More notes and quotes before today's game (O's win 4-1)

BOSTON - Jimmy Paredes walked onto the field at Fenway Park today with a bat in his hand and a smile on his face. He made it in time for batting practice before serving as the designated hitter.

Paredes played only one game on his injury rehab assignment, starting at third base last night at Double-A Bowie. The Orioles intercepted him before he flew to Norfolk.

Paredes was getting at-bats in extended spring training games before reporting to Bowie.

"I said when he left us, 'This could be one game, this could be 20,'" said manager Buck Showalter.

"We actually thought about getting a pitcher last night, but we got Jimmy moving last night. I knew we were going to have an issue and I wanted to make sure he was here. Otherwise, you're playing with really three infielders, not counting first base.

"Chris (Davis) can go to third, but you just can't play with three infielders. If something happens, much as Adam (Jones) would like to play infield..."

Paredes could play second base with Jonathan Schoop on the disabled list, but the Orioles have other options. They may have recalled Rey Navarro, but he's on the Triple-A disabled list.

"Everth (Cabrera) can go there and Ryan (Flaherty) can go to shortstop," Showalter said. "Navarro is still on the DL down there. He would have had some consideration if he had been active and playing."

The Orioles are missing Schoop, catcher Matt Wieters and shortstop J.J. Hardy. Not exactly how they planned it.

"That's why we do the things we have to do, knowing who you are and prepare for this," Showalter said. "That's why we signed Everth, that's why we signed Navarro. If a day or so passes and we need a pitcher, we've got some optional situations there. We've got to keep our powder dry."

When the Orioles signed Cabrera in February, many fans were wondering how he'd be used and why the club bothered to acquire him with Hardy and Schoop on the roster.

"And where did they get that from?" Showalter asked with a grin. "Somebody must have been writing it. And rightfully so.

"I thought about that, too, at the time, but the season has a way of bringing all that into play if the timing is right. But we look at it as an opportunity to be who we are. It won't be a topic of conversation in our clubhouse. It will be another opportunity that somebody gets. We can't always out-commit people but we can out-opportunity them, and today's another example."

Showalter called Joe Torre, MLB's Chief Baseball Officer, regarding Ubaldo Jimenez's ejection, but he doesn't anticipate the league taking action against umpire Jordan Baker.

"Those are private conversations," Showalter said. "Got to move on, got to move on. I don't expect anyway. ... Well, we'll see.

"You've got a lot of things that are thrown at you and sometimes they're self-inflicted. That one wasn't. It was inflicted by something else.

"We do things that make it tough the next day, and last night somebody else did something that makes it tough the next day, but what are you going to do? Nobody cares about it, your problems. You just have to deal with them."

Steve Pearce has two hits in his last 30 at-bats and is hitless in his last 14, but he remains in the lineup.

"Stevie, usually when he's going well, his strike zone management's real good and he's gotten out of that a little bit because he's trying to (get) four hits in one at-bat," Showalter said. "Same reason why you love him is same reason why he'll go through some periods, but he's strong enough. I think he gets a lot of confidence in the confidence we have in him. It's one of those things where you feel like at some point along the way, somebody's going to pay for his struggles. He doesn't dwell too much on one day and let it turn into something, but I understand that statistically it's not what he's capable of yet."

Showalter doesn't believe that Pearce is putting pressure on himself to prove that last season wasn't a fluke.

"He knows that we understand how tough this is to do, and anything from that perspective would be something Steve feels," Showalter said. "He wants to take it to that level and beyond. Stevie wants to be a potentially every day guy like he has that potential to be, and he'll get it going again."

Kevin Gausman has posted a 9.00 ERA in six innings over his four appearances, allowing six earned runs (seven total) and eight hits. He's walked five and struck out five, and opponents are batting .308 against him.

Gausman has been scored upon in all four appearances, his latest transition to the bullpen not going as smoothly as last season.

"Keep in mind that he did it last year coming off starting a lot in the minor leagues and really had a good feel for all his pitches, which he came out of spring training with," Showalter said. "He made a mistake with a breaking ball last night to a guy (Ryan Hanigan,) who was carving balls over the first base dugout. They're all good pitches if you get them in the right places.

"You reach a point where you try to put them in a position that they're best equipped to handle, and there's still some unknown with Gaus. We all know he's got a chance to be a quality starting pitcher for us, not only this year but beyond, and there's a need right now for what he could potentially offer in the bullpen. If we feel like it would behoove him to go start (at Norfolk), we'll look at that, but we're not there yet."

On this date in 1975, first baseman Lee May homered twice and drove in seven runs to lead the Orioles to a come-from-behind 9-7 win in Boston. They trailed 6-2 after four innings before May lifted a sacrifice fly and hit a pair of three-run homers in the fifth and seventh innings.

Update: The game is scoreless through three innings.

Tillman stranded runners on the corners in the third by retiring Dustin Pedroia on his 30th pitch of the game. Brock Holt singled with two outs on the ninth pitch of the at-bat.

Tillman has allowed two hits, walked one and struck out two.

Davis has struck out twice, giving him 17 strikeouts in 36 at-bats. Pearce singled in the first inning to break an 0-for-14 slump.

Jones is 2-for-2.

Update II: The Orioles scored twice in the fourth to take a 2-0 lead. Manny Machado had an RBI grounder and Caleb Joseph had an RBI single.

Paredes doubled before Machado's grounder scored Jones. Flaherty and Cabrera followed Joseph's RBI single with singles of their own to load the bases with one out, but Alejandro De Aza and Pearce struck out.

Flaherty is 2-for-2.

Update III: Tillman didn't get as deep as the Orioles needed following Jimenez's ejection last night, throwing 105 pitches in 5 1/3 innings and leaving with a 2-1 lead. He allowed six hits, walked two, struck out five and threw a wild pitch.

Tillman committed an error in the sixth as a run scored. He also gave up two hits in the inning.

Brad Brach inherited two runners and got out of the jam by inducing a double play grounder from Daniel Nava.

Update IV: Game over. Davis hit a two-run homer in the top of the ninth and Zach Britton recorded his fourth save in a 4-1 win over the Red Sox.

Darren O'Day tossed a scoreless eighth, striking out Pablo Sandoval to end the inning, before Davis cleared the Green Monster with Pearce aboard. Pearce singled twice today. Davis struck out three times, but also singled and homered.

The bullpen didn't allow a run for the first time this season.

The Orioles move above .500 again at 6-5.