Pearce on his health, Hardy on batting second

OAKLAND - Steve Pearce remains out of the lineup tonight despite the opposition starting a left-hander. However, he said that his arm feels much better and he could have played.

Pearce still hasn't tested the forearm/elbow area by throwing or hitting, with the Orioles maintaining a cautious approach since he left Sunday's game with discomfort and received a cortisone injection.

"I feel good," he said. "I feel like the shot is working. We really want this thing knocked out. I told them I was able to go today, but they really want it to be out of sight, out of mind, so that's what the extra time is for right now.

"Have not hit. Just want to calm it down. We want everything gone. So right now, I'm very limited to everything I can do."

Pearce may not swing a bat for another day or two.

"I think that's the plan," he said. "I told them I could swing right now. I feel great. But they really want to make sure that it's completely gone. This is the competitor in me, the athlete. I want to get out there. I want to play. I feel great. But I think the smartest thing to do is let this thing completely heal up so I'm 100 percent down the stretch.

"I haven't had any problems swinging. The only time I had problems swinging was when it flared up (Sunday) from the long throw. Even when it happened in Tampa, once it calmed down I was back in the DH/first base-type role."

The Orioles could ease back Pearce by using him as the designated hitter and perhaps first base instead of the outfield.

"I think we're going to go baby steps," he said. "We're going to rest it and see what I can do, what I can tolerate. I haven't done any outfield prior to getting here, but the idea was to eliminate throwing from different angles to try the outfield where I could throw from just one angle and that just didn't work.

"We want it out of sight, out of mind. That's where we're at right now."

Most important to Pearce is how he's avoided the disabled list. He sees no reason why his status should change.

"I'm confident," he said. "For what I feel right now, I've very confident."

Manager Buck Showalter has indicated that the club needs to know by Thursday at the latest whether Pearce can remain on the active roster. He's not going to open a three-game interleague series against the Giants with a short bench.

"They haven't told me that specifically, but just knowing the game, that's probably going to be the idea," Pearce said. "But as I feel now, I feel good going forward. Now, once we test it I think we'll be able to see where we're at."

Shortstop J.J. Hardy has moved up to second in the order for the first time since May 24, 2014. He greeted the news with a shrug.

"I don't really have much of a reaction," he said while sitting at his locker. "(Showalter) didn't give me a heads up, but no biggie."

Told of the gap between appearances in the second spot, Hardy replied, "I didn't know that and I don't think it matters. It's all the same. I don't really care where I hit in the lineup.

"I won't change anything. Just continue doing what I've been doing."

That's good enough for Showalter, considering that Hardy has hit .333/.371/.481 with seven doubles, three home runs, 17 RBIs and 13 runs scored in his last 31 games since July 2.

Showalter is shaking up the lineup with so many bats going cold again.

"Yeah, probably," Hardy said. "I feel like any time a team struggles, you just start mixing it up and trying to find something. So I'm sure that's what he's doing."