Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy was removed from Monday's victory over the Houston Astros in the seventh inning with back soreness that he attributed to sleeping in an uncomfortable hotel bed in Miami.
Manager Buck Showalter said he removed Hardy because the veteran infielder did not look good running to first base after hitting a single off Houston Astros ace Dallas Keuchel, but predicted that Hardy would probably be back in the starting lineup on Tuesday night.
"I think I was just trying to protect it a little bit ... it was tight,'' Hardy said. "I think [it was] from the bed in Miami, so I thiknk I was protecting a little bit and I think Buck saw it and I think he just wanted to get me out of there. ... I think it was the way I was running."
Hardy said he did not want to come out of the game and that he expects to play the second game of the Astros series.
"Unless I come in worse, which I don't anticipate, I should be in there tomorrow,'' Hardy said.
Showalter gave Hardy the day off on Sunday. Though he said it was not specifically because of Hardy's back, he conceded that Hardy's medical history suggests that it's a good idea to give him the day off once in awhile.
"We knew that,'' Showalter said. "It has cropped up now and then and we've been able to manage it. For the period he's here and will be here, it'll be something that ... that's one of the reasons why yesterday, even though he had no symptoms of anything, I just wanted to give him a day."