Disabled List

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Second baseman Bill Ripken suffered a strained muscle in his rib cage over the weekend and may have to be placed on the 15-day disabled list.Precautionary X-rays revealed no structural damage to the rib cage and no sign of lung inflammation, so it appears that Ripken suffered a strained intercostal muscle, perhaps while making a difficult defensive play during the recent four-game series against the Oakland Athletics."I don't know exactly when it happened," Ripken said.

The Baltimore bats haven't exactly been completely muted by opposing pitchers, but there have been some quiet nights the past couple of weeks for the Orioles, who boast one of the best offenses in the major leagues. In the past 10 days, the Orioles have had a couple of seven-run outbursts and tied a season-high with 10 runs in Sunday's 10-7 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. But they scored four runs or fewer in the seven other games. The Orioles went 4-3 in those games, getting quality starts from the likes of Chris Tillman, Miguel Gonzalez and Jason Hammel, who gave up two runs in 6 2/3 innings but still took the loss in Friday's 2-1 loss to the Rays.

OAKLAND, Calif. — Continuing to lose key players almost as rapidly as they are losing games, the Orioles put outfielder Felix Pie, one of the team's few hot hitters and the leadoff man in Brian Roberts' absence, on the 15-day disabled list and recalled Lou Montanez from Triple-A Norfolk. Pie, who suffered a strained left rotator cuff in spring training, aggravated the injury in Thursday's loss while swinging and missing at a pitch from Tyson Ross in the seventh inning. He'll return to Baltimore and have a magnetic resonance imaging Monday.

The Orioles activated right-hander Pedro Strop off the disabled list before Saturday's game against the Tampa Bay Rays, but how Strop will be used in the club's constantly morphing bullpen remains to be seen. Strop allowed multiple runs in his last two outings and owned a 6.11 ERA before going on the DL with a strained lower back. Control has been a struggle for him throughout the season - he has 14 walks and 17 strikeouts over 17 2/3 innings. In Strop's absence, right-hander Tommy Hunter has received an expanded late-inning role.

The Orioles activated right-hander Pedro Strop off the disabled list before Saturday's game against the Tampa Bay Rays, but how Strop will be used in the club's constantly morphing bullpen remains to be seen. Strop allowed multiple runs in his last two outings and owned a 6.11 ERA before going on the DL with a strained lower back. Control has been a struggle for him throughout the season - he has 14 walks and 17 strikeouts over 17 2/3 innings. In Strop's absence, right-hander Tommy Hunter has received an expanded late-inning role.

Heading out of Camden Yards shortly after the Orioles' 5-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays, second baseman Brian Roberts said he has been given no official word that he would be placed on the 15-day disabled list today with a strained abdominal. "They haven't told me anything, I don't know what we are doing yet," said Roberts, who was injured stealing second base in the first inning of Friday's home opener and hasn't played since. Yet when he was informed that the Orioles had summoned second baseman Justin Turner from Triple-A Norfolk on Sunday, Roberts said, "Well, I guess I am going on the DL then."

Orioles designated hitter Vladimir Guerrero missed his third consecutive game and will be placed on the 15-day disabled list, manager Buck Showalter said after Saturday's game. Guerrero was hit by a pitch in last Sunday's game against the Red Sox, cracking a small bone in his right hand. Showalter said the 15-day count would be backdated to July 6, theoretically marking his possible return date at July 21. The team called up Triple-A Norfolk outfielder Matt Angle to take Guerrero's roster spot.

Left-hander Dontrelle Willis , who left Triple-A Norfolk's game Wednesday after nine pitches, has been placed on the seven-day disabled list with a left forearm strain. Willis, whom the Orioles signed to a minor league deal late in spring, told the Virginian-Pilot that he "tweaked" his forearm yesterday and had been experiencing pain since spring training. “I've worked hard. Maybe it's overuse," Willis, who is being converted into a reliever, told the newspaper.

Orioles rookie right-handed reliever Stu Pomeranz is likely headed to the disabled list after injuring himself while preparing to enter Sunday's game in the top of the seventh inning. He had thrown seven or eight fastballs in the bullpen, before feeling a searing pain in his left side while throwing his first breaking ball. "Something popped up in my ribs," said Pomeranz, who is staying behind in Baltimore to have an MRI at 10 a.m. Monday. The Orioles are initially calling the injury a strained left oblique, and a 15-day disabled list stint is probable, Buck Showalter said.

The Orioles are placing second baseman Brian Roberts on the 15-day disabled list with a right groin strain, manager Buck Showalter said before Tuesday's game against the Mariners. Roberts was out of the lineup Monday with groin soreness and the Orioles were awaiting results of an MRI up until 90 minutes before game time Tuesday. Since early Tuesday afternoon, Showalter had two lineups written out. Roberts, who missed nearly 13 months recovering from multiple concussions, played just 17 games before landing on the DL again.

HOUSTON - Right-hander Steve Johnson was hoping the discomfort in his left oblique, which cropped up during his relief outing Wednesday, would go away overnight. It didn't, and on Thursday afternoon Johnson was placed on the 15-day disabled list for the second time this year. The team called up outfielder Xavier Avery from Triple-A Norfolk to take his roster spot. (Avery was sent down after the game, with the team expected to add a reliever to the roster Friday.) “It's real frustrating,” said Johnson, who missed the beginning of the season with a lat strain.

The Orioles placed right-hander Pedro Strop on the 15-day disabled list before Saturday's game against the Toronto Blue Jays with a lower back strain and recalled right-hander Steve Johnson from Triple-A Norfolk. Strop, who is 0-2 with a 6.11 ERA in 17 2/3 innings this season, has struggled to regain the form that made him a reliable setup man for the Orioles for the majority of last season. He allowed five runs over his past five relief appearances and walked five with two strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings during that span.

To clear a roster spot for right-hander Miguel Gonzalez's return from the disabled list Tuesday, the Orioles optioned right-hander Jair Jurrjens to Triple-A Norfolk after just one start with the big league club. The move created a vacant spot in the starting rotation for Thursday's game in Toronto. Orioles manager Buck Showalter said Tuesday that the leading candidates to fill that spot are right-hander Jake Arrieta and left-hander T.J. McFarland, depending on how the two are used out of the bullpen in the meantime.

Lefty Wei-Yin Chen, the Orioles' most consistent starter since the beginning of last season, is “very disappointed right now” to be going on the disabled list for the first time in his brief major league career. Chen confirmed that the diagnosis from an MRI on his right side was a strained oblique muscle. He'll be placed on the 15-day DL retroactive to Monday, but he won't be coming off the DL when first eligible. He has been instructed not to pick up a ball for two weeks, so it's likely he'll be gone from the active roster for three to four weeks.

Orioles left-hander Wei-Yin Chen is likely heading to the 15-day disabled list with a right oblique strain. Chen, who abruptly left Sunday's 6-0 win over Minnesota after five shutout innings with pain in his right side, was re-evaluated Monday and the initial tests indicated that he will need to be shelved. An MRI was performed Monday morning and team doctors are expected to read it later today. “It sounds like he's a candidate for the 15-day disabled list,” Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette said.

Infielder Alexi Casilla, who has been a switch-hitter since he was 16, said hitting coach Jim Presley approached him about concentrating on hitting from the right side only, and he has been working on that for a few weeks in the cage. “They think I can stay better on the ball, on top of the ball better from my right side. I don't know. Let's see. Let's see what happens,” Casilla, naturally a right-hander, said before Friday night's game. “It's a test now for me. And I'm very confident I'm going to do good.” Casilla has primarily started at second base this season against lefties while left-handed hitting Ryan Flaherty, who is batting just .122 this season, has started against right-handers.

The Orioles' starting rotation, a strength during the team's early-season success, will be pieced together with patchwork the next two days. Right-hander Jason Hammel, who has anchored the rotation with a 4-1 record and 2.09 ERA, will most likely be pushed back from his scheduled start Thursday with right-knee soreness that he said had regressed the past two to three starts. But Hammel said he's confident that being pushed him back will avoid a stint on the disabled list.

Right-hander Steve Johnson will fill the Orioles starting rotation void Saturday against the Twins in Minnesota, manager Buck Showalter announced after Thursday's 6-2 loss to Kansas City. Johnson, a St. Paul's alum, will be starting in place of right-hander Miguel Gonzalez, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Thursday afternoon with a slow-healing blister on his right thumb. Just more than five weeks into the season, Johnson will be the Orioles' ninth starting pitcher.

BOSTON - Outfielder Chris Dickerson, who was abruptly removed in the first inning of Tuesday's game at Triple-A Norfolk, will join the Orioles Wednesday in Boston. A corresponding 25-man roster move to add Dickerson is uncertain. Orioles manager Buck Showalter said Monday he was optimistic outfielder Nolan Reimold, who left Sunday's game with a right hamstring injury, could avoid a disabled list stint with Tuesday's off day and a right-hander pitcher slated to pitch for Boston on Wednesday - which would give the right-handed hitting Reimold two extra days off. Since Dickerson is under a minor league contract, the Orioles would need to add him to the 40-man roster.