Showalter on decision to rest Jones (O's lose 7-6)

SEATTLE - Orioles manager Buck Showalter is resting center fielder Adam Jones today.

Jones is available off the bench if needed. He would have been the designated hitter for the series finale if he had stayed in the lineup.

The Orioles are off Thursday, providing additional rest for a player who's always banged up throughout the course of a season.

"He's fine," Showalter said. "Sore, just wear and tear. Nine days in a row. Trying to give him the benefit of two days.

"I knew I was going to do it one day on this trip. I was hoping it was one day. But he's fine. We talked about it. I'd just like to get him off his legs completely. Quit firing off that front leg a little bit."

Jones has appeared in 113 of 120 games and is batting .275/.313/.461 with 19 doubles, 22 home runs and 61 RBIs. He's 10-for-25 in his last six games, including three doubles and two home runs.

During the West Coast trip, Jones moved past Boog Powell into fifth place on the club's all-time hits list with 1,575.

In typical Jones fashion last night, he fouled another ball off his left foot and punched a single into right field after hopping out of the batter's box in obvious pain.

"I asked him, 'Same place?' He loses track," Showalter said.

"His durability is amazing to me. I was looking the other day at the games played since he signed his contract. It's impressive. Adam's been a rock.

"You see the stuff. He fouls balls off his feet, legs, shins, and plays the games. He's a great example for everybody.

"It's one of those things where you almost have to take it out of his hands. If you ask him, he's always going to ... But when you get him to almost agree with you, almost, then you know it's probably a good idea. See if he can get the benefit of two days."

Shortstop J.J. Hardy hit in the cage this morning and likely will take batting practice on the field Friday afternoon at Camden Yards. He is expected to come off the disabled list next month as part of the expanded roster.

The Orioles could announce a roster move following today's game. They need to create room for infielder Ryan Flaherty and Rule 5 outfielder Anthony Santander, who must come off the disabled list Thursday.

Update: Tim Beckham hit his second career leadoff home run in the past three games to give the Orioles a quick 1-0 lead.

Update II: Doubles by Mike Zunino and Guillermo Heredia in the third inning tied the score 1-1. All three hits off Ubaldo Jiménez are doubles.

Update III: Yonder Alonso hit a two-run homer off Jiménez in the fourth to give Seattle a 3-1 lead, but the Orioles have scored three runs in the fifth and are still batting.

Joey Rickard came home on a wild pitch after his leadoff single and Craig Gentry followed with an RBI triple. Gentry scored on Beckham's single.

Manny Machado singled for the fifth straight hit and Marco Gonzales was done.

Update IV: Jiménez allowed three runs in the bottom of the fifth, giving him six on the day in 4 1/3 innings, and Leonys Martin homered off Richard Bleier leading off the sixth to expand Seattle's lead to 7-4.

Five of six batters reached against Jiménez in the fifth.