Showalter on Mancini leading off: "As opposed to who?" (O's up 2-0)

CINCINNATI - While writing out his lineup for tonight's game, Orioles manager Buck Showalter sifted through his leadoff options and figured he'd go the unconventional route again and give the job to rookie Trey Mancini.

A first baseman learning to play the outfield who's now leading off for the first time in his life.

"As opposed to who?" Showalter said, striking a familiar note. "If we had a DH ... Try tonight and see how it works. We know it's probably a one-night thing.

"We've just got to get out of the National League and we don't really have a lot of options. We want Trey to play. It also gives us a nice weapon with Craig (Gentry) off the bench."

Showalter also considered catcher Welington Castillo before choosing Mancini, who worked the count to 2-2 and struck out on a high 93 mph fastball from Reds rookie left-hander Amir Garrett in the first inning.

Joey Rickard is a more prototypical leadoff hitter, but he's on the 10-day disabled list with a sprained left middle finger. He's drawing closer to a return after hitting off a tee and throwing earlier today.

"That's the first time he's done that," Showalter said. "He seemed to have good results from that, so that was encouraging. He's making progress. You just have to see how he feels tomorrow. After doing that, I'm hoping we can progress to another step. I'm hoping it starts moving now that we've got this thing out of the way."

Showalter estimated that Rickard is five days away "in the best case," and a minor league rehab assignment is necessary.

"Now he's reaching that point where he's passing the 10 (days), he's probably going to need to go get some at-bats. And you want to have a day or two of at-bats and make sure it's not going to swell the next day," Showalter said. "So there's nothing imminent about that. But I'm hoping that it starts moving now that we got this step out of the way."

Outfielder Seth Smith avoided a trip to the disabled list today and he's day-to-day with a strained right hamstring.

"Seth's OK," Showalter said. "We'll see if it will manage well enough where we don't have to put him on the DL. We hope. We'll see if he's available or not to pinch-hit tonight.

"It's one of those things. It's probably a couple of days. You don't want to knee jerk last night right after the game and then you come in today and he feels fine. It was an issue last night, but it's probably as good as we could have expected today. Unfortunately, it's one of those things that you really don't know until you play in a game."

I also wrote earlier that closer Zach Britton will undergo an MRI on his left elbow/forearm area on Friday, a planned procedure that doesn't reflect how he's recovering.

"He's feeling better every day, so that's encouraging," Showalter said. "We were going to get one when we got back just to make sure. You've got to be careful. You're always going to find something in an MRI when you take a picture of an elbow or shoulder. We just thought it would be a good idea to get that done. But he's moving along."

The Orioles began their day by recalling left-hander Jayson Aquino from Triple-A Norfolk and optioning Tyler Wilson.

"Tyler's done a good job for us," Showalter said, "but it's just one of those things where we needed an arm."

Update: The Orioles took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on Mark Trumbo's leadoff single, Welington Castillo's one-out double and Jonathan Schoop's RBI single.

Update II: Manny Machado's sacrifice fly with the bases loaded and one out in the fifth increased the lead to 2-0. Mancini singled and is 1-for-3.