More pregame notes from Camden Yards

First baseman Chris Davis remains out of the Orioles lineup tonight due to an illness that includes a fever. Team physician Dr. William Goldiner was expected to make a house call this afternoon.

"Better," said manager Buck Showalter. "I haven't written him off as possibly playing tonight, but the doctor was going to take a look at him and see if he's still (contagious) and if he could play tonight. Obviously, I need to put a lineup up without him, but he's better.

"Just a flu or something. I shouldn't even talk about it. I just know he can't play and he's pretty sick. He's a little better today but I think he's still got a fever. He hasn't slept much the last couple of days."

Ubaldo Jimenez got his pitch count up to around 70 last night at short-season Single-A Aberdeen. He returned to Camden Yards today while awaiting his next assignment.

"He could obviously pitch for us or pitch for Norfolk on Sunday or Monday," Showalter said. "There's a 6 o'clock and a 7 o'clock game. So that's what we're deciding between."

Showalter hasn't spoken to reliever T.J. McFarland, who's on the bereavement list, but the left-hander is expected to rejoin the club on Thursday.

"I told him when he left, when he felt comfortable leaving (Chicago), that I'll see him, and please just kind of let me know when you think you might be coming back, because that takes precedent over anything we're doing," Showalter said.

Since the beginning of the 2012 season, the Orioles rank third in the American League and seventh in the majors with a .552 winning percentage (237-192). They trail only the Athletics (256-174, .595) and the Tigers (238-189, .557) among AL clubs.

The Orioles have eight walk-off wins, tying them with the Angels and Red Sox for most in the AL. The Pirates lead the majors with nine.

Among the Orioles' eight walk-off wins, one came via a wild pitch and the others from hits provided by seven different players: Davis, Manny Machado, Nick Hundley, Steve Clevenger, Matt Wieters, Nick Markakis and David Lough.

Earlier today, ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reported that the Orioles continue to search for a left-handed reliever who isn't a pure specialist - which has been confirmed on this end - and they've been linked to the Rangers' Neal Cotts and the Diamondbacks' Oliver Perez.

How another lefty would fit in the bullpen is beyond me. Stay tuned.

Right-handers are batting .308 against Brian Matusz this season. Left-handers are hitting .233.

Cubs infielder Emilio Bonifacio, drawing serious interest from the Orioles, has a .408/.432/.592 slash line against left-handers this season.

Showalter continues to dodge trade deadline questions, keeping his focus on the current 25-man roster and players in the farm system.

"I know it doesn't stop," he said. "I guarantee you two days after somebody will be out there tweeting something else out there. There must be a market for that stuff, because people continue to do it.

"We're doing something that people think is important and see things that could happen. ... And let's face it, the reason why people listen to a lot of it is because a lot of the stuff you report ends up being true. It's not a topic of conversation. They don't come up to me and say, 'Hey, is this true? I heard this, I heard that, I heard that.' They know that I keep them up to speed.

"They also know that one of their teammates or them - everybody's affected by this. The first thing I think of when I wake up in the morning isn't about that. Is Chris Davis going to be healthy to play tonight? How is this going? Hundley got smoked with a foul ball. I wonder how that's feeling. That's what I'm thinking about."

Executive vice president Dan Duquette met with Showalter earlier today in the manager's office, "but it was something completely unrelated," Showalter said. "About instructional league."