Notes on Jones, Roberts, rotation and more (O's down 5-4)

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Adam Jones is out of the Orioles' lineup tonight for the usual reason at Tropicana Field or Rogers Centre in Toronto.

Manager Buck Showalter wanted to get Jones off the artificial surface and allow him to rest his legs. It's become a common practice.

"We kind of talked about that long before we came in here," Showalter said. "We talked about it before we came here for the series. This is one of the places, really a lot of wear and tear on his legs here.

"He'll be back in there tonight. He'll be available tonight, hopefully. I don't see any reason why not."

Jones is batting .281/.310/.430 with 29 doubles, 12 home runs and 45 RBIs in 108 games. He's homered twice since June 2, both against the Rays.

Former second baseman Brian Roberts and broadcaster Fred Manfra will be inducted Saturday into the Orioles Hall of Fame, with the ceremony beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Showalter didn't get to manage Roberts during the infielder's peak seasons, injuries and concussions causing a dramatic fade. Roberts played in only 133 games over his last three seasons in Baltimore and ended his career with the Yankees in 2014.

"I got to see some spurts of greatness when he could stay on the field health-wise," Showalter said. "Physically, it was really a challenge for him. Concussions, he had one right here with the helmet. I know Fred, that's special, too, but when you've had a guy and you see him get honored like that ... I'm sure Brian's real excited about it."

Yefry Ramírez threw a bullpen session today and remains scheduled to start one of the games in Saturday's doubleheader against the Red Sox at Camden Yards.

Dylan Bundy starts Friday night and Alex Cobb takes the mound on Sunday. The Red Sox are listing Nathan Eovaldi on Friday, David Price in Game 1 on Saturday and Chris Sale on Sunday.

Danny Valencia spent a chunk of batting practice taking throws at second base and turning the "double play." He made three starts at the position with the Royals in 2014.

Today's activity doesn't suggest that he's going to play second base for the Orioles, but he looked pretty good around the bag.

Chris Davis has inherited the job of player representative after Darren O'Day was traded to the Braves.

Showalter said he checked the stats for the first time on the players traded last month and noted how reliever Brad Brach has four scoreless appearances with the Braves over four innings.

"Brad seems to like the National League," Showalter said.

Second baseman Jonathan Schoop remains in close contact with Bobby Dickerson, the Orioles' third base coach and infield instructor. Schoop was 3-for-26 with 12 strikeouts with the Brewers before today's two-run double - he went 1-for-4 with two more strikeouts - and he also has committed four errors, including one at shortstop.

The Orioles fly home after tonight's game and the Rays are headed to Toronto. So, why isn't this a day game?

Update: Joey Rickard had a two-run triple in the second inning and scored on Austin Wynns' single for a 3-0 lead. David Hess retired the first eight batters, walked the next two and surrendered Matt Duffy's RBI double in the third to reduce the lead to 3-1.

Update II: Ji-Man Choi hit a solo home run off Hess with two outs in the fourth inning to reduce the lead to 3-2.

Update III: Jake Bauers' sacrifice fly in the sixth has tied the game 3-3.

Update IV: Renato Núñez led off the seventh with a tie-breaking home run off Yonny Chirinos.

Update V: Bauers' two-run single off Cody Carroll with two outs in the bottom of the seventh gave Tampa Bay a 5-4 lead.