"It isn't often during spring training that you see a veteran and projected lineup regular enter the game in the fifth inning, but with Opening Day 10 days away, Derrek Lee is running out of time to get at-bats.

After Vladimir Guerrero got two at-bats at designated hitter, Lee replaced him and went 0-for-2 with a groundout and a popout in the Orioles' 6-2 victory over the New York Yankees on Tuesday at Ed Smith Stadium.

It was just Lee's second game this spring, and he's 0-for-4 with a walk.

"He knows how important these at-bats are," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "I talked to him and Vladi, guys might [think] it might be a little beneath them to get at-bats at the end, but it's part of the process. He wants them."

Lee took it slowly early in camp with his surgically repaired right thumb. When it appeared that the veteran first baseman was nearing a return, he started struggling with right wrist tendinitis. He made his Grapefruit League debut Saturday against the Philadelphia Phillies and fouled a ball off his left foot.

Lee remained in the game, but his foot was giving him more and more pain as the day wore on, and the 35-year-old eventually had an X-ray and MRI on his foot. Both came back clean, allowing Lee to take part in the pre-game workout and get two at-bats in the game.

"If I can run and hit, I'll play," Lee said before the game. "I was only concerned when the doctor was looking at the X-ray and said that he saw something suspicious. I said, 'Oh, boy.' But it's fine. The next day, it was very sore, but now it's getting better all the time."

Lee could play first base Wednesday against the Minnesota Twins in Fort Myers, but Showalter said that decision won't be made until he sees how the veteran feels when he reports to the park."