masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgThe Orioles didn’t adjust their bullpen and recall right-hander Tyler Wilson after he was scratched from last night’s start with Triple-A Norfolk. They’re sticking with the same seven pitchers.
They couldn’t stand pat in the infield. Ryan Flaherty’s shoulder is barking again and he’s on the 10-day disabled list.
My guess is it’s going to take longer than 10 days to get him back on the active roster. The strain is in the area of his lat and rotator cuff, which obviously causes discomfort…

The Orioles didn’t adjust their bullpen and recall right-hander Tyler Wilson after he was scratched from last night’s start with Triple-A Norfolk. They’re sticking with the same seven pitchers.

They couldn’t stand pat in the infield. Ryan Flaherty’s shoulder is barking again and he’s on the 10-day disabled list.

flaherty-throws-third-white-ALDS-sidebar.jpgMy guess is it’s going to take longer than 10 days to get him back on the active roster. The strain is in the area of his lat and rotator cuff, which obviously causes discomfort when he throws.

“Just felt like instead of waiting around … because he does a lot of preparation every day taking balls at three or four different positions and there’s just no way for it to quiet down, so we’re going to try to back off for 10 days and see if that alleviates it,” said manager Buck Showalter.

Dr. Leigh Ann Curl, head orthopedic surgeon for the Ravens, examined Flaherty this morning.

“The doctors that came down here, I was talking to Ryan, they’re trying to come up with a way we’re going forward with it,” Showalter said. “They’ve got some ideas, talking with Ryan, about whether there’s an injection or just rest. And some oral medicine. I don’t know. It could be 10 days, it could be longer. We want to get it out so it doesn’t keep coming back.

“It could very possibly be longer than that.”

Flaherty won’t head down to Sarasota right away.

“Right now he’ll probably stay with us depending on how long we think it’s going to be. If it’s going to be much longer than that, he might,” Showalter said.

The Orioles purchased Paul Janish’s contract, leaving them with 39 players on their 40-man roster. They considered Robert Andino, who also can play multiple positions in the infield. Johnny Giavotella is batting .305/.379/.442 in 39 games with Norfolk, but he’s strictly a second baseman.

“We’re fortunate to have some people to pick from,” Showalter said. “It was close. I think Robert will be up here at some point, too, this year. He’s playing real well down there, especially defensively. They’ve been talking about it.”

Janish is starting at shortstop today, with J.J. Hardy going to the bench. Hardy won’t necessarily receive more rest with Janish on the roster.

“J.J.’s fine either way,” Showalter said. “I just think that I want to get Paul in the mix a little bit. Got a pretty long stretch coming up where we’re going to need everybody. Trying to move things around. But I don’t have any new plans on anything.

“I’ve always tried to find a place for our guys that play every day. I thought about Adam (Jones) today, but he feels pretty good.”

Brad Brach has pitched on back-to-back nights, registering two scoreless innings and earning his ninth save last night. He wasn’t certain whether he’d be available today until he headed outdoors and played catch.

Welington Castillo’s torrid stretch and Marco Estrada’s splits as Blue Jays starter conspired to put the veteran catcher at designated hitter today.

“He’s swinging the bat pretty good right now and this guy’s a reverse splits pitcher,” Showalter said. “He’s had some success off him. I almost led him off today, but I didn’t really like the feel of having that bat where we were in the bottom of the order. He’s got four home runs off this guy. It’s hard to keep him out of the lineup right now.

“I talked to him about it last night. I try to tell these guys the night before. It’s a mental thing. I know on the day he doesn’t catch, he does a lot more in the weight room, does a lot more work in there. There’s a lot of things that happen that you need to let the players know because their work revolves around that. Welington had a whole different workday today compared to what he normally would have had on a Sunday day game.”

Showalter always will be fond of Matt Wieters and appreciate his contributions to the organization, but he also can be supportive of Castillo without feeling guilty or conflicted.

“It’s the same way with a manager or a coach or a catcher. There are a lot of people capable of doing these jobs. You don’t take it personal,” Showalter said.

“It’s OK to like the brother-in-law, too. I don’t feel like I’m cheating on Matt. It’s OK to like everybody, which I’ve been accused of.

“He’s good. The Dominican Republic had a lot of people to pick from to be the catcher in the WBC, a very important event for them, and they picked Welington. That got my attention. And he wanted to it. That tells you a little something about him, too.”

I forgot to mention that last night’s win was the first for the Orioles in regulation since May 8. They’re now 15-3 at home, the best record in the majors.

For the Blue Jays
Kevin Pillar CF
José Bautista RF
Kendrys Morales DH
Justin Smoak 1B
Devon Travis 2B
Russell Martin 3B
Darwin Barney SS
Anthony Alford LF
Luke Maile C

Marco Estrada RHP

Update: Devon Travis hit a three-run homer with two outs in the first inning to give Toronto a 3-0 lead. All three runs are unearned after Jonathan Schoop’s fielding error with two outs and Justin Smoak’s single.

Update II: Adam Jones led off the fourth inning with his seventh home run to reduce the lead to 3-1. He’s hit 124 home runs at Camden Yards to tie Rafael Palmeiro for most in the ballpark’s history.