Showalter on Jones, Machado, Davis and more (O's down 6-1)

WASHINGTON - Orioles center fielder Adam Jones is available tonight if manager Buck Showalter wants to bring him off the bench. However, Showalter is keeping Jones out of the lineup after back-to-back long nights against the Pirates.

"You know, he played two extra-inning games," Showalter said. "We had two challenging games, pretty sore. I talked with him. I decided that he needs to get a day off his legs.

"(Twenty-one) innings running around center field. So hopefully he'll be available later on in the game and tomorrow."

Manny Machado removed the soft brace on his wrist and received treatment following today's MRI, but he's going to continue wearing it through the night and his status in New York is uncertain.

That's usually how it is when a player is day-to-day.

As I reported earlier today, Machado has a strained left wrist, and punctures and a bruise on the back of his hand, after the Pirates' Andrew McCutchen spiked him last night while sliding into third base.

"The X-ray and MRI were good," Showalter said. "Just sore. Hopefully, it's day-to-day and see if it loosens up and see if he's available in some capacity tonight or not. It looks like though he didn't dodge the slide, it looks like we might have dodged some more extensive damage. We'll see how it manages initially between now and the game, but we'll see what his availability is as the day and days go on."

McCutchen's slide cut Machado's hand and also pushed back the wrist, which created the more serious issue.

"The initial was a puncture wound, but through that you're going to be sore in a lot of places, so there's some wrist involved," Showalter said. "They put it in a split just to try to keep the inactivity there. I know that he'll sleep with it on to try to keep it immobile.

"I'm hoping that it's a day-to-day thing. I'm not going to broadcast whether I'd use him tonight or not, but you never know."

This is the same wrist that Machado jammed while diving for a ball on opening day.

"He hasn't told us that it was sore, but it could have been," Showalter said. "Unfortunately, things happen with slides that there's really no intent with. Kind of the risk you take every day."

Tonight marks the first time that Machado and Jones haven't been in the lineup in the same game since Sept. 26, 2014.

Chris Davis is making his 86th career major league start at third base - he also had extensive experience in the minors - and his first since Sept. 10, 2014.

"Without the DH, we've got an issue there," Showalter said. "Chris has actually got the most experience at third base. I think he's started over 300 games there if you count the minor leagues. He's got like 85 starts in the major leagues.

"I'm not particularly happy about having to do it, but it's where we are as a club and because of some of the things that happened the last few days and because of no DH. And also with the lack of maneuverability on the bench, we have to present ourselves where we are in our bullpen. We have a lot of things we have to prepare for in a game like this.

"He was the guy. I talked to Chris today. It was either him or Trum (Mark Trumbo) or (Rubén) Tejada, but we needed that maneuverability."

The Nationals lineup also factored into the decision.

"Another part of Chris with the six left-handed hitters they have in the lineup, hopefully he may not have as much action," Showalter said. "You know that will change."

The Orioles didn't make a roster move, deciding to stay with the same seven relievers despite Mike Wright throwing 3 1/3 innings last night.

"One of the reasons is I and we don't like sending out guys who are doing a good job, and that's what I keep telling the guys that we do have," Showalter said. "Mike Wright didn't deserve to go out and that would have been the guy, and I'd rather try to get through tonight and keep a good piece and see if he's back in the next day or two and see if he can continue to pitch in this role that he seems to have done well so far. I've got Ubaldo (Jiménez) and a couple other guys in the bullpen otherwise.

"In a perfect world, we'd add a pitcher. I'd be surprised if Edwin (Jackson) can't pitch today. It's kind of been of his M.O. Edwin's a good example yesterday of a guy who may not have come in and struck everybody out, but he didn't implode. He gave up a home run, got right back in there with strike one. That's kind of what you're looking for.

"It's not necessarily a guy that's always going to be perfect, but he's going to show his experience and the veteran that he is. He's always been a very resilient guy."

Catcher Welington Castillo is expected to join Double-A Bowie on Friday and catch seven innings at Trenton.

Castillo could come off the disabled list the following day. Showalter has mentioned how Castillo might be ready to catch on Saturday.

It's apparent that the Orioles aren't thrilled with losing their off-day to play a makeup game, especially after the May 11 game was postponed after it stopped raining.

"The weather's marginally better tonight. That's good," Showalter said, as his team took batting practice under a blue sky. "The tarp's not on the field. They'll have a big crowd tonight, a lot bigger than they would have had. It's a win-win for them.

"What else?"

That should do it.

Update: Alec Asher threw 41 pitches in the first inning and fell behind 4-0.

The Nationals sent nine batters to the plate. Trea Turner walked on four pitches, stole second and third base and scored on Bryce Harper's infield hit. Stephen Drew had an RBI single and Michael A. Taylor followed with a two-run double.

Update II: Asher is up to 61 pitches in two innings and the Nats lead 5-0 after Turner and Harper executed a double steal and Adam Lind lifted a sacrifice fly to center field.

Turner's three steals are a career high.

Update III: Stephen Drew greeted Ubaldo Jiménez with a second-deck home run to right field leading off the fifth inning to give Washington a 6-0 lead. Asher threw 100 pitches in five innings while allowing five runs and seven hits, with four walks and six strikeouts.

Update IV: Joey Rickard broke up Joe Ross' shutout bid with a two-out single in the seventh inning that scored Mark Trumbo, who doubled, and reduced the lead to 6-1.