masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgOrioles backup catcher Taylor Teagarden exited today’s game in the bottom of the sixth inning after taking a foul tip off his left thumb.

Teagarden removed his mitt and immediately headed to the dugout. There was no hesitation.

The thumb obviously isn’t exposed, but the foul ball from Josh Donaldson still created an injury situation.

Donaldson has been a pest today. Two RBIs, one injured catcher.

Teagarden’s departure is complicated by Matt Wieters serving as the designated hitter today….Orioles backup catcher Taylor Teagarden exited today’s game in the bottom of the sixth inning after taking a foul tip off his left thumb.

Teagarden removed his mitt and immediately headed to the dugout. There was no hesitation.

The thumb obviously isn’t exposed, but the foul ball from Josh Donaldson still created an injury situation.

Donaldson has been a pest today. Two RBIs, one injured catcher.

Teagarden’s departure is complicated by Matt Wieters serving as the designated hitter today. Nice timing, right?

Wieters is now catching and the Orioles pitchers will have to bat.

Manager Buck Showalter hinted earlier this season that Steve Pearce is the emergency catcher. Pearce apparently has catching experience in his distant past.

If Teagarden is forced to go on the disabled list – and it’s early speculation at this point – Triple-A Norfolk’s Luis Exposito would be a candidate to come up because he’s already on the 40-man roster.

The Orioles aren’t happy with their catching depth in the system. Now it may really be exposed.

Teagarden began last season on the disabled list with a strained back and wasn’t activated until July 15. He played in only 22 games.

Teagarden is 0-for-2 today and 0-for-13 on the season.

Check Steve Melewski’s blog later today for an update on Teagarden. I’m going to be away from the laptop for a few hours.

Chris Tillman allowed two runs and seven hits in six innings, with two walks and seven strikeouts. He threw 103 pitches, 63 for strikes.

Nice recovery after a difficult start, when it appeared that his pitch count would force him out of the game a lot earlier.

Update: On the broadcast, Gary Thorne just revealed that Teagarden suffered a dislocated thumb on his catching hand.

That can’t be good.

Update II: Despite having to play the last third of the game under National League rules following the loss of the DH, the Orioles pulled off a 7-3 win over the A’s.

Nate McLouth stayed hot with three hits, including a homer, and two RBIs. Nick Markakis and Adam Jones hit back-to-back homers to key a four-run fourth inning. And Tillman righted himself to make a quality start, as the Orioles won their third straight for their first series win in Oakland since 2007.

The A’s made it interesting in the ninth, putting the first two batters on against Pedro Strop, forcing Showalter to call on Jim Johnson for the save.

Johnson gave up a single to John Jaso to load the bases with no outs, bringing the tying run to the plate. But Johnson got out of it and wrapped up his 10th save by inducing a shallow pop out and a double play.