.

A gutsy move that paid off.

I talked to one Oriole who likened it to a 30-foot jumper in basketball. You say “No!” until the ball swishes through the net. Then you say, “Good shot!”

Jonathan Schoop’s go-ahead home run last night was the first by an Oriole in the seventh inning or later at Tropicana Field since Brian Roberts took McGee deep on April 2, 2011.

The last Oriole with a go-ahead home run in the seventh inning or later on an 0-2 count? Davis on April 28, 2013 in Oakland.

I would not make this up.

Adam Jones became the fourth Oriole with a multi-homer game at The Trop, joining Kevin Millar on April 12, 2006, Jay Gibbons on Aug. 31, 2004 and Tony Batista on April 9, 2003.

Jones became the first Oriole to homer twice in a game on the first pitch since Mark Reynolds on July 2, 2011 in Atlanta.