Jones close to lineup return, and other notes (O's down 8-4)

HOUSTON - Orioles manager Buck Showalter sounded confident today that Adam Jones will return to the lineup for Monday afternoon's series opener against the Yankees at Camden Yards.

Jones remains out of the lineup with soreness in his left ankle and hip.

"He's doing well. He's getting better," Showalter said. "Could have pushed the envelope today if we wanted to. I expect him to be back in the lineup starting tomorrow if he continues to feel like he does today."

No tests have been scheduled for Jones, who's been bothered by the ankle injury since the series in Detroit.

"I know Richie (Bancells) said he's making good progress. We plan on him playing tomorrow, and who knows, maybe today," Showalter said.

"We hope that keeps it from being a DL thing. But there's a lot of wear and tear. You talk about good-tissue and bad-tissue guys, they're talking about their healing from the wear and tear. Adam's good, and usually he responds well to things like that. He hasn't had much need for it, but some days after the game, you wonder how he's going to feel the next day, but he comes bouncing out and he feels good. But if it continues down that road, we'll know it's something a little bit deeper."

Shortstop J.J. Hardy is getting a day off. Nothing related to an injury.

The Orioles made another change to their bullpen today by optioning Tyler Wilson to Triple-A Norfolk and recalling Logan Verrett.

Wilson has a 7.43 ERA and 1.800 WHIP in 13 1/3 innings with the Orioles. He allowed four of the six Astros he face last night to reach base, and the outs also were loud, including a line drive that third baseman Manny Machado turned into a double play.

"He's making a lot of mistakes up in the zone, which is not his forte," Showalter said. "He's not an overpowering guy, but when he has his command, he can make some contributions. But a lot of up breaking balls. Just command hasn't been there. He's got some collapse on his back leg a little bit that makes him work under the ball. He's aware of it."

Wilson may return to Norfolk's rotation, which would have to expand.

"I'm not sure," Showalter said. "That would give them six. I was talking to R.J. (Ron Johnson) and Brian (Graham) this morning. They're leaning toward going with six.

"They want to get the ball in (Jayson) Aquino's hand and get (Gabriel) Ynoa going again. I know (Jordan) Kipper's doing well. They'll probably go with six."

The Orioles would prefer not having to use their minor league starters as major league bullpen pieces, but it can't always be avoided.

"We'd like to," Showalter said. "We want to get Aquino back in the rotation. Those two guys especially are still pretty young guys. And we've got Chris (Lee) down there, too, so you'd like to get that continuity down there if we can cooperate up here."

The Orioles don't want to compromise their choices for spot starters in the rotation. It's a bit of a balancing act.

"We still do," Showalter said. "It's early in the season. You're hoping that it kind of shakes out and settles in. If we can be a little more consistent with our starting pitching, we can do that. That's what drives a lot of it."

Former Orioles outfielder Nolan Reimold has retired, according to a tweet from the independent Long Island Ducks. Reimold was batting .238 with four doubles, two home runs and seven RBIs in 19 games.

Lew Ford, another former Oriole, has replaced Reimold on the active roster.

Here are the pitching matchups for the Yankees series at Camden Yards:

Monday: Dylan Bundy vs. Jordan Montgomery
Tuesday: Chris Tillman vs. Luis Severino
Wednesday: Kevin Gausman vs. Masahiro Tanaka

Update: Jonathan Schoop hit a two-run homer off Lance McCullers Jr. in the first inning and drove in another run with an infield hit in the second to give the Orioles a 3-0 lead.

The Astros commited two errors in the second and the run was unearned. Seth Smith singled in the first and Hyun Soo Kim singled in the second.

Update II: The Astros sent 10 batters to the plate in the second inning and took a 6-3 lead.

The inning included George Springer's long two-run homer and 42 pitches from Alec Asher. The Astros hit for the cycle with a single, double, triple and home run. Ubaldo Jiménez began warming in the bullpen.

Update III: The Astros scored twice off Jimenez in the third to take an 8-3 lead. Yuli Gurriel had an RBI single and he scored on a wild pitch.

Jimenez threw 27 pitches in the inning.

Update IV: Mark Trumbo hit a solo home run off James Hoyt with one out in the eighth inning to reduce the lead to 8-4.

Jiménez has retired 13 of the last 15 batters.