Orioles vs. Royals lineups and pregame notes

*Jason Hammel is with the team today and said he was optimistic about returning to the Orioles rotation in early September. Hammel has been on the 15-day disabled list since July 15 due to a right knee injury that required surgery, but he said he’s feeling substantially better. As long as the knee can hold up, Hammel said his arm feels healthy and it shouldn’t be too difficult for him to get back to full strength.

*Ryan Flaherty will likely begin a rehab assignment this week, possibly as early as Tuesay. Flaherty has been on the disabled list since Wednesday with a bacterial infection, and manager Buck Showalter said Flaherty would likely report to Triple-A Norfolk on Tuesday but not play until later in the week. Flaherty, however, said he thought he’d be playing with Double-A Bowie on Tuesday.

*Manager Buck Showalter continues to tinker with the lineup on a day-by-day basis, moving Nate McLouth up to third on Saturday. McLouth had hit seventh in each of his four previous starts.

*Hitting coach Jim Presley is likely to return to the team on Tuesday after leaving on Thursday due to the death of his father.

ROYALS LINEUP

Alex Gordon LF
Alcides Escobar SS
Mike Moustakas 3B
Billy Butler DH
Lorenzo Cain CF
Salvador Perez C
Jeff Francoeur RF
Eric Hosmer 1B
Chris Getz 2B

Luis Mendoza RHP

ORIOLES LINEUP

Nick Markakis RF
J.J. Hardy SS
Nate McLouth LF
Adam Jones CF
Matt Wieters C
Wilson Betemit 1B
Chris Davis DH
Manny Machado 3B
Omar Quintanilla 2B

Chris Tillman RHP