SARASOTA, Fla. - Orioles outfielder David Lough expressed his frustration today over a hamstring injury that's going to force him onto the disabled list.
Lough no longer has back discomfort, but the left hamstring will prevent him from making the 25-man roster on opening day.
"My hamstring was sore a couple weeks ago and then we think it went to my back and SI joint (sacroiliac joint)," he said. "It's just getting back to where I was at the beginning of spring training. We thought the best approach to getting back healthy was to take some time off and get right.
"Your body works together and when you get a hamstring injury it can stem up to your back. I was bending down to get a ball and my SI joint gave out. I had some back spasms. We think those two were related in the injury. At that point, my hamstring wasn't 100 percent. Now my back is completely fine, it's just taking care of my hamstring and getting healthy."
Lough delivered the news of his hamstring injury to manager Buck Showalter.
"It's disappointing," said Lough, who's 5-for-27 (.185) this spring. "It's hard to go into his office and tell him that I'm injured because I'm not injured too often, and when I am, it's frustrating. Especially with how well I know my body.
"It's just a minor bump in the road. I'll look past this when I'm done and get some at-bats at Twin Lakes and get ready to go."
Lough would be eligible to return to the active roster on April 11.
"It's not much time that I'd miss," he said, "but I do need to catch up on my at-bats with the rest of the guys."
Lough isn't sure whether he's accompanying the team to St. Petersburg for the opening series or staying back in Sarasota.
"I don't know my schedule or anything like that so far, so we're just taking it day-to-day and trying to get healthy. Hopefully, I can be there for the team," Lough said.
"It's day by day, how my hamstring feels, once I can start running and getting out there playing like I used to. One of the big parts of my game is my speed, so when my hamstring is not at 100 percent, it's tough to do that."
Hamstring injuries aren't common to Lough.
"Speed guys usually have hamstring stuff quite often, but I've been lucky," he said. "In my rookie year in pro ball, I had a hamstring injury. Other than that, I've been able to monitor everything I've done with my body and stay healthy for the most part."
For the Rays
David DeJesus RF
John Jaso LF
Asdrubal Cabrera SS
Evan Longoria 3B
James Loney 1B
Desmond Jennings CF
Logan Forsythe 2B
Corey Brown DH
Bobby Wilson C
Everett Teaford LHP