Notes on Lough, Pearce and Markakis' return (O's win 5-2)

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Rays are celebrating "Christmas In July" today at Tropicana Field. They cranked up the air conditioning and the holiday tunes.

My decision to carry mistletoe in my laptop bag year-round is really paying off. Now who looks foolish?

David Lough returns to the leadoff spot today after collecting a single and triple last night and scoring twice in a 5-1 victory over the Rays. He's batting .230/.269/.363 with a double, triple, four home runs and 12 RBIs in 66 games this season.

The Orioles would like Lough to concentrate on hitting the ball on the ground and utilizing his speed. They're also waiting for someone to seize the left field job.

"It's attractive to everybody, guys who can score from first on a double and second on a single," said manager Buck Showalter.

Lough is one of the fastest players on the team, but his speed doesn't translate into stolen bases. He's 1-for-5 this season after going 8-for-13 in 2014.

"There's a lot of guys who can run a good time in the 60-yard dash, but it doesn't play into baseball speed," Showalter said. "One of the best baserunners I ever had was (Don) Mattingly and he couldn't outrun me, so there's two sides to that.

"David pushed the envelope a little bit last night. Probably on paper, nobody out, a good throw and he's out (at third), but he pushed the envelope and got a return for it. You want athletic guys to play athletically. Guys like him and Nolan (Reimold), I want them to play athletically. There are a lot of guys who test well in the standing broad jump and 10-yard dash and all that stuff, but is it baseball playable? David's capable of that and I just want him to take advantage of his athletic skills."

Steve Pearce, on the disabled list with a strained left oblique, remains in Baltimore and will be examined again on Monday.

"Not a whole lot he can do right now," Showalter said. "We're going to evaluate him tomorrow and decide whether he's going to Sarasota or not. Brady (Anderson) and Richie (Bancells) want to get their arms around it and see where he is.

"I have a sneaking suspicion Stevie found a cage somewhere during the break. What do you think? I'm talking about during the All-Star break. He was supposed to let things quiet down a little bit. I don't know if he did."

The Braves come to Camden Yards on Monday for a three-game series, marking Nick Markakis' return to Baltimore after leaving as a free agent over the winter.

Asked what type of reception Markakis will receive from fans, Showalter replied, "Great. I know what kind he's going to get from me. Great. I hope he doesn't give us a good reception. I'm sure he will."

Markakis is batting .288/.370/.362 with 22 doubles, one triple, one home run and 32 RBIs in 96 games.

"Nick's having a good year, like everybody knew he would," Showalter said. "We know one thing, he can play the right field wall well, right? I'm sure they'll use him in the advance meeting.

Update: The Orioles scored three runs in the top of the first inning to grab an early lead. Chris Davis walked, Adam Jones reached on an infield hit with two outs, and J.J. Hardy singled to score the first run. Nolan Reimold followed with a two-run double.

Hardy is batting .345 (20-for-58) with 19 RBIs with runners in scoring position.

Update II: Jonathan Schoop reached on an infield hit leading off the fourth and Caleb Joseph hit his seventh home run to extend the lead to 5-0.

The Orioles are 31-5 when Joseph has an RBI in his career. They're 14-2 when he has two or more.

The Orioles haven't scored five runs or more in consecutive games since June 21-23.

Update III: Chen retired the first 11 batters before back-to-back home runs by Evan Longoria and Logan Forsythe.

Sixteen of the 19 home runs surrendered by Chen have been solo shots.

Update IV: Chen was removed after 86 pitches. He allowed two runs and six hits in 5 1/3 innings, with one walk, three strikeouts and a hit batter.

Chen's streak of quality starts ends at six.

Update V: Game over. The Orioles defeat the Rays 5-2 to take the series and end their road trip.

Zach Britton recorded his 25th save in 26 opportunities by striking out the side in the ninth.

The Orioles are 48-49. They won two of three series on the trip, but went 4-5.