masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgThe Orioles are facing a right-hander tonight, Atlanta’s Julio Teheran, which brings more curiosity regarding their choice of leadoff hitter.
Will it be David Lough, who batted first in the last two games at Tropicana Field? He hits from the left side.
Will it be Nolan Reimold, who batted first last night against Braves southpaw Alex Wood in the series opener? He hadn’t been atop the order since May 2013.
Could Manny Machado move back up to first, where he’s hit in 72 games?
I don’t expect…

The Orioles are facing a right-hander tonight, Atlanta’s Julio Teheran, which brings more curiosity regarding their choice of leadoff hitter.

Will it be David Lough, who batted first in the last two games at Tropicana Field? He hits from the left side.

Will it be Nolan Reimold, who batted first last night against Braves southpaw Alex Wood in the series opener? He hadn’t been atop the order since May 2013.

Could Manny Machado move back up to first, where he’s hit in 72 games?

I don’t expect Machado to leave the third spot at this point, though manager Buck Showalter toyed with the idea yesterday.

Manny Machado points white back.jpg“I think Manny could hit anywhere – first, second, third,” Showalter said. “Adam (Jones) could, too. Chris (Davis) really could. We’ve had to do some things that probably aren’t as conventional because we’re just trying to make the personnel fit. And batting order matters one time around, really. I think Manny led off three times the other day when he was hitting third. I thought it was ironic. But we’ll see.”

Machado is batting .305/.376/.550 atop the order, with 16 doubles, a triple, 17 home runs, 39 RBIs, 47 runs scored and 32 walks in 316 plate appearances.

“Manny did a very good job there,” Showalter said. “He has and will do a good job in other places.

“Try to keep in mind, too, that guys like Jonathan Schoop and Matt (Wieters), couple other guys, they don’t even have 100 at-bats yet. We talked about when they came back, they go through that period where they start off everything’s fine, and then the baseball gods kind of get them for a little while, and then they kind of find their niche.”

Showalter has used 89 different lineups in 98 games. He’s used six different leadoff hitters, including Alejandro De Aza (16 games), Everth Cabrera (five), Lough (three) and Jimmy Paredes (one). De Aza and Cabrera no longer are in the organization.

Paredes went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts in his only turn.

Asked if he anticipates a revolving door now at the leadoff spot, Showalter smiled and replied, “Revolving door? What has it been?”

It’s been spinning since Nick Markakis signed a four-year deal with the Braves. He led off last night in his return to Camden Yards and doubled in his first at-bat.

“If you hit Manny first, who hits third?” Showalter asked. “If you hit him third, who hits first? You take one away and then you’re trying to replace it. We put out there what we think is best. Guys know that we have some challenges there.”

Only two current Orioles have faced Teheran. Travis Snider is 3-for-7 with two doubles and two walks, and Chris Parmelee is 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.

Teheran has made four starts this month and allowed nine runs (eight earned) over 25 2/3 innings, with 12 walks and 28 strikeouts. Left-handers are batting .308 against him this season, right-handers .232.

I’d say Lough returns to the leadoff spot tonight except that Reimold had two hits and a walk last night after collecting three hits and a walk on Sunday. We’ll see how it unfolds.

Ubaldo Jimenez is 3-5 with a 3.79 ERA in nine career starts against the Braves. The current group is batting .319 (22-for-69) against him.

Jonny Gomes is 7-for-19 with a double, three home runs, eight RBIs and six strikeouts. Andrelton Simmons is 2-for-3 with two doubles, Markakis is 2-for-5 with a home run and Pedro Ciriaco is 2-for-5 with a double.

A.J. Pierzynski is 5-for-26 with two doubles and a home run.

Shameless plug alert: Besides doing a phone interview at 8 a.m. on 105.7 the Fan and taping a segment with ESPN’s Buster Olney at 8:45 a.m. for his podcast, I’m also participating in a Q&A session with Hall of Famer Jim Palmer as part of the Orioles’ Social Media Night.

We’ll be on the roof deck in center field at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are still available. In addition to the Q&A, the experience includes a game ticket, the roof deck pregame party and a T-shirt.

During batting practice, fans can collect baseballs marked with a #Winner hashtag to receive a prize or use #BringMeFood to have a surprise food delivery during the game. There will be other surprises, as well.