masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgOrioles reliever Matt Lindstrom took a Johnny Damon line drive off the inside portion of his left knee, forcing him out of the game with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Lindstrom bent at the waist a few times and kept grimacing as manager Buck Showalter and assistant athletic trainer Brian Ebel checked on him. He didn’t bother to throw a few warmup tosses. His night was over.

Kevin Gregg replaced Lindstrom with the bases loaded and retired Casey Kotchman on a fly ball to center…Orioles reliever Matt Lindstrom took a Johnny Damon line drive off the inside portion of his left knee, forcing him out of the game with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Lindstrom bent at the waist a few times and kept grimacing as manager Buck Showalter and assistant athletic trainer Brian Ebel checked on him. He didn’t bother to throw a few warmup tosses. His night was over.

Kevin Gregg replaced Lindstrom with the bases loaded and retired Casey Kotchman on a fly ball to center field with the count full.

X-rays will probably be taken on Lindstrom’s knee. If the Orioles are lucky, he’ll be diagnosed with a contusion and be listed as day-to-day.

The ball was hit so hard, it ricocheted off Lindstrom’s knee and rolled all the way to the first base dugout. Mark Reynolds chased it down and made sure a run didn’t score.

The Orioles will make a roster move tomorrow to accommodate infielder Omar Quintanilla. They’d like to avoid using the disabled list again.

Update: Gregg got the last four outs to seal the Orioles’ 10-2 victory over the Indians, their third win in a row.

Last year, the Orioles didn’t register their 49th win until Aug. 23. They’ve reached that total this year on July 20.