39 Renato Nunez DH

Nunez is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against Boston, Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports reports.

Nunez sits for just the third time all season and the first time in over a month. His .244/.288/.420 slash line hardly screams "everyday player," but his 86 wRC+ is fourth-best among Orioles with at least 60 plate appearances. Dwight Smith Jr. will rest his legs as a designated hitter, with Joey Rickard entering the lineup in left field.

Nunez went 3-for-4 with a pair of homers in the Orioles' 16-7 loss to the Twins in the second game of a doubleheader Saturday.

Nunez hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning off Martin Perez, and added a solo shot off Fernando Romero in the eighth. The homers were his fourth and fifth of the season, and the 25-year-old is now batting .304 with 16 RBI this year.

Nunez went 3-for-5 with a double, RBI-single and run scored in an 8-1 victory against the Red Sox on Monday.

The 25-year-old is on a six-game hitting streak and has hits in 10 of the last 11 contests. He hasn't displayed a ton of power, but Nunez is hitting .293 with 10 RBI and 10 runs. He also has four extra-base hits, including two homers.

Nunez went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run Friday against the Red Sox.

Nunez brought the Orioles within two runs in the top of the ninth with a two-run blast to left center, but their rally fell short. Following his most recent performance, Nunez is batting .250 (11-for-44) through 13 games this season, although he's recorded just three extra-base hits in the early going.

Nunez will serve as the Orioles' designated hitter and bat cleanup Sunday against the Yankees, Jon Meoli of The Baltimore Sun reports.

The Yankees are bringing a lefty (James Paxton) to the hill, so Nunez's placement in the cleanup spot probably shouldn't be viewed as a permanent arrangement. In fact, Nunez may not even have a lock on a strong-side platoon role at this point, as he was excluded from the starting nine Thursday in the Orioles' season opener, when they faced right-hander Masahiro Tanaka.