O's game blog: Showalter on Hardy's impending return and more on tonight's game

TORONTO - The Orioles fully expect J.J. Hardy to be back in their lineup on Tuesday when he is eligible to come off the DL. He went on the disabled list Aug. 24 with a left groin strain.

"He's doing good and hopefully will be playing shorstop for us Tuesday in New York," manager Buck Showalter said this afternoon. "He's very close now. Brady (Anderson) has had him doing a lot of stuff that you all may not see. He's been going almost full tilt. Today is the day we will push it a lot and maybe back off a little the day before he is activated.

"He's had a lot of physical challenges this year. But he's moving around well. This is the first time in a long time it looks like he's got everything behind him. We're excited to get him back in a few days."

Showalter was asked if right-hander Miguel Gonzalez can be back when his time on the DL time is up. He went on the DL today, retoactive to Monday. He is eligible to come off the DL on Sept. 15.

"That might be iffy," Showalter said. "But I think probably a couple days away (after that). As soon as he has no bark anywhere then we make a decision, is it time yet. Don't want to start throwing too quickly."

Showalter said Mike Wright could throw around 60 pitches tomorow when he starts for the Orioles. He threw 65 pitches Tuesday when he pitched six scoreless innings for Triple-A Norfolk.

Showalter said the decision to bring outfielder Junior Lake back and not add a hot right-handed bat in Christian Walker right now had a lot to do with defensive position. They optioned out an outfielder in Dariel Alvarez, so they replaced him with one.

"You may see us send some guys back to Norfolk," Showalter added. "We'll see on Dariel when the season is over (Monday) in Frederick. With somebody here, we could considerably send somebody back there."

Matt Wieters is catching a third game in a row tonight for the Orioles. He didn't catch on Thursday's off day in between his back-to-back starts behind the plate on Tuesday and Wednesday and this game. Wieters could pick up a heavier load catching the rest of the way.

"Went well. Felt good," he said of catching two games in a row for the second time. "At this point in the year it's time to go. We need to put up some wins. Off day was great for it yesterday so feel good going today.

"We'll try to catch a few more. Caleb (Joseph) has done such a great job behind the plate and we feel comfortable with whoever is back there, whether it's Caleb or Clev (Steve Clevenger), we have a chance to win that day."

The Orioles take on first-place Toronto tonight at Rogers Centre to start a three-game series and six-game road trip. The Orioles are 5-7 against Toronto in 2015 and are 27-26 versus AL East teams.

The Orioles got swept three straight, allowing 24 runs against the Blue Jays on their first trip here April 21-23. But in their second visit they lost the series opener on June 19 5-4 and then won the next two games by scores of 5-3 and 13-9, with Darren O'Day getting both victories.

On the mound tonight, Ubaldo Jimenez (9-9, 4.34 ERA) makes his 27th start facing right-hander Drew Hutchison (13-2, 4.87 ERA). In 17 first-half starts, Jimenez went 7-4 with a 2.81 ERA and gave up just eight homers in 99 1/3 innings. In nine starts since the All-Star break, he is 2-5 with a 7.50 ERA, allowing 10 homers in 48 innings.

Hutchison is 3-0 with a ERA of 1.74 over his past three starts. In 14 home starts, he is 11-1 with a 2.46 ERA, .226 average against and just five homers allowed over 87 2/3 innings. But in two 2015 starts against Baltimore he is 1-0 with an ERA of 6.57.

Davis homers again: The Orioles scored twice in the second and hold a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning. Chris Davis led off the second with his fourth homer in three games and 39th on the year. To that point he had hit four homers in his past six at-bats. Ryan Flaherty's two-out RBI double that inning made it 2-0. The Jays got one back in the second when the Orioles could not turn an inning-ending 3-6-1 double play. The relay from shortstop Manny Machado to Jimenez bounced off his glove and a run scored. It was unearned on the error charged to Jimenez.

And again: Davis hit a two-run homer in the sixth to break a 2-2 tie as the Orioles scored four in the inning to lead 6-2. That is two homers tonight, three in his last four at-bats and five in his last eight. He is 6-for-8 in that stretch with five homers and eight RBIs. That is two straight two-homer games for Davis. Davis is the first Orioles hitter to have back-to-back multi-homer games since Luke Scott against Detroit on May 28-29, 2009. Davis is the first player to 40 homers this year. Now we find out if the O's can hold on in this series opener at Rogers Centre.