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Left-hander Wei-Yin Chen (pictured) was on his way to his second strong performance in a row when he grabbed at his side and exited Sunday's game with a right oblique strain. That's very bad news for a team that already has called on four Triple-A starters to fill in the fifth slot in the rotation and replace injured Miguel Gonzalez. It was a tough week already, after so-so outings by Jason Hammel, Freddy Garcia and Steve Johnson, and that was reflected in the combined numbers. The rotation posted a 2-2 record with a 6.03 ERA and averaged just five innings per start. Even though the team managed to go 4-2 in those games, this is starting to get scary.
Grade: D (Hannah Foslien / Getty Images /May 12, 2013)
Friday’s first intrasquad game gave Orioles like Reynolds the opportunity to finally similate a gameday competition.
"It was good to go play and put on your uniform, (to) face live pitching and be put in a game situation,” Reynolds said. “It feels like baseball is finally back.”
In Friday’s intrasquad, Reynolds, who made 26 errors in 114 games at third base last season, made a pair of nice plays at third base.
He charged a slow roller down the line in the third innning, throwing out speedy outfielder Xavier Avery and later made a diving stop in the hole to rob Taylor Teagarden of a hit.
"I'm not going to look into it too much,” Reynolds said. “My thinking doesn't change. It's two of many, I hope."
Orioles manager Buck Showalter praised Reynolds for dropping weight in the offseason and coming into camp motivated to show he can improve defensively at third base.
“It’s been a point of emphasis for Mark from Mark’s perspective as much as anything,” Showalter said. “I’ve been talking to him in the offseason. It’s been early sessions and extra work since the day he walked in here. We wanted to wait and see if he initiated it before we went there and he initiated it. It’s something that’s important to him and I think he’s going to be improved there.”
Reynolds said he can definitely tell a difference in himself physically.
"I feel less stress on my legs,” he said. “I'm not as sore at the end of the day. I just feel comfortable."
