Kim and Alvarez take hot bats back to bench (O's down 6-0)

A light rain continues to fall at Camden Yards, but the tarp is rolled up and fingers are crossed.

The grounds crew covered the mound and home plate area during introductions while starters Ubaldo Jimenez and Chris Sale warmed in the bullpen.

Hyun Soo Kim and Pedro Alvarez will stay dry in the dugout. They're out of the lineup again today with the opposition starting a left-hander for the fourth time in the last five games.

Kim doubled last night for his first extra-base hit in the U.S., and he also singled twice to give him nine hits in 15 at-bats for a .600 average. Alvarez hit his first home run as an Oriole and came within a triple of the cycle.

Manager Buck Showalter likes to say that if someone wants more playing time, he has to play better. Does it apply to Kim?

"That's why I played him. That's how it worked," Showalter said.

"Whose place should he take? It's good when you're looking for an extra spot. What do they call it in softball, the short fielder? We need a short fielder. He and Pete both getting going a little bit. I like that challenge. I haven't quite figured out how it works mathematically. It's kind of hard.

"You get an idea about guys, who they might match up well against initially. But nobody knows. I said it in spring the whole time when he hadn't had a hit. Nobody knows. You don't know. I still don't for sure. I know he's had some good at-bats off certain guys. We'll see if he can go the next level against some other guys at some point."

Alvarez is 7-for-11 in his last three starts to raise his average to .224.

"What was interesting was I was a little concerned about the two or three days off there. Was he going to be able to continue there?" Showalter said. "A couple days before he actually got going, we thought his at-bats were getting better. Hopefully, that will be a contributor. He's been a good worker. He's going to be ready when we need him defensively."

Alvarez hasn't been a dead pull hitter with the Orioles, a wise idea unless he enjoys hitting into the shift. His home run last night traveled to the opposite field. He doubled to center field.

"I was talking to John (Russell) about it. That hasn't been the case in the past if you look at his spray chart. So, that's kind of a semi-new development," Showalter said.

"I think it's just a form of good hitting mechanics. A good approach, staying in here and not getting through the zone so fast with the barrel. But I think he's just trying to see it and hit it. He sat a long time on a breaking ball/changeup that he hit out in left-center last night. That's a long wait. Most people if they wait on that ball hook it. To hit the ball out there, it's hard to wait that long. You've got to really trust yourself.

"He's hit a lot of balls hard into the shift. A couple of squibblers and finding the hole thing, he deserved them. He deserved them."

The Orioles stranded two runners in the bottom of the first inning today against left-hander Chris Sale, who allowed a single to Manny Machado and walked Adam Jones with two outs. Chris Davis grounded to the right side on Sale's 23rd pitch.

Sale, the 13th overall pick in the 2010 draft, is 5-0 with a 1.66 ERA in five starts.

"It's always interesting to me to look back at the draft and, 'He's too frail and he'll be a bullpen piece,' and whatever. There's another guy like that in that draft and how wrong they were," Showalter said.

"Durability, and he's more than just a two-pitch pitcher. He has two different fastballs, too. Some people throw inside and some people pitch inside. He pitches inside. He drives the ball in there with finish. He's got a lot of ways to get you out. Guys don't like getting embarrassed. Plus stuff. I think the command has put him at another level.

"He's going to be competing for the Cy Young. We know that. I think we've seen five who should be in the conversation this year."

Update: Brett Lawrie homered for the third consecutive game, his solo shot to center field with two outs in the fourth inning breaking a scoreless tie.

Jimenez loaded the bases with no outs in the second and escaped the jam.

The Orioles have worked Sale for 56 pitches in four innings.

Update II: The White Sox scored five runs in the fifth to lead 6-0.

Jimenez gave up five hits, issued a walk, hit two batters and threw a wild pitch in the inning. Vance Worley has replaced him.