masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgFrom Rule 5 pick to the starting lineup.

For the third game in a row, Ryan Flaherty is in the Orioles’ starting lineup. He’ll bat eighth and start in right field tonight after patrolling left in front of the Green Monster the past two nights.

While Flaherty is batting just .183 in 29 games and 60 at-bats on the season, he came up with three hits in six at-bats over the last three games in Fenway Park and put together some nice at-bats in that series.

Before the Orioles selected him in last…From Rule 5 pick to the starting lineup.

For the third game in a row, Ryan Flaherty is in the Orioles’ starting lineup. He’ll bat eighth and start in right field tonight after patrolling left in front of the Green Monster the past two nights.

While Flaherty is batting just .183 in 29 games and 60 at-bats on the season, he came up with three hits in six at-bats over the last three games in Fenway Park and put together some nice at-bats in that series.

Before the Orioles selected him in last December’s Rule 5 draft, he spent the past four seasons in the Cubs organization after they selected him with the 41st overall pick in the 2008 draft.

After playing every day in the minors, Flaherty has had to adjust to coming off the bench at the major league level.

“It is kind of tough when a guy has been playing every day for the last three or four years,” manager Buck Showalter said today. “He’s handled it well and he stays ready. This isn’t some Rule 5 guy you are trying to hide out for 90 days or something. This is a guy that has and can contribute. I like the way he’s approached it. He’s got a chance to be a contributor for us while we have some injuries and has been already just with the versatility he gives us.”

Last season, between Double-A and Triple-A, Flaherty batted .280 with 53 extra-base hits and 88 RBIs in 132 games.

Now he’ll start for the third game in a row tonight and see if some of the solid swings he put together in Fenway Park can carry over to this series with Philadelphia.