Orioles plotting their next roster move (O's lose 3-2)

KANSAS CITY - The Orioles will need to make another roster move Friday when catcher Steve Clevenger returns from paternity leave. They could remove an extra reliever from their eight-man bullpen, depending on what transpires over the next few days.

Manager Buck Showalter said the Orioles will face three left-handed starters in Arlington after the Rangers adjusted their rotation. He seems inclined to keep shortstop Paul Janish as part of a platoon with left-handed hitting Ryan Flaherty.

"We'll kind of play it day by day, but I'm excited for Steve and his wife. That all went well, from what I understand," Showalter said. "He'll join us in Texas and we'll decide what we want to do and kind of take it day by day with the pitching."

Jorge Rondon worked two innings last night and probably isn't available tonight.

"We'll see how he feels today and see how far away he is," Showalter said.

Janish, whose contract was selected today from Triple-A Norfolk, is insurance at shortstop while J.J. Hardy remains on the disabled list.

"Well, he's playing, so that's pretty good insurance," Showalter said.

"We're lucky to have him. He's been playing real well down there, and the reason why they're having such a good year and our pitchers are being developed so well down there. He's actually been good with the tutelage of a lot of our young players. This is a veteran guy who's going to be able to do just about anything in the game when he gets through playing.

"He would have been called up anyway in September. R.J. (Ron Johnson) said it was one of his favorite send-ups he's ever had. They've had more players come in today and talk about how excited they were that Paul got called up and how deserving he was. That will make you feel good.

"He's got a lot in common with J.J. We're lucky to have someone like him. Ozzie (Martinez) in Double-A is very similar. They had two really good shortstops at those two levels, which really helped our pitching in the minor leagues."

Hardy will undergo a platelet-rich plasma injection on Thursday.

"We'll see if he's going to join us in Texas or not," Showalter said. "It depends on how he feels after that shot. They're usually pretty sore.

"Dr. (Michael) Jacobs saw him this morning. Not as much of a problem with day-to-day activities, but he'll be pretty sore after Thursday."

Showalter doesn't believe that the injection will influence Hardy's chances of coming off the disabled list on Sept. 8.

"No. It's usually two or three days from the injection, so we're hoping by Monday he'll be ready to get going and start seeing some positive stuff," Showalter said. "I hope that toward the end of the DL period to get him out playing a couple games, but I don't want to get ahead of ourselves. But I just did."

Showalter still is targeting reliever Chaz Roe to return from the disabled list on Sept. 2.

The Orioles are waiting to find out whether outfielder Nolan Reimold clears waivers. If so, the Orioles say he will report to Norfolk.

Update: Kendrys Morales homered off Miguel Gonzalez leading off the bottom of the second inning to give Kansas City a 1-0 lead.

Mike Moustakas followed with a double off the center field fence, but Gonzalez retired the next three batters.

Janish made a diving stop up the middle and flipped to second base to get the force in the first inning, and he singled up the middle in the third. His last major league hit came on Sept. 4, 2013. His last at-bat was Sept. 23, 2013.

Update II: The Royals scored again in the third inning on a one-out walk to Ben Zobrist, a Lorenzo Cain single and Eric Hosmer bouncer to Janish.

Cain slowed up to avoid Janish's tag and stay out of the double play.

Mike Moustakas followed Morales' walk with an RBI single to left field to give the Royals a 3-0 lead.

Update III: The Orioles scored twice in the top of the fourth inning after Danny Duffy retired the first two batters.

Matt Wieters walked for the second time tonight, Steve Pearce singled for his first hit since July 18, and Jonathan Schoop and Caleb Joseph followed with RBI singles to cut the Royals' lead to 3-2.

The Orioles are 38-6 when Joseph has at least one RBI in his career.

Update IV: Gonzalez allowed three runs and six hits in 4 1/3 innings, with three walks, one strikeout and a home run. He threw 92 pitches, 54 for strikes.

Gonzalez hasn't exceeded 5 1/3 innings in 10 of his last 13 starts, and nine of 12 since coming off the disabled list.

Update V: The Orioles lose to the Royals 3-2 and have dropped six games in a row for the first time since Sept. 19-24, 2013.

The Orioles (62-63) are under .500 for the first time since July 26. They're now 17-23 in one-run games and have scored three runs or fewer in six consecutive games and seven of eight.