Triple A Norfolk

Orioles right-hander Miguel Gonzalez, who has not pitched since developing a deep blister on his right thumb May 3 in Anaheim, is getting closer to appearing in a big league game. Gonzalez threw 35 pitches in a bullpen session Wednesday, the last few without a bandage covering the thumb (he won't be able to use a covering in a game). He said he came out feeling “really good.” “The ball was coming out good,” Gonzalez said. “The breaking pitches were fine. I was pretty happy about my performance.” Gonzalez is next scheduled to pitch in a simulated game Friday afternoon at Camden Yards so that the team can best control the environment.

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.

Orioles left-hander Tsuyoshi Wada, who is recovering from last May's Tommy John surgery, will make his first minor league rehab start for Triple-A Norfolk on Thursday afternoon at Lehigh Valley. It will be the first time Wada pitches in a minor league game since last April, when he lasted just 2 2/3 innings in a minor league rehab start for Norfolk. Wada, a former standout in the Japanese Pacific League who signed a two-year, $8.14 million contract before the 2012 season, has yet to pitch in a regular season game for the Orioles.

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 have placed right-hander Miguel Gonzalez on the 15-day disabled list with a blister on his right thumb and called up right-hander Alex Burnett from Triple-A Norfolk to take his roster spot. Burnett has been working as a reliever at Norfolk, so it's likely he won't be Gonzalez's replacement for Saturday's start. The Orioles can make another roster move before Saturday's game or turn to relievers Tommy Hunter or T.J. McFarland if they're available to start. The move to place Gonzalez on the DL is retroactive to May 4, so he will be eligible to return on May 19. The Orioles were planning to make a decision on Gonzalez today after his bullpen session.

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.

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.