Showalter on Trumbo, Britton, O'Day and more (O's down 5-1)

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Orioles will wait at least one more day on Mark Trumbo before deciding whether he needs to go on the disabled list.

Trumbo continues to report that his knee is much better since yesterday's cortisone injection and the Orioles think he could be ready as early as Monday afternoon against the Nationals at Camden Yards.

"Trum's a lot better," said manager Buck Showalter. "We're going to wait on him. Not going to get into his availability for today, but obviously he's worth waiting on. Also, because we got deep enough into our pitching since David (Hess) pitched well that we didn't have to make the move there, too."

The Orioles don't want to shut down Trumbo if they think he'd be ready before the 10-day DL period.

"I was talking to him in the dugout and it seemed like he was feeling better it seemed like every hour that passed," Showalter said. "He's going to do some baseball activities tomorrow for sure, whether it's in a game or in the cage."

Asked whether Monday would be a good target date for Trumbo's placement in the lineup, Showalter smiled and replied, "If I was projecting to people that listen and read me, I would feel pretty good about being accurate about that possibility.

"I hope. Usually, just the injection alone is a two-to-three day turn."

Closer Zach Britton will pitch Wednesday night at Triple-A Norfolk in his first injury rehab game. The Tides are playing Pawtucket, the Red Sox's top affiliate.

Britton is expected to remain on Norfolk's roster rather than keep switching affiliates. The Tides are home through June 3.

Today's simulated game lasted two innings and 32 pitches.

"Everything went great with Zach today," Showalter said. "Appreciate the six guys coming over from Sarasota. They had a choice between a rainout or coming over here. They did a great job helping us.

"He's excited. If everything goes well he'll pitch in Norfolk on Wednesday and start the rehab."

The Orioles have Britton's scheduled mapped out, including his activation from the 60-day disabled list, and are keeping it private.

"I know exactly if everything follows form what day," Showalter said. "Actually talking today, that's the longest scenario we painted. It could be earlier than that. I don't really want to put that date out there and then all of a sudden we go the full extent. He's going to have a back-to-back outing. We don't have multiple innings, but he is potentially going to pitch an inning and then go out and, say, warm up and pitch to one hitter the next time in the rehab.

"It's going to be a whole different level, though. You've got other teams. You throw eight balls in a row, there's two people on base. There are a lot of things that are going to be a lot more realistic as we go."

Darren O'Day will attempt to play catch on Tuesday after receiving a cortisone injection yesterday in his right elbow.

O'Day probably will need at least one innings in the minors before he comes off the disabled list. Showalter thinks O'Day will return before Britton, which had been the original expectation.

"Darren feels a little better today," Showalter said. "He was pretty sore yesterday. That (shot) hurts."

Hess, who earned his second major league win last night, will start Wednesday against the Nationals to close out the three-game series. He stays in the rotation.

Relievers Pedro Araujo and Miguel Castro worked today on improving their times to the plate.

Utility infielder Steve Wilkerson, completing his 50-game suspension, will report to Norfolk next week.

Shameless plug alert: I'm doing a live hit from Tropicana Field on "O's Xtra" that airs at 3:30 p.m. on MASN.

Update: Andrew Cashner allowed two runs in the first inning on C.J. Cron's one-out single, Joey Wendle's triple and Wilson Ramos' double. Ramos went in standing, came off the bag and was tagged out. But the Orioles are down 2-0.

Update II: The Rays added three runs in the second and lead 5-0. Cashner has thrown 41 pitches.

Rob Refsnyder had an RBI single and Cron added a two-run double.

Update III: The Orioles finally scored in the seventh off left-hander Anthony Banda to reduce the lead to 5-1. Manny Machado led off with a double and raced home with two outs on Chris Davis' single.

Cashner was charged with five runs and 11 hits in five-plus innings, with four walks and four strikeouts. Tanner Scott entered the game in the sixth with the bases loaded and no outs and struck out the next three batters.