O'Day agrees that surgery is proper course (O's up 8-1)

Succumbing to the recommendation of undergoing hamstring surgery was made a little easier for Orioles reliever Darren O'Day because he no longer should live in fear of a reoccurrence of the injury. Get it done and get on with the rest of his professional career.

O'Day said he'll have the procedure "as soon as possible" in Baltimore, the location a necessity because his leg will be immobilized with the knee bent for an extended period of time. Traveling in the position would be nearly impossible.

A second opinion sought in Nashville led to O'Day's decision to end the rest of his season and make the repairs.

"Not much different than the first opinion," he said this morning. "The same. It's not a complete tear off the bone, but most of it is off. I need to functionally get it fixed so that I can it doesn't happen again.

"They've told me that if I didn't have surgery it would be 10-12 weeks, which puts us into September and more than likely would happen again at some point, so if I get it fixed it's six months. It's a pretty arduous recovery, but it will put me in better shape next year to be able to compete and not always be wondering if my hamstring was going to go again."

O'Day has been on the disabled list five times since re-signing with the club in December 2015. He strained the right hamstring in 2016, but the current injury involves the other leg.

"I have two. I have a right one and a left one," he said, trying to find the humor in his situation and the line of questioning pertaining to his recent injuries.

"I've been dealing with my left hamstring since 2007 when I was in high-A ball. One of, I guess, the weaknesses in my hamstring is the hamstring tendons and it's just kind of been on and off and once I get it fixed, hopefully I won't have to worry about it again."

Asked to compare recoveries from the left and right hamstrings, O'Day noted that the right "wasn't nearly as bad as this one."

"This one was a singular ... it's been chronic because it's been bothering me for a long time, but the singular event where it ripped off was different. It's a different animal. The other one I could just kind of rehab and come back and there was still enough hamstring there that it was hanging on, but this one, it's not likely that I would come back and be competitive without getting it fixed."

Which is why O'Day felt that he had no choice and is at peace with his decision.

"I knew it hurt a lot. I didn't expect it to be having surgery at the beginning," he said. "Once it was laid out and explained to me, it was an easier decision. It's a question of, everything went into it from quality of life, being able to sit. This is right on the bottom of your sit bone, so you can't sit for very long and I didn't want that to affect me for the rest of my life. I wanted to keep playing beyond next year. So, yeah, it was an easier decision to make.

"I enjoy playing. Even when you're playing terribly like we are, it's still a privilege to play. I still enjoy getting out there and the competition and that's why we play. We love good competition, we love winning, we love being out there and competing. I'll miss that, but the goal is to continue to play. As long as I'm healthy and playing, I'm still good and I feel I can contribute to a good team winning, so that was the ultimate deciding factor, that I want to continue playing baseball.

"With a compromised hamstring I'm not sure that was really feasible."

O'Day, 35, is 0-2 with a 3.60 ERA and 1.100 WHIP this season in 20 appearances and 28-14 with a 2.40 ERA and 0.994 WHIP in seven seasons with the Orioles. He has one year left on his current contract.

The injury occurred while O'Day tried to field a bunt from the Mariners' Jean Segura with Dee Gordon on first base.

"It was like a pop," he said. "I've had small pops before earlier, two weeks ago, finished the outing and they gave me a few days off and I pitched fine, pitched well after that, but it was just the unexpected bunt. Trying to run after it and field it and it's a common way for this injury to happen, so it decided to go."

O'Day and Richard Bleier are lost for the season, the latter undergoing surgery to repair a Grade 3 tear in his left lat muscle. Zach Britton and Brad Brach could be traded by the non-waiver deadline. It's a stunning transformation for a unit that's long been a strength of the team.

"That's the nature of the game," O'Day said. "These injuries happen. That's one thing. But Richard and I being done for the year is an opportunity for two guys.

"I was the beneficiary of opportunities through injury when I was a rookie. I was kind of an unheralded guy. Three guys got hurt my first spring training and I had an opportunity to get to the big leagues that I otherwise wouldn't have had. I pitched well, got my foot in the door and that's kind of how it works. So, some of these young guys are going to have to be ready for that opportunity.

"They're going to be thrown into tough positions, but the guys that are ready to succeed in those are the guys who are going to be ... we're going to notice that and they're going to be put into long-term, valued, high-leverage positions. Some guys are ready to handle that. So, it ought to be exciting to watch these guys develop, pitch and kind of get their feet wet and watch them grow as players and pitchers."

Update: Kole Calhoun led off the first inning with a double and scored with two outs on Albert Pujols' single to give the Angels a 1-0 lead.

Update II: Manny Machado hit a two-run homer to left field in the fourth inning after Adam Jones reached on a pop up that second baseman Ian Kinsler lost in the sun, giving the Orioles a 2-1 lead. Mark Trumbo followed with an opposite-field shot to right. And the Orioles weren't done. Steve Wilkerson had an RBI double off reliever Hansel Robles and Tim Beckham lined a two-run single up the middle for a 6-1 lead.

Update III: Trumbo and Trey Mancini homered off Eduardo Paredes in the fifth to give the Orioles an 8-1 lead.