Showalter on Beckham, Trumbo and Peterson (O's down 8-4)

The tarp has come off the Camden Yards field about three hours after the grounds crew unrolled it. A much better forecast for tonight's game.

The Orioles are waiting for Tim Beckham to make a final decision on whether to undergo surgery after they placed him on the disabled list today with a left groin strain.

Beckham saw Dr. William Meyers earlier today in Philadelphia - the sports hernia specialist who repaired a torn muscle in Nick Markakis' abdomen in January 2012. A similar procedure on Beckham could keep him out for six-to-seven weeks.

"They're considering the next step, whether it's surgical or rehab," said manager Buck Showalter. "They haven't made their decision yet, but I think they're probably going to come to a conclusion on that shortly."

Showalter was hesitant to provide further details - not wanting to invade Beckham's privacy or accidentally provide false information - but he thought the third baseman could be facing something similar to Markakis' surgery.

"But everyone's different," Showalter said. "This guy's considered probably the leading expert on this injury and people come from all over the country and world to see him. We've had a lot of good experiences with him and his evaluations and where things end up.

"I think Tim and his representation feel real confident with what he's saying and not saying. But those things, you've got an opportunity to rehab them and be back and dealing with the same thing shortly thereafter, or you can do something surgically and get it behind you. So, I think that's what they're considering right now."

The Orioles, meanwhile, are plotting how long they'll be without Beckham and how to replace him.

"It's more about, 'OK, here's what it is. I feel confident in your diagnosis and here's what we're going to do to repair it and here's how many days it's going to be before he's playing for us again,'" Showalter said.

"I know a lot, but I think in fairness to Tim and the medical profession I'm not going to try to be an expert on it yet. I'm looking at, 'OK, if he has this, how many days before he's playing for the Orioles again?' And I know that answer if he has it. Let's wait and see if he has it, because there's the possibility that he could have it in the morning."

Beckham has been hindered in the past by hamstring injuries - he was sidelined in September with a reoccurrence - but the groin injury first surfaced late in spring training.

"Everybody's got a history of something," Showalter said. "Does it all tie in? Sometimes, a hip will tie into a groin, a groin will tie into ... I'm not some expert, but I think a lot of times, you get a headache from something in your neck. I know his history.

"He had the groin issue in spring. Sometimes, that's tied into the same things. I think we're kind of dealing now with, 'Here's what it is, here's what one of the best in the world is telling us.' Obviously, it's Tim's decision about where he wants to go. I know initially he really wanted to see if he could get back and get through it. I think after talking to the doctor and showing the MRI and the looks at it, I think I've got a pretty good feeling which way he's going to proceed and that's going to be his decision."

The news is better on Mark Trumbo, who went 1-for-7 at Double-A Bowie and is joining Triple-A Norfolk for a weekend series in Charlotte. He could be activated from the disabled list next week while the Orioles are on the West Coast.

"He feels good," Showalter said. "He's not feeling anything like he did when he shut it down. We're in the mode of, just get the at-bats where he feels comfortable. The physical part of it, he feels completely at ease with, as he puts it, busting right out of the batter's box and accelerating when he needs to accelerate. That wasn't there before. So, that part of it is behind him, I think. There's always one misstep, but I can tell just the confidence that he has now, and just getting ready to hit."

Trumbo was the designated hitter today after plans to play right field yesterday were washed away by the rain.

"He'll get out on the field some over in Charlotte," Showalter said. "It's a real good facility, one of the best in Triple-A if the weather cooperates."

Jace Peterson joined the club today and is starting at second base with Jonathan Schoop on the disabled list.

"He's going to play second base tonight. He's capable of playing other places and has in the past, but our need's there right now and he'll start out trying to help us there," Showalter said.

Peterson hasn't played since April 16, when he received one at-bat with the Yankees.

"He's been home for a couple days, but he's been hitting," Showalter said. "He feels like he's ready to go."

Danny Valencia will play third while Peterson is at second "for the time being," Showalter said.

"We're always trying to look for ways to put our best foot out there, so we'll continue to look at that. We're going to see two left-handed starters this weekend, (Francisco) Liriano and (Daniel) Norris, so we'll see as we get there. Trying to win a ballgame tonight and see where it takes us.

"Danny's capable of contributing and I'm hoping it starts tonight. He had a big hit the other night, but we couldn't do much with it."

Peterson had been designated for assignment twice by the Yankees this month before the Orioles claimed him off waivers.

"Definitely been a wild ride, but I'm excited to be here and excited about what they've got going on over here and the guys that they've got in this clubhouse," he said. "Definitely feels good to kind of get somewhere and hopefully stick.

"For me, I'm a guy who wants to get on base. I want to get on base for this team, obviously play good defense and just be a good teammate and contribute to some wins. My skill set is I can run, I can get on base and whatever the situation calls for, just do my job and keep the line moving and just play hard and try to get some wins."

Peterson, who's wearing No. 29, drew earlier interest from the Orioles before they finally got him.

"I knew after my previous DFA that there was some interest there and knew it was a possible place for me to end up," he said. "And then, once this process went, I was hoping that they would step in and claim me. I'm pretty excited about being here and I'm pretty excited about this opportunity."

Update: Alex Cobb allowed a run in the top of the first inning on Denard Span's leadoff double, a one-out single by Carlos Gomez and Brad Miller's bouncer. But Adam Jones' doubled with two outs in the bottom of the first to score Trey Mancini, who walked, and tie the game 1-1.

Update II: Peterson, in his first Orioles at-bat, doubled in the second inning to score Pedro Álvarez and Anthony Santander and break a 1-1 tie. Álvarez walked and Santander doubled to set the table.

Update III: Cobb surrendered four runs in the fifth inning as rain fell at Camden Yards, and the Orioles trail 5-3.

Cobb gave up three singles and two doubles in the inning. C.J. Cron had a two-run double and Brad Miller's sacrifice fly broke a 3-3 tie.

Update IV: Chance Sisco hit a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth inning, his first this season, to reduce the lead to 5-4 and chase Jake Faria from the game.

Update V: Miguel Castro served up a leadoff home run to Adeiny Hechavarria in the sixth to give Tampa Bay a 6-4 lead.

Update VI: Left-hander Tanner Scott struck out the side in the seventh, but he also allowed two runs on three hits and the Orioles trail 8-4.