masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgWei-Yin Chen retired the Indians in order on three ground balls in the top of the first tonight, a clean inning following last night’s mess in Pittsburgh. However, Ryan Raburn led off the second with his first home run of the season to give Cleveland an early lead.

Raburn jumped on a 93 mph fastball on a 2-2 count.

Chen has allowed only two runs in the first inning and two in the second this season.

Nick Markakis singled in the bottom of the first. He’s 16-for-39 (.410) as the first batter…Wei-Yin Chen retired the Indians in order on three ground balls in the top of the first tonight, a clean inning following last night’s mess in Pittsburgh. However, Ryan Raburn led off the second with his first home run of the season to give Cleveland an early lead.

Raburn jumped on a 93 mph fastball on a 2-2 count.

Chen has allowed only two runs in the first inning and two in the second this season.

Nick Markakis singled in the bottom of the first. He’s 16-for-39 (.410) as the first batter of the game and 19-for-44 (.432) in the first inning.

Earlier today, manager Buck Showalter talked about Tommy Hunter’s groin injury and the decision to place the reliever on the disabled list.

“Knowing the history with Tommy, Tommy’s been out as long as two months with this in Texas,” Showalter said. “He’s had two DL stints that were extended. He actually had one that we really backed off of later in the year last year, because we had enough pitching that we kind of moved around it. But a lot like Chris Davis, we’re hoping to catch this in the infancy of what could be a lot worse and try to rectify it in the DL period.

“I was talking to Tommy yesterday and again on the plane afterward and again today. Unless he came in today and said, ‘Without a doubt, I’m a full-fledged pitcher tonight and I can give you an inning or two,’ we were going to have to go down that road. I think he, from a maturity standpoint, knows his history and where it is and what could happen, so we’re trying to use some caution with it.”

Showalter also told reporters about first baseman Chris Davis’ expected departure on Sunday to join his wife Jill for the birth of their first child.

“Obviously, things could change in the next hour,” he said.

The Orioles will bring up a player from Triple-A Norfolk while Davis is on paternity leave for two days. Showalter would prefer to have an additional bench player in Milwaukee, where the Orioles start a three-game series on Monday. He talked about the challenge of having only one reserve infielder in Pittsburgh.

“We’ll look at it, but it will only be for one day,” he said.

“Who to pick from is pretty easy, but I think the club’s needs may change between now and then depending on the pitching.”

Brad Brach remains in the bullpen after throwing 47 pitches last night and wondering today whether a coach would call him into the office.

“That’s what people miss. They think the guys don’t know. They know,” Showalter said.

“The last time I called him, I said, ‘You want the good news or the bad new? The good news is you pitched well for an extended period of time. The bad news is, because you did that, we can’t use you tomorrow.’

“Dave (Wallace) and Dom (Chiti) think, because of his delivery and the way the recovery, and talking with Griff (Mike Griffin), he may be available tomorrow. We’ll see. But there’s a fit for him in our bullpen with what he brings and we’d like to hold onto that, because once we send him down it’s another 10 days until we can get him back. We really don’t want to go to four left-handers again. That doesn’t work too good.”

Update: Chen gave up two more runs in the third on Michael Bourn’s infield hit, Michael Brantley’s one-out triple and a wild pitch.

Catcher Steve Clevenger probably feels as though he should have blocked the pitch in the dirt. The ball scooted under him.

Chen threw only eight pitches in the fourth and is at 59 for the game.

Chen hadn’t allowed more than two earned runs in each of his last four starts.