Roberts returning to O's lineup on Sunday

BALTIMORE -- Brian Roberts' return to the lineup is expected to come on Sunday night, for the series finale against the Yankees.

The switch-hitting second baseman played six innings and went 0-for-3 on Friday for Triple-A Norfolk, exiting the game early due to the inclement weather. Roberts will drive to Baltimore on Saturday afternoon, according to manager Buck Showalter.

"He's been playing at a high intensity," Showalter said of Roberts, who is 3-for-13 with a pair of walks and has reportedly played good defense in the Minors. "[Tides manager Ron Johnson] has been effusive in his praise at the way he looks and the way he goes about things. He's making a couple of good defensive plays every night, playing with ... all the jerks and twitches and things that go on down there. He [adds] a lot of intensity to the games he plays in, he's seeing a lot of pitches."

The Orioles have two players on the 25-man roster who are primarily second basemen: Ryan Flaherty and Alexi Casilla. Showalter could envision a roster that contains all three of them. Flaherty has an option, Casilla does not.

The 35-year-old Roberts played just three games this season because of his injured right hamstring, which required surgery, and has appeared in just 118 games since the beginning of the 2010 season.