Jones returns to lineup, but Hardy sits
Shortstop worried about soreness in left side, possible oblique injury
HOUSTON — Just as one of the Orioles’ cornerstone players returned to the lineup, another key player was sidelined for Monday’s series opener against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park.
Center fielder Adam Jones, who had missed the previous two games with a mild left ankle sprain, returned as the team’s starting designated hitter, but shortstop J.J. Hardy was out with soreness in his left side.
The Orioles hope they’ve gotten ahead of the injury, but Hardy acknowledged his concern. He said a left oblique injury he had in 2011 began similarly. Hardy missed 25 games with that injury.
Orioles manager Buck Showalter wouldn’t say whether Hardy’s injury resembles an oblique injury, but he conceded that it has some similarities.
“I am not using that word,” Showalter said, referring to an oblique injury. “It’s one of those things you never say out loud. But it has some of those characteristics.”
Hardy has played in just 23 games this season. He opened the season on the disabled list, missing the first month of this season with a left shoulder sprain and also missing time with a lower-back sprain.
“I’m just nervous that it’s more than a day-or-two-type thing,” Hardy said. “I’m just nervous that it might turn into something worse, and I don’t want it to, so I think resting it is probably the right thing. It’s frustrating, though. It’s the shoulder in the spring, then the back starts acting up. Now it’s this, and it’s just frustrating.”
Hardy, who is hitting just .190/.209/.274 this season in 84 at-bats, does tinker with his stance and his swing when he’s struggling at the plate, and he said too much swinging might be behind the injury. He said he started to feel discomfort Sunday, and still felt it Monday, when he hit off a tee. He didn’t take batting practice before Monday’s game but did field grounders and do some throwing.
“I’ve been taking a lot of swings, trying to figure out my swing, and I think it was somewhere along there,” Hardy said. “There wasn’t one specific thing that made it go, ‘Oh, gosh,’ and today was a sign that I didn’t know if I could play like this.
“I don’t know how long it’s going to be. I don’t want to shut down everything but definitely don’t want to take too many swings and keep irritating it. I want to try to let it heal a little bit. … It’s frustrating. I’m trying to find what works, and sometimes doing too much is bad. In this case, it’s slowed me down a little bit.”