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TORONTO -- The Toronto Maple Leafs resume their post-Olympic NHL schedule next Thursday when they visit the New York Islanders but whether injured forward Dave Bolland is in the lineup remains uncertain. Bollands agent Anton Thun says the Mimico, Ont., native still needs one more doctors visit to get final clearance to return to game action. While the rest of his teammates headed for vacation destinations during the Olympic break, Bolland spent his time skating with his former junior team, the London Knights. "I was inside, you can tell by my tan," Bolland joked Thursday. "I was mostly inside the rink doing my rehab and trying to get back in that game mode. "Its close. Getting there. Im on my way upward." Bolland, who has been out since Nov. 2 recovering from a skate cut to his left ankle, travelled with the team on their final pre-Olympic road trip to Florida and Tampa Bay. At the time, coach Randy Carlyle said there was a 50 per cent chance Bolland could play but following Thursdays first post-Olympic-break practice, the forward was still dealing with pain. "Youre always going to feel the pain," said Bolland, who still participated in a full practice, including a 10-minute bag skate. "I know coming off the ice every day youre feeling pain and its always aching and bugging you. Its never going to be fine. I know every day I come off the ice, Im always in the trainers room getting ice." Dion Phaneuf knows what Bolland is going through, having dealt with his own skate cut during the 2010-11 season. Phaneuf had his MCL severed by a skate during a game against the Philadelphia Flyers and missed nearly a month. "Any time you come back from any injury, you want to test it in a game because games are a lot different than practice," Phaneuf said. "You can ask any guy that comes back from anything . . . game speed is different than in practice. It takes you a little while to get back to feeling 100 per cent but Im sure hes going to come back . . . I just know when we get him back its a big boost for our team." When Bolland does return, Carlyle said he would be eased into the lineup, likely sparing him from penalty-killing duties. However, the addition of Bolland gives Carlyle added depth. "Any time you can add of that calibre, it does change the makeup of your lineup," said the coach. "We think that Bolland and Mason Raymond and whoever we decide to put there (gives) us a 2A and a 2B type of offensive numbers. Thats what were really looking for." Prior to the injury, Bolland was on pace for his best season with six goals and 10 points in 15 games. But after missing 45 games, he doesnt expect to pick up where he left off. "My expectations will be a little bit lower and things wont be as high but I know gradually, the first two or three games, Ill be back in the mix." NEW YORK -- J.J. Hardy finally got in on the fun Saturday, against a likely opponent. Nelson Cruz has been hitting homers all season. Cruz hit his 23rd home run, Hardy connected for his first of the year and the Baltimore Orioles beat the New York Yankees 6-1 after starter Bud Norris left with tightness in his right groin. Adam Jones and Steve Pearce also went deep off struggling soft-tosser Vidal Nuno, helping the Orioles rebound after blowing a two-run lead in the ninth inning of a 5-3 loss Friday night. "Big win for us," Hardy said. Cruz and Pearce each had a two-run shot. Hardy ended a drought of 339 at-bats that dated to last September. "It definitely felt nice," he said. "I felt like I forgot how to do it." "I think it probably is a little bit of a relief. I started to question myself if I ever was going to hit one again," Hardy added. Mark Teixeira hit his 12th home run for the Yankees, who had won four straight and eight of 10, but that was all they managed against Norris and three relievers. During a pregame ceremony on the field, former New York first baseman Tino Martinez was honoured with a plaque to be placed in Monument Park. Making his first start against the Yankees, Norris (7-5) allowed three hits in five innings and matched a career high by winning his fourth straight start. He warmed up on the mound for the sixth but was pulled for Ryan Webb, who pitched two scoreless innings. Tommy Hunter got the final five outs. Norris said he felt something "kind of funny" while throwing a fastball in the fifth. "It kind of grabbed on me," he said. "Ive had groin stuff before, especially my left one but not necessarily my right one. Youve got to be real careful with those." "I could see it getting a little worse and I wanted to be smart, but really, hats off to the offence for scoring and to the bullpen for picking me up," Norris added. "Pretty sore right now." Orioles manager Buck Showalter said Norris probably will pitch the night game of a split doubleheader Friday against Tampa Bay, but the right-hander said it was too soon to tell. "Weve got other options, but Im hoping we caught it in time," Showalter said. Pressed into the rotation because of injuries to CC Sabathia, Ivan Nova and Michael Pineda, Nuno (1-4) is having a hhard time with the homer-friendly dimensions at Yankee Stadium.ddddddddddddHe was rocked in his previous outing in Oakland and is 0-4 since beating the Los Angeles Angels on May 7. "This is what we have. And as I said, its not like theres just starting pitchers lying around out there," New York manager Joe Girardi said, explaining that Nuno will stay in the rotation. "Right now, this is what it is." The left-hander yielded five runs -- four earned -- and six hits in 6 1-3 innings. He allowed three home runs and has served up 13 in 39 1-3 innings this season at home, where he is 0-3 with a 7.09 ERA. "My fastball today, I just left it up too much," Nuno said. "I trusted all my stuff today. No regrets and everything, but they just got to my fastball." Jones hit a solo shot with two outs in the first and drew a leadoff walk in the fourth before Cruz connected. Cruz began the day one home run behind Toronto slugger Edwin Encarnacion for the major league lead. "Hes carried us along a lot of the season," Hardy said. Pearces drive made it 5-1 in the fifth, and Hardy went deep off Jose Ramirez in the eighth for his 159th career homer and first since Sept. 5, 2013, against Jose Quintana of the Chicago White Sox. "We like hitting home runs," Jones said. Back in the dugout, Hardy got the silent treatment. He threw sunflower seeds on himself and was doused with water by Cruz. The two-time All-Star shortstop has hit at least 22 home runs five times, including a career-high 30 with Baltimore in 2011. "Normally I just put my head down and run. This time I kind of watched a little bit to make sure that it got up," Hardy said. "As I was rounding third, I looked into the dugout and no one had moved. So I kind of knew that they were going to sit there." NOTES: Baltimore recalled reliever Brad Brach from Triple-A Norfolk. ... Nuno has allowed 15 homers in 67 1-3 innings overall. ... Pineda (right shoulder muscle) will get another week off after an MRI still showed "a trace of inflammation," Girardi said. ... RHP Masahiro Tanaka (11-1, 1.99 ERA) starts Sundays series finale against Orioles RHP Chris Tillman (5-4, 4.82). Hall of Fame reliever Rich "Goose" Gossage will be honoured with a Monument Park plaque as part of festivities for the 68th annual Old-Timers Day at Yankee Stadium. ' ' '