Jace Peterson on batting leadoff and facing Max Scherzer

Third baseman Jace Peterson tonight will become the seventh different Orioles hitter to bat leadoff this year. And by the way, it's only three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer of the Washington Nationals that he has to face.

Trey Mancini has hit leadoff 43 times, Chris Davis five times, Craig Gentry three times, Tim Beckham twice, and once each for Jonathan Schoop and Joey Rickard. Peterson, hitting .178/.310/.274 with five doubles, a triple, no homers and nine RBIs over 27 games, now moves up to the top.

"For me, it's just look to have good at-bats early in the game and let the guys behind me kind of see what Scherzer's game plan is," Peterson said in the Orioles clubhouse. "Have an approach up there and be disciplined in your approach. He's a guy who competes at a very high level and has done that for a long time. You like to compete with him because he is one of the best in the game. It's going to be fun.

"I've been able to play against him the last three years in the NL East (with Atlanta). I kind of know what he is featuring and everything he throws is kind of electric. So for me, it's sticking to my game plan and approach. Try to get it done in the batter's box and execute it."

Scherzer is 8-1 with a 2.13 ERA. He ranks first in the National League in wins and strikeouts, second in WHIP and third in ERA.

Peterson has gone 3-for-17 (.176) in his career versus Scherzer with two RBIs. The Orioles' best hitter is Adam Jones, who is batting .448 (13-for-29) against Scherzer with four homers and five RBIs. Manny Machado is batting just .045 (1-for-22) against him.

"You definitely can't try to do too much," Peterson said. "He's got late life on his heater, a good slider, changeup and curveball. He typically commands real well and has an idea about attacking each hitter. For me, it's trusting my game plan, try to get a pitch to hit and then put a good swing on it. We've had some good battles, for sure. He competes at the ultimate level and it is fun to face that challenge."

The Orioles seem like an unlikely bunch to hit well tonight against such a dominant pitcher. They have scored just eight runs the last five games and 23 runs in 10 games. They have scored three runs or less 12 times the past 14 games. Reverse lock, anyone?

"We've had games where we had 16 hits and games where we had four," Peterson said. "We are just continuing to get the work in each day. We have to stay positive in here. No doubt that can be tough. Sometimes you do have to tip your cap. But you have to believe it will turn. You can't sit here and feel sorry for yourself. No one else does. You have to come here ready to go every day."

Orioles win-loss percentage for each leadoff hitter

.372 - Mancini (16-27)
.200 - Davis (1-4)
.000 - Gentry (0-3), Beckham (0-2), Schoop (0-1), Ricard (0-1)