Triple A Norfolk

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.

MINNEAPOLIS - Steve Johnson might have been the best feel-good story in an Orioles season filled with them last year. The local boy, St. Paul's graduate and son of a former Oriole stormed onto the big league stage and won all four of his decisions, providing a huge boost during a pennant push. His 2013 hasn't been as smooth. It was delayed for weeks by a lat injury and, when he returned to the big leagues Saturday, he lasted just four innings in the Orioles' 8-5 loss to the Minnesota Twins before an announced 32,221 at Target Field.

MINNEAPOLIS - There are no secrets as far as Orioles right-hander Tommy Hunter is concerned. He figures he's been a good pitcher in the past - he went 13-4 with a 3.73 ERA for the Texas Rangers in 2010 - and he'll be a good pitcher in the future. So he's not even slightly surprised that he's currently a good pitcher - in fact he's arguably the Orioles' most effective one right now. He hasn't been scored on in his last nine appearances out of the bullpen, a span of 14 2/3 innings.

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 will face a tough decision on right-hander Miguel Gonzalez, whose next start hinges on whether the blister on his right thumb heals in time for him to pitch Saturday.   Gonzalez was originally scheduled to make his next start on Thursday, but he's already been pushed back two days to allow the blister to heal. Monday's off day allows the Orioles to start Freddy Garcia on Thursday and Jason Hammel on Friday on regular rest to give Gonzalez that extra time. But before tonight's game, Gonzalez said he wasn't confident the blister would be healed in time to pitch Saturday.

Right-hander Jake Arrieta, who was sent down after four excruciatingly erratic starts with the Orioles, pitched well in his first two starts for Triple-A Norfolk. Last night, his third start with the Tides did not go quite as well. The 27-year-old took the loss after allowing five runs, four of them earned, and seven hits over 6 2/3 innings. One of those runs came when Buffalo's Anthony Gose straight up stole home plate on him. Here's the video: Your browser does not support iframes.

Kansas City Royals infielder Miguel Tejada, who spent five seasons with the Orioles, was back at Camden Yards on Tuesday for the first time as a visitor since 2008 when he was with the Houston Astros. “I'm excited, and not just because it is against my old team, but because I am playing,” said Tejada, who entered Tuesday hitting .313 (5-for-16) in a limited role. “I'm happy to come back here, to say hi to my old people and I'm happy with the way the team is playing, too.” Tejada, 38, played with the Orioles from 2004 to 2007 and again in 2010.

The four-run lead that Orioles right-hander Freddy Garcia took into the seventh inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday seemed safe enough, especially given the relative ease in which Garcia had held the Angels hitless through the game's first six frames. “We were on cruise control,” first baseman Steve Pearce said. “And then, boom.” The calm suddenly turned chaotic as the Orioles blew their lead and lost momentum until Pearce - who was 3-for-4 starting at first base in place of the injured Chris Davis - slapped a game-winning single with two outs in the 10th inning to give the Orioles a 5-4 win over the Angels in front of an announced crowd of 32,136 at Angel Stadium.

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Right-hander Zach Clark's first taste of the major leagues lasted just one appearance, but given the long road it took to get there, the UMBC product wasn't surprised by the news that he had been designated for assignment before Saturday's afternoon game against the Angels at Angel Stadium. The Orioles needed to make both 25-man and 40-man roster space for Saturday's starter, right-hander Freddy Garcia, and Clark - a non-drafted free agent who signed for $1,000 and played parts of eight years in the minor leagues before this week's promotion  - was the odd man out. “It's about right for my path,” Clark said.

Xavier Avery is not satisfied. Since being taken in the second round by the Orioles in 2008, the 23-year-old outfielder has risen through the minor league system and consistently found himself listed among the organization's best prospects. Last season, he played 32 games in three stints with the big league club and spent the rest of the year with Triple-A Norfolk. But after just a brief look this spring, Avery finds himself at Double-A Bowie, a victim of improved outfield depth in the organization, as he battles for another shot to impress the Orioles.