Baltimore Orioles: Injuries, Injuries, and More Injuries

The Baltimore Orioles are going to be without a large number of players for Thursday’s series finale against the Texas Rangers.

Tuesday began a six-day trip to the Lone Star State for the Baltimore Orioles, a trip expected to challenge this O’s roster as they go toe-to-toe with the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros. The trip has become even more of a challenge after an eventful Wednesday night contest.

The Orioles bullpen surrendered six runs in the bottom of the ninth inning on Tuesday, but escaped with a 12-11 victory over their American League West opponents. Wednesday night saw these same two teams enter the ninth inning with just one combined run scored. But that wasn’t the big storyline from the night.

Instead of celebrating Richie Martin‘s game-tying home run in the bottom of the ninth, the Orioles suffered yet another defeat and continued their month-long stretch of avoiding back-to-back wins. The Orioles also suffered three injuries to three significant players.

Catcher Pedro Severino was removed from the game after taking a foul ball off his mask. Post-game reports indicated no signs of a concussion, only a bruise. Unless a more recent update indicates otherwise, Severino could return for the Houston series, but will likely be unavailable for Thursday’s finale against Texas.

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Infielder Jonathan Villar also exited yesterday’s game. The Orioles announced his injury was a sore thumb. While this isn’t a serious injury, if it bothered him enough to be removed from the game, it seems Villar may also be unavailable to Thursday’s game. Nothing reported indicates that a trip to the IL is imminent.

However, DJ Stewart‘s injury may be a bit more serious. After colliding with Hanser Alberto, Stewart was removed from the game and diagnosed with a sprained ankle, per an Orioles release. Despite attempts to remain in the game, Stewart was taken out, leaving Brandon Hyde with an empty bench.

Hyde’s post-game comments indicate that all three players will avoid the Injured List, but will not be available for Thursday. If that’s the case, we may see a pitcher optioned and Stevie Wilkerson re-called while all three guys heal. If Stewart’s ankle isn’t better this morning, I wouldn’t count out an IL stint to ensure he’s fully healthy and ready to go again next week. Wilkerson is also the obvious call-up in this scenario, thanks to his ability to play pretty much every position on the field.

Editor’s Note: MASN’s Roch Kubatko reported just after 6 pm that DJ Stewart is heading to the IL and the Orioles have recalled utility man Stevie Wilkerson.

The Orioles and Rangers will conclude their series tonight at 8:05 EST. David Hess gets the nod for the O’s while Ariel Jurado will throw for Texas.

The Baltimore Orioles are going to be without a large number of players for Thursday’s series finale against the Texas Rangers.

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