Pearce: "I think we're just being extra-cautious right now"

Orioles first baseman Steve Pearce said he'll attempt to swing a bat in the next few days while recovering from a strained right abdominal muscle. He's been playing catch as the only approved baseball activity. Pearce is aiming for a return this weekend against the Rays at Tropicana Field. "I think we're just being extra-cautious right now," Pearce said. "Just want to make sure there's nothing going on. They want me symptom-free so we can make a run down the stretch. "Even though I'm not having any pain right now, there's still symptoms there that they want completely gone so we can move forward and get this thing behind us." Pearce is trying to stay patient. "This is the hardest thing ever," he said. "Being here watching the guys, not being able to work out, hit and do all that stuff is kind of hard for me, to just sit back. Especially since I don't have any pain and I feel like I can do it, but they want me to just really let this thing calm down so I can be healthy down the stretch." Pearce is playing catch to keep the arm strong. The real test will be swinging a bat, which is how the discomfort surfaced a few days ago. "They want me taking it easy and letting it all calm down," he said. "It's just isolated when I swing. It's funny. I feel like maybe I should take some swings and see if I still feel it, so I'm really kind of confused about how all this works. But I'm confident that they know what they're talking about. I'd rather get this thing behind me instead of having symptoms in a couple weeks and have something set me back." Andrew Miller may not be available after tweaking his left leg yesterday, but Ryan Webb is in the bullpen tonight. He's back with the Orioles for the first time since being optioned on Aug. 3. Webb, 28, went 3-2 with a 3.80 ERA in 42 appearances with the Orioles. He was 0-2 with a 4.76 ERA in 11 games with Norfolk, with 13 hits, two walks and 10 strikeouts in 11 1/3 innings. "With the exception of one outing, he threw the ball well," said manager Buck Showalter. "He wasn't really hurt. He had some shoulder stiffness for one or two days and we were hoping to (have him) pitch Saturday and then we had the lightning. He threw yesterday in Aberdeen. He's fine. Physically he's fine. And he did what he had to do down there. "Ryan's a big league pitcher. Because where we were with the starters and some of the things in the bullpen, because he had an option... We don't think any different of him than the day we signed him, so I'm just excited to get him back. We knew it was just a matter of time." Webb has another year remaining on his contract. Showalter doesn't like to detail his injury report and give the opposing manager any advantages. He'd prefer not to announce that a player or reliever is unavailable. Asked about shortstop J.J. Hardy, Showalter replied, "I would put it this way - J.J. is an option for us if there's a need that he can physically serve. How's that? "I expect J.J. to start tomorrow. How's that? He's available at some point tonight if the game dictates that." Hardy said earlier today that he expects to play on Wednesday after leaving yesterday's game with a lower back spasm. "He came in and said, 'I feel good. I feel like I did the day before yesterday,'" Showalter said. "Try to make sure it doesn't become something that might be locked up. I don't know how much it had to do with the heat and the humidity and the stickiness. There's a part of me that thinks it might loosen up as the game went on. First time it really hit me was his last at-bat. His body language was different. J.J. usually has the same tempo between pitches in his at-bats. There was a little something going on there. "I feel confident that he'll be a player tomorrow and tonight if I need to use him." So...what about Miller? "Day to day, should be until we've got an idea of what's going on there," Showalter said. "Had a tweak on the last pitch. Only time he felt it. Not sure if it was a cramp. Richie thinks he should be able to manage it, should be O.K. He's had a history of two of them, and this one he said wasn't like the other two. Don't want to use the 'h' word. Hope it's more of a cramping than a hamstring. Not going to really address his availability tonight, but we think it's something that should manage itself shortly, maybe by nine o'clock. "Left leg, push off leg. Only felt it on the last one. You talk about knowing the body language of your player. I was watching him come off, and you noticed it. When he got to the top step, I thought he had a cramp, and then I thought it might be something else." The clubhouse includes another new addition - outfielder Quintin Berry, who's 29-for-29 in stolen base attempts in the majors. "Quintin's a guy that can defend at three positions, above average, throws well, had an above average year offensively there and can steal a base and run," Showalter said. "Those are qualities you don't always have the luxury of. We all know the game has completely changed now. We're playing a different game in September. I think it's tougher on the teams that are contending. I know from being on both sides of it. "Now, you're just picking your poison. You can't find a matchup that's really in your favor because there are so many pieces of it. The managing part of it kind of is not nearly as pronounced."