PHILADELPHIA -- The Orioles waited until last night's game began to make their decision on Jeff Conine, placing him on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right hamstring. So much for day-to-day. It was more like inning-to-inning.
The injury occurred as Conine was running out a triple in the eighth inning of Friday night's 7-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. He stumbled while rounding second base and left the game.
The Orioles will purchase the contract of third baseman Jose Leon from Triple-A Rochester today and transfer David Segui to the 60-day disabled list. Leon has eight homers and 35 RBIs with the Red Wings.
Conine, batting .262 with 10 homers and a team-leading 45 RBIs, said the hamstring remained sore yesterday, though no worse than when he left Veterans Stadium on Friday.
"The swelling didn't go down as much as we wanted, and the range of motion is going to take a little while," he said. "With more interleague games in National League parks coming up, you can't be a player short. That cripples your team."
Conine has only been on the DL once before, while playing for the Kansas City Royals in 1998. "I got a little taste of it tonight," he said, "and it's not going to be fun."
Jay Gibbons replaced Conine at first base, a position he played only seven times last season, and most likely will remain the primary starter. Ryan McGuire also can play first.
"I've got to break in my glove," said Gibbons, who made four starts at first base last season, the last coming June 14 against the New York Mets. He takes ground balls there a few times each week.
"It felt weird last night, especially playing on the turf. I didn't know where to stand because there's no infield," Gibbons said.
Batista stays in lineup
Tony Batista remained in the lineup last night against the Phillies, making him the only Oriole to appear in every game this season. He has missed only one inning, when utility infielder Mike Moriarty replaced him in the ninth inning of a May 1 game in Boston against the Red Sox.
Batista kept his left pant leg rolled up as he walked through the clubhouse, revealing a deep cut on his knee that occurred when he crashed into the fence Friday while chasing a foul ball. Batista's leg slammed into a pole that's hidden by a thin covering.
"I hit it pretty good," he said.
Batista already had taken a Robert Person fastball off his batting helmet that sent him sprawling. With Conine injured, Melvin Mora becomes the backup third baseman.
Towers on DL
Josh Towers, who began the season as the Orioles' fourth starter, went on the disabled list Friday with a sore right elbow.
Towers was 0-5 with a 6.68 ERA in seven starts at Rochester. He allowed six runs in 3 1/3 innings in his most recent outing on June 8, and drew a fine from manager Andy Etchebarren after flipping him the ball before heading to the dugout.
Etchebarren scratched Towers from Thursday's scheduled start in Norfolk, and a roster move was made the next day. The Red Wings signed former Wichita State star Kennie Steenstra, who was released May 31 from the Florida Marlins' Triple-A affiliate in Calgary.
Steenstra went 3 1/3 innings on Friday, allowing two runs and five hits against Charlotte. He threw 62 pitches.
Bullpen maintenance
The Orioles performed a little bullpen maintenance before last night's game after reliever Willis Roberts slipped on a portion of exposed concrete Friday and landed on his right elbow.
Manager Mike Hargrove, pitching coach Mark Wiley and bullpen coach Elrod Hendricks examined the concrete before covering it with pieces of artificial turf that were being stored.
"Elrod had expressed concern to their groundskeeper and he said he'd do something about it, and he didn't. So we did," Hargrove said.
One of the club's pitchers said there also was concern over whether the mound was flatter than in the home bullpen.
The Orioles were inconvenienced enough yesterday. They couldn't hit outside because of the rain, or inside because of a busted water pipe that flooded the batting cage.
Around the horn
Catcher Geronimo Gil was scratched from the lineup, but Hargrove said it wasn't because of injury. Though Gil soaked his left wrist in ice water before Friday's game, Hargrove said he intended to start Brook Fordyce last night but mistakenly wrote in Gil's name. ... The Phillies, who had two last night, lead the National League with 140 doubles.