Pearce: "It feels night and day better"

NEW YORK - The Orioles slowly are regaining their health. Nick Markakis has returned to the lineup after being sidelined with a bruised right shoulder, and Steve Pearce expects to play Wednesday night after receiving a cortisone injection in his right wrist. Pearce was scratched from Friday's lineup after batting practice. "They said I'll either play tomorrow or the following day. I don't know. The way it sounds, most likely the following day," Pearce said. "Everything's fine. We just want to knock it out. It feels night and day better." The injection requires a two-to-three day shut down period. Orioles manager Buck Showalter decided on three days and joked that he needed to lock the batting cages and get Pearce a small room in New York that wouldn't provide enough space to swing a bat. "Yeah, that's true," Pearce said, laughing. "They have to keep an eye on me, but it's funny. It's one of those ongoing jokes we have." Pearce promised that he hasn't tried to hit or take any practice swings. "It's just hard work to do. It's hard work to stay out of the cage," he said. With the Orioles clinching their division on Tuesday, they can afford to move slowly with Pearce and make certain that he's fully healed. "That's one of the benefits of it," he said.