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)
Japanese pitcher Tsuyoshi Wada, who is working his way back from Tommy John surgery, threw a short bullpen session off the half-mound on Monday and looked very comfortable. He appeared to be throwing at about 70 or 80 percent velocity.
Wada injured his elbow last spring and is not expected to be major league ready until May or June, but the Orioles are admittedly being very conservative with their projection of his possible return from surgery.
Nevertheless, manager Buck Showalter has been very positive about what he believes Wada will be able to contribute to the major league club when he is ready to pitch on a regular basis.




