Hardy on his shoulder: "I've been swinging as hard as I can and I haven't felt it at all"

SARASOTA, Fla. - It should be a busy Thursday at the Ed Smith Stadium complex.

The Orioles are playing a 10 a.m. B game against the Pirates on Field 4, also known as the Camden Yards replica field. Chris Tillman will make his first spring start and go two innings if he keeps his pitch count under control. Kevin Gausman could be stretched to three innings.

The Orioles are playing the Yankees at 1:05 p.m. on the main field, and this one "counts." They're still winless in 10 exhibition games.

Tyler Wilson makes his third appearance and his second start. He's allowed two runs (one earned) and four hits in three innings, with no walks and two strikeouts.

If that's not enough, the Orioles are expected to introduce Pedro Alvarez to the media. He just needs to pass his physical and trim his beard.

It's also possible that the Orioles make their first round of cuts. Manager Buck Showalter is ready to do it.

J.J. Hardy will return to the lineup today staying back in camp yesterday and missing the Orioles' 8-4 loss to the Phillies in Clearwater. He's 3-for-11 with a triple and some very loud outs.

Hardy's left shoulder no longer barks at him and he's no longer adjusting his swing to compensate. He told Showalter this is the best he's felt in a long time.

"It is. I'm very happy," Hardy said.

Hardy began last season on the disabled list with a sprained shoulder, an injury that occurred after he dived for a ball hit up the middle in an exhibition game. He clarifed later that he played with a slight tear in his labrum.

"I didn't swing a whole lot this offseason, so there was still kind of a question mark in my head about how my shoulder was going to feel," he said. "I've been swinging as hard as I can and I haven't felt it at all. I'm not even thinking about my shoulder, so I'm really, really happy with how that's going."

The wind knocked down one of Hardy's fly balls and robbed him of a home run. His triple was hit to straightaway center field.

"Honestly," he said, "when I hit the ball and my bat doesn't break, I feel good about it right now."

He must be loving the lineup, especially now that it's going to be infused with Alvarez's left-handed power.

"We have the potential to score a lot of runs," Hardy said. "We scored a lot of runs the last few years and all we've got is basically that same team with a little bit more experience. On paper, I feel like everybody's pretty good. On paper, if you look at potential, I think we've got kind of a higher ceiling than some guys. We need to stay healthy and do what we're capable of and we can do some really good things."

Hardy may end up batting ninth, as he did in eight games (six starts) last season. It probably depends on the outfield alignment and whether one of the guys manning a corner drops to the bottom.

"It doesn't really matter," said Hardy, who batted .219/.253/.311 last season with 14 doubles, eight home runs and 37 RBIs in 114 games.

"I feel like everybody can hit, everybody can hit for power. Really, wherever you are in the lineup doesn't really matter."