Davis set to return from hiatus tonight

Wilkerson makes first MLB start; Álvarez accepts minor assignment

WASHINGTON — Orioles first baseman Chris Davis, who hasn’t played since June11and has been out of the starting lineup for the past eight games and 10 of the team’s past 12 games, will return for Friday night’s interleague series opener in Atlanta, manager Buck Showalter said Thursday.

“That’s when they told me they thought would be the right time. He’s just about there,” Showalter said.

Mired in a season-long slump that has him hitting just .150, Davis began to receive time off June 8, missing the middle two games of the series in Toronto. And he hasn’t played since an 0-for-5, threestrikeout game against the Boston Red Sox on June 11.

Showalter has said Davis has been given time to work on hitting mechanics and receive a mental rest. Initially he sat out against left-handed starters, but then was absent altogether. The Orioles had few options with Davis, because he can’t be sent to the minors without his permission and the club is unlikely to cut ties with him given the huge monetary investment it has made in him.

“Believe me, he is champing at the bit,” Showalter said. “He wanted to play. He’s been wanting to play every game. It’s not something he enjoys, trust me. He wants to play and he’s looking forward to tomorrow unless I have to use him tonight. This is something Chris doesn’t like, not playing. It’s been tough for him. Really tough. But he knows what we’re all trying to accomplish and I’m looking forward to getting him back on the field tomorrow.”

What Davis has been specifically working on during his hiatus is unclear, but Showalter guarded against anticipating a different Davis when he returns to the starting lineup against Braves left-hander Sean Newcomb, who has a 2.70 ERA and is holding left-handed hitters to a .167 batting average.

Davis, who is in the third year of a club-record seven-year, $161-million deal, is homerless in his past 24 games, hitting .114/.168/.136 over that stretch with 43 strikeouts in 95 plate appearances. Wilkerson gets first start: After making his major league debut as a defensive replacement in the ninth inning of Wednesday night’s 3-0 interleague win over the Washington Nationals, utility man Steve Wilkerson received his first big league start in Thursday night’s series finale at Nationals Park, playing at third base and batting eighth.

“It’s really exciting,” Wilkerson said. “When I got to the stadium today and saw my name in the lineup, it’s really [exciting]. … It was really nice to get my feet wet [Wednesday], eases a little bit of the anxiety and a little comforting. To have that last night and to be in there today, it’s exciting.”

Wilkerson entered the game with one out in the ninth inning as part of a double switch and didn’t get a fair ball hit his way in the final five plate appearances. Showalter on Tillman: ‘You get stretched out if you get people out’Right-hander Chris Tillman, who began his minor league rehabilitation assignment Wednesday at Short-A Aberdeen, will continue to build his innings count, which Showalter said will happen naturally if he gets hitters out.

Tillman, who went on the 10-day disabled list May 11 with a back injury, struggled in the first inning of his rehab debut Wednesday, needing 35 pitches to get through the opening frame. He allowed three runs on two hits, two walks and two wild pitches in the first, then retired the side on eight pitches.

Tillman is expected to make his next minor league rehab start Monday at Low-A Delmarva — an outing that will likely be capped at four innings, 65 pitches — and then make the jump to Triple-A Norfolk in his third start, Showalter said. Álvarez accepts outright assignment: Designated hitter Pedro Álvarez, who was designated for assignment Tuesday, remained in the organization, accepting an outright assignment to Norfolk.

Álvarez, who was mostly used in a DHrole, was designated to make room for Wilkerson to give the Orioles added defensive substitution options as the team embarked on six games in National League parks. Around the horn: Outfielder Ryan McKenna was promoted from High-A Frederick to Double-A Bowie on Thursday after a first half of the season in which he hit .377/.467/.556 with 18 doubles, two triples, eight homers and 37 RBIs in 67 games with the Keys. McKenna had a 1.250 OPS with eight extra-base hits (four doubles, a triple and three homers) in 16 games in June. … Left-handed reliever Richard Bleier was transferred to the 60-day DL to make 40-man roster space for outfielder Colby Rasmus.