Jones remains sidelined with sore shoulder

BOSTON -- Dealing with a sore right shoulder, center fielder Adam Jones was out of the Orioles' starting lineup against the Red Sox on Tuesday night for the fifth time in seven games, and he admitted he probably won't return until Friday against the Indians.

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The O's have been optimistic that Jones, who has not played in the outfield since June 15, can avoid the disabled list, and Jones echoed that sentiment on Tuesday.

"I don't think I'll go on the DL," Jones said. "I don't like the DL, but [I] can't play, it's uncomfortable."

Jones, who suffered the injury diving for a ball on June 15, was originally slated to play center field on Friday in Toronto. But after testing his shoulder, he didn't feel right, and he was a late scratch and moved to designated hitter. Jones, who also served as the DH on Saturday, said that was the last time he tested his shoulder throwing.

"I can move it. It's just certain actions, lifting it," said Jones, who won't retest his shoulder until he's pain-free. "The throwing motion is not too comfortable."

Jones was more sore on Sunday than manager Buck Showalter had hoped, though Jones said he doesn't believe the pair of games at DH set him back at all. Jones is coming off back-to-back days of rest since he didn't play on Sunday and the team was off on Monday.

"You guys [in the media] have a good timeline," Jones said when asked if a Friday return was plausible. "But hopefully maybe Thursday, maybe Friday if I can throw, test it out. That's the key. If I can throw, I'll play."

Jones, who missed only five games in the past three years, has missed seven games this season between the shoulder injury and a left ankle injury. Without the four-time All-Star in their lineup on Tuesday, the O's started David Lough in center field, batting ninth.

"It feels a lot better than it did coming into Sunday," Jones said. "Just time, it's the only thing I can do. I can take all this medicine and all this [stuff]. I just need time.

"These guys count on me to be in there every day. I count on myself to be in there every day. Oriole fans, Showalter counts on me to be in there every day. It's tough, because I feel like I'm letting my teammates down, but they understand."