Orioles grab early lead on Adam Jones home run (O's lose 8-3)

KANSAS CITY - We have controversy on the first pitch of tonight's game, and an Orioles lead three batters into it.

Lorenzo Cain appeared to run down Manny Machado's drive to right-center field before slamming into the fence and tumbling to the ground. The Orioles challenged the call and Machado was given a double.

Cain must have trapped the ball against the fence to regain possession of it.

Manager Buck Showalter came back out of the dugout to argue with crew chief John Hirshbeck that Machado should have been awarded third base.

Machado advanced to third on Gerardo Parra's grounder to second baseman Omar Infante and scored when Adam Jones launched a 79 mph curveball from Royals starter Kris Medlen for his 24th home run of the season.

Estimated distance: 428 feet.

Jones jumped on the first pitch from Medlen, making his first start for the Royals after seven relief appearances.

Shortstop J.J Hardy can't play for the Orioles while on the disabled list, but he can bring the usual intangibles from inside the clubhouse.

Hardy will rejoin the Orioles on Tuesday after team orthopedist Dr. Michael Jacobs examines him. Hardy will receive treatment for his strained left groin from the club's training staff.

"You always miss what he brings on the field, his leadership out there," Showalter said. "It's got to the point where if we didn't try to get this cleared up in two weeks ... We're confident that will happen. The MRI today indicated what we felt like from listening to J.J and everyone what we were going to find. Otherwise, he's going to have a problem all year.

"Got a chance to get it resolved and come back for the last four weeks of the season. We hope the playoffs, and he can be healthy for that.

"We tried to get through it, see if he was going to get better, but it's something that's going to nag him the rest of the season if we don't take the chance to try to clear it up. He'll be missed."

The Orioles shuffled the roster again today by putting Hardy on the disabled list, activating Steve Pearce, designating Nolan Reimold for assignment and recalling Jorge Rondon.

Hardy is eligible to return on Sept. 8. Reimold also could be back next month.

"They're all tough, but the idea of him being with us shortly... If he clears waivers, be back at Norfolk and he could be back Sept. 1," Showalter said.

"We'll see if he's not claimed that he'll come back to us. We feel like there's a chance that will happen."

Bringing up Rondon gave the Orioles an extra reliever, which may be temporary.

"We're short," Showalter said. "The last two or three games, we've had to push the envelope and we're right on that cusp. We've got two or three guys I want to stay away from tonight.

"Any time you're playing four-game sets on the road - here and Texas - you've got to be prepared to cover yourself."

Another position player will join the Orioles on Tuesday while Steve Clevenger goes on paternity leave.

"Clevenger's wife (Tiffany) was put in the hospital today and they're going to induce labor tomorrow afternoon," Showalter said.

"Stevie will fly out first thing in the morning, so he'll miss three days - Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday . Originally, she was scheduled on the 17th, then they pushed it back to the 10th. There are some blood pressure, some other things going on right now. I think they're going to go ahead and get it done tomorrow afternoon.

"Stevie talked to me in detail about it and he needs to go. Hopefully, this time tomorrow, we have a nice addition to the Clevenger family."

Triple-A Norfolk is off tonight. The Orioles will raid its roster again.

"We have some things in place," Showalter said. "It depends on what we do with a lot of different things, the way the game goes tonight. We'll see what our needs are."

Update: The Royals cut the Orioles' lead to 2-1 in the third on one-out singles by Ben Zobrist and Lorenzo Cain and Eric Hosmer's fielder's choice grounder.

Update II: Jones singled in the fourth and scored on Steve Clevenger's double to give the Orioles a 3-1 lead.

Clevenger is 13-for-31 (.419) with three doubles, a home run and six RBIs during his career-high eight-game hitting streak.

Update III: Mike Moustakas hit a two-run homer with two outs in the sixth inning to tie the score 3-3. And then it got ugly.

Ubaldo Jimenez retired nine in a row before Eric Hosmer doubled with one out. Moustakas homered with two outs, and the Royals strung together seven consecutive hits while scoring seven runs to take an 8-3 lead.

They hit for the cycle in four batters. Salvador Perez singled after the home run, Alex Rios doubled and Omar Infante delivered a two-run triple and scored on Jonathan Schoop's throwing error.

All seven runs were charged to Jimenez, who was replaced by Brad Brach. Brach gave up two hits, including Lorenzo Cain's RBI single.

Jimenez was charged with seven runs and 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings, with one walk, three strikeouts and a home run. He threw 84 pitches, 55 for strikes. His ERA rose from 3.97 to 4.26.

The seven runs and eight hits were season highs by an Orioles opponent for one inning.

Update IV: The Orioles lose to the Royals 8-3 for their fifth defeat in a row and sixth in seven games. They're .500 for the first time since July 27, when they were 49-49.

Jimenez had a 2.81 ERA in 17 starts before the break. He's posted a 7.65 ERA in eight second-half starts.

Jorge Rondon tossed two scoreless innings after relieving Brach.

The Orioles are 25-37 on the road. Kansas City pitching retired the last 16 batters.