More on the second base situation (and notes)

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - J.J. Hardy has played 1,374 games at shortstop and none at any other position.

Manny Machado has played 461 games at third base, nine at shortstop and none at any other position.

Chris Davis has played 670 games at first base, 91 at third and 71 in the outfield. He's also made one relief appearance.

Pedro Alvarez has played 554 games at third base, 129 at first and none at any other position.

Caleb Joseph has caught in 180 games and played five at first base. In the minors, he also made 20 starts in left field while the Orioles decided whether to switch him to a utility role.

No one on the roster has played second base following Ryan Flaherty's demotion yesterday to Triple-A Norfolk. The Orioles would have to experiment if Jonathan Schoop left with an injury.

They're not afraid to slip on a lab coat.

Steve Pearce hadn't played second base until manager Buck Showalter ran the idea past him last season. Pearce naturally grabbed a glove and took as many ground balls as time allowed before batting practice.

Pearce appeared in 19 games at second base, making 14 starts, but he's now in the opposite dugout at Tropicana Field. Rays manager Kevin Cash isn't going to loan him out to the Orioles.

Jimmy Paredes has played 17 games at second base, including six starts last year, but he's on the disabled list and beginning his injury rehab assignment tonight at Double-A Bowie.

If Schoop leaves a game with an injury, Hardy will be the first choice to replace him. The infield shifts that are all the rage expand a player's comfort zone. Hardy should be fine.

The Orioles just need to get through nine more days and they can bring back Flaherty. This is a temporary arrangement. The Orioles want an extra pitcher and are rolling the dice.

Rule 5 pick Joey Rickard is 1-for-16 since his back-to-back three-hit games. His average has dropped from .350 to .289.

Does he remain in the lineup tonight against right-hander Jake Odorizzi? Does he remain in the leadoff spot?

Left-hander Brian Matusz loaded the bases last night in two-thirds of an inning and was charged with a run when his replacement, Vance Worley, hit Curt Casali. Matusz, in his second appearance since coming off the disabled list, walked left-handed hitters Corey Dickerson and Kevin Kiermaier. He retired Brad Miller on a fly ball to center field.

Matusz made his debut on Saturday in Kansas City and faced three batters. Eric Hosmer popped up, Kendrys Morales singled and Alex Gordon walked.

Asked last night whether Matusz might be rusty, Showalter replied, "That would be easy to say, but we thought he had worked that off."

"Some close pitches there," Showalter added. "Just have to trust he's going to get crisper with his command as we go forward.

"That was another thing with the decision today. It's more important to go with 13 (pitchers) and take the chance on the other side because we don't do a whole lot of pinch-hitting. It does kind of cramp some things pinch-running and doing a couple things later, but we're not able to do a whole lot of that with the way our bench is right now."

Odorizzi is 0-1 with a 3.97 ERA in four starts this season. He's 2-3 with a 4.94 ERA in nine career games (eight starts) versus the Orioles.

Odorizzi faced the Orioles on April 10 at Camden Yards and allowed four runs and nine hits in six innings in a 5-3 win.

Machado is 7-for-19 with two home runs against Odorizzi, Adam Jones is 8-for-20 with a double and home run, Schoop is 3-for-8 with a double, Mark Trumbo is 2-for-5 and Davis is 3-for-16 with a double, home run and eight strikeouts.

Ubaldo Jimenez is 4-1 with a 2.56 ERA in five career starts against the Rays and 1-1 with a 4.91 ERA in two starts at Tropicana Field, with six runs and 14 hits allowed in 11 innings. He's walked seven and struck out eight.

Jimenez has a career 3.04 ERA in 35 games with Joseph behind the plate. Matt Wieters caught last night. I'm guessing it's Joseph tonight.

Logan Morrison is 3-for-3 against Jimenez. Desmond Jennings is 2-for-10 and Evan Longoria is 2-for-9.