Showalter on Jones, Hardy, Gonzalez, 2016 schedule and more (O's win 2-1)

NEW YORK - Orioles manager Buck Showalter said he didn't bother to ask Adam Jones about the center fielder's status for tonight's game, about how the right shoulder was feeling after discomfort forced his removal yesterday in the eighth inning.

Showalter isn't meeting Jones for the first time here.

"You check with him, you're going to pretty much get the same answer," Showalter said. "Adam is one of those guys who takes playing every day real seriously. That one last night, l watch him between at-bats and after every throw, that one stung him pretty good. Wrist is a little sore, too. Pretty good throws he's been getting off.

"He's been sore like a lot of our (guys). Everyone has got something, but he's been battling that for a while. I didn't really ask him today. He's one of those guys you don't ask. I know what he's going to say. Hopefully, he'll be back there tomorrow and see what his availability is for tonight."

J.J. Hardy came off the disabled list today and immediately moved into the lineup. The Orioles are 49-42 when he starts and 16-30 when he's not in the lineup.

"It doesn't surprise anybody," Showalter said. "He's a good player and we're a better team when he's playing. It kind of brings everything (together).

"When you've got Manny (Machado) and J.J. there, we match up pretty well with anybody, and Jon (Schoop) is developing into potentially one of those guys, too. And of course, Chris (Davis).

"I really think J.J.'s going to finish strong offensively. He's got a lot of nagging things that he finally got out of the way that's been a challenge for him all year."

Machado is back at third base tonight. The Orioles think he can make the transition to shortstop, his natural position, but he's too valuable on the hot corner.

"I don't mean to sounds smug, but about what we thought. He's capable there," Showalter said. "I don't think we've had a good enough complete feel, but if you look at him and compare him to other shortstop around the league and compare him with other third basemen, I think there's a bigger chasm than there is at shortstop.

"He's capable of doing both. Fortunately, we have J.J. and don't have that need."

Showalter doesn't expect Miguel Gonzalez to be ready to come off the disabled list when he's eligible on Sept. 15. Gonzalez is receiving treatment on his right shoulder and elbow, but he told me today that he's doing exercises and should start throwing next week.

"First time yesterday, I was talking in the dugout, he felt he really made some strides there, where he didn't feel day-to-day discomfort. So that's encouraging," Showalter said. "Felt like the shoulder would be the quickest and the elbow might be a little slow because of the shot. I'm happy with his progress."

Though Gonzalez will remain on the DL past the date that he's eligible to be activated, Showalter said, "Hoping not long after that."

There's still a chance that Gonzalez will pitch again this season.

"I hold out hope that he, and it would be good for he and us that he gets some starts under his belt. One, two, three or four," Showalter said.

"We are hoping he's pitching in the playoffs and we win 15 in a row."

Showalter chose his words carefully when discussing the 2016 schedule that was released today. He's really not a fan of making three West Coast trips.

"Oh, man, don't get me in trouble," he said. "We didn't have anything to do with it, much at all, obviously. I've got an opinion on it. It is what it is. A great way to earn a living. Let's hope we all have that opportunity. I guarentee you we could go to every club and they could find some part of their schedule that just didn't make much sense, but I'm sure there are good reasons.

"Like I said, I try not to be paranoid, I just try to be alert. If you were in some conspiracy theory, you'd have something to go with."

The Orioles make three trips that last nine or 10 games.

"It's become very fashionable," Showalter said. "I guarantee the Yankees could give us some. It is what it is. It's not a level playing field. We all face different challenges in the schedule, but some teams don't. It just depends. What may appear as a tough schedule might not be as much as the season goes on. You just never know how it's going to play out.

"The one thing we do all compete the same is the wild card, but yet we're facing different competition. We face Washington, where somebody else might face somebody else. And other teams in our division don't play the same teams that we play home and away. I know the way it was originally designed with the interleague, but we've kind of gotten away from that, obviously."

Following yesterday's loss, the Orioles announced that they optioned outfielder Junior Lake and reliever Oliver Drake to Triple-A Norfolk, which starts the playoffs on Wednesday.

"We're always going to err on the side of helping the Baltimore club," Showalter said. "Didn't think they'd be playing and pitching here much and wanted to keep them active and contributing and continuing to develop. We're still getting our arms around Junior. We want to keep him playing. He's been in the big leagues. He doesn't need to be exposed to the environment. Oliver has, too.

"It helps everybody. They get better. It helps us evaluate. We've got plenty of arms and bodies here and I just think it was good as a whole. There are a lot of reasons that seem to make sense for everybody."

It's not known whether Lake and Drake will be recalled after the conclusion of the International League playoffs.

"I don't know," Showalter said. "They could go as long as the 19th. I hope they do. We'll address that when that happens. There were no promises made, but we'll see."

Update: Ryan Flaherty lined a home run into the right field seats leading off the top of the sixth inning to break a scoreless tie.

Flaherty has four home runs in the last 10 games that he's played.

The Orioles didn't have a baserunner until Masahiro Tanaka walked Chris Davis to open the fifth. Matt Wieters singled with two outs to break up the no-hit bid.

Kevin Gausman has thrown 97 pitches in five innings. He's allowed five hits. The Yankees have put two runners on base with two outs in three of the five innings.

Update II: Alex Rodriguez homered on a 98 mph fastball with the count full leading off the bottom of the sixth to tie the game.

T.J. McFarland replaced Gausman, who threw 103 pitches. No Orioles starter has gone more than 5 2/3 innings in 10 consecutive games.

Gausman allowed one run and six hits in five-plus innings, with one walk, five strikeouts and a home run. He threw 103 pitches, 67 for strikes.

Update III: Chris Davis led off the top of the ninth inning with his 41st home run, a shot to left field off left-hander Chasen Shreve to break a 1-1 tie.

Davis has 10 home runs in 150 at-bats versus left-handers this season. He was batting .289/.340/.510 against them before tonight.

McFarland tossed 2 1/3 scoreless and hitless innings. Darren O'Day retired both batters he faced in the eighth.

Update IV: The Orioles hung on to defeat the Yankees 2-1.

Zach Britton recorded his 31st save by retiring the Yankees in order in the ninth and the Orioles won for only the fourth time in 19 games. They improved to 19-24 in one-run games. Darren O'Day improved to 6-2.