Steve Pearce made his first start in the outfield in more than two weeks Tuesday, marking the first time he will truly test his arm since leaving in the middle of the game Aug. 7 because of a strained flexor mass in his right elbow.
Pearce, who started in left field against the Nationals, has made starts at first base and designated hitter since his injury, but had yet to throw from the outfield in a game.
Manager Buck Showalter said Pearce made some throws from right field on Monday and said his arm should be "playable" from the outfield.
"Sometimes, your emotion gets in the way of your brain [with] all of it," Showalter said. "Without tipping a lot of our hand, we think it will be playable. We'll see."
Pearce received a cortisone injection in the arm after his abrupt departure from the Aug. 7 game. The injury hasn't affected his swing and he's been able to make the less-stressful throws from first base. But Pearce didn't play the outfield this season prior to the Orioles acquiring him from Tampa Bay in a non-waiver deadline deal.
"I think Stevie's got some things we need to take advantage of," Showalter said. "He needs to play some and he's gotten back to about at healthy as he's been."
Though Pearce has been used primarily against left-handers – entering Tuesday he owned a .313/.418/.597 slash line against lefties – Showalter said he wants to get Pearce in the lineup regardless, citing that he likes Pearce matching up against Nationals right-hander Reynaldo Lopez.
"He needed to play," Showalter said. "I liked the matchup a little bit better with the hard thrower. We've got a long string of right-handed pitchers [coming up] and Stevie is more than a guy against left-handed pitching. Just wanted to get him in the flow again and we feel like his arm should be playable tonight."
His start comes at the expense of regular left fielder Hyun Soo Kim, who is hitless in his last two starts and is perceived to struggle against higher velocity.
Wild card date set: If the Orioles need to play in the one-game Wild Card playoff this season to advance in the postseason, they now know when it'll be.
Major League Baseball announced the American League Wild Card game will be played on Tuesday, Oct. 4 and air on TBS, with the National League game set for the following day. Both American League divisional matchups will begin on Thursday, Oct. 6.
If a one-game playoff is required to determine one of the playoff entrants, that game will be held on Oct. 3, the league announced.
The Orioles entered Tuesday's game at 68-56, holding onto the second American League Wild Card spot.
O'Day improving: Showalter said reliever Darren O'Day, on the disabled list with a right rotator cuff strain since Aug. 12, won't be activated when he's eligible to return on Saturday, but has seen improvement of late.
"Getting better every day," Showalter said. "There's been progress every day. We had a couple days where it was kind of stalled a little bit. But you can tell just talking to him every day that he's making progress."
Around the horn: LHP T.J. McFarland was still with Double-A Bowie in Trenton as the team contemplated his next step. McFarland, who has been on the disabled list since June 30 with left knee inflammation, allowed three runs – one earned – on four hits over two innings Monday for the Baysox. "They made a couple errors behind him, said he threw the ball a lot better than the numbers showed," Showalter said. "Mac's the type of guy, you're going to have to catch the ball behind him. … They thought he made some strides." McFarland has allowed six earned runs over 4 1/3 innings in three minor league rehab starts so far. … Several Orioles players and wives will visit Walter Reed Medical Center before Wednesday's game at Nationals Park. … The Orioles hosted the Europe-Africa entrant into the Little League World Series from Emilia, Italy for batting practice. Italy has already been eliminated, but got to meet center fielder Adam Jones and catcher Francisco Pena.
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