Early notes from Oakland

OAKLAND - Left-hander T.J. McFarland will have to wait another day to face hitters in a game setting.

McFarland was supposed to pitch this morning for the Gulf Coast League Orioles, but rain washed away his appearance against the GCL Twins in Sarasota.

Manager Buck Showalter said McFarland, on the disabled list since June 29, was scheduled to throw two or three innings while continuing his recovering from a knee injury.

McFarland eventually will go on an injury rehab assignment - as long as the weather cooperates.

The Orioles are 10-17 against the American League West following last night's 3-2 loss to the Athletics. They're 9-11 in series openers on the road.

Outfielder Hyun Soo Kim is batting .324 (12-for-37) during a 10-game hitting streak.

Shortstop J.J. Hardy singled in his first at-bat last night and is 7-for-17 during a five-game hitting streak. He's batting .343 (36-for-105) over his last 30 games to raise his season average to .282.

Hardy batted .219 in 114 games last season while trying to compensate for a sore shoulder.

Center fielder Adam Jones is 9-for-18 on the current road trip. He recorded his seventh three-hit game last night.

Third baseman Manny Machado is 11-for-30 in his last seven games and has four home runs in the last two.

Outfielder Mark Trumbo is 7-for-54 (.130) with one home run in his last 14 games since July 23.

The Twins released infielder Buck Britton, former Orioles farmhand and the older brother of closer Zach Britton. He was batting .194/.240/.289 in 73 games.

Former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow wants to take a crack at baseball and plans on working out for major league scouts.

Tebow hasn't taken a snap since 2012. He hasn't played baseball regularly in more than a decade. But he's been training in Scottsdale, Az. with former Orioles backup catcher Chad Moeller.

"I am beyond impressed with Tim's athleticism and swing and it goes without saying that he has shown a high level of discipline and strong work ethic," Moeller said in a statement. "I see bat speed and power and real baseball talent. I truly believe Tim has the skill set and potential to achieve his goal of playing in the Major Leagues, and based on what I have seen over the past two months, it could happen relatively quickly."

There are doubters, of course, and some of them are funnier than others. Allow me to direct you to Jones' most recent tweet:

"After this @MLB season I'm going try out for the @NFL this offseason. I haven't played since HS but I've played in a few TurkeyBowls since!!"