Showalter on Tillman, O'Day, McFarland and more

The first words today from manager Buck Showalter regarding starter Chris Tillman were ominous, to say the least.

"Chris did not have a good work day today," Showalter said. "It did not go well."

The concern can't be understated.

Showalter isn't certain whether Tillman will make Thursday's start in D.C. after the Orioles pushed him back to Saturday for his last outing due to right shoulder discomfort.

"We'll see if we need to make an adjustment in his start," Showalter said. "They're looking at him now.

"It didn't go as well as you'd expect it to. We'll see."

Pitching coach Dave Wallace informed Showalter of the latest issue after watching Tillman throw in the bullpen. Showalter checked with head athletic trainer Richie Bancells before meeting with the media.

"It's that time of year," Showalter said, adding that he'll make a decision on Tillman's status by Wednesday.

"We'll have to make some plans with what we would do if he doesn't pitch," Showalter said. "I know Dr. (Leigh Ann) Curl will be here shortly to take a look at it. We'll have a better idea then."

Tillman didn't undergo an MRI last week, but one figures to be scheduled after today's setback.

"I kind of lean on what they want to do," Showalter said. "First of all, we have to make sure it's not OK to pitch Thursday. But I didn't like some of the faces I saw."

The news was more encouraging with reliever Darren O'Day, though he won't be ready to come off the disabled list on Saturday.

"It's getting better every day," Showalter said. "There's been progress every day. We had a couple days where it kind of stalled a little bit, but now you can tell just talking to him every day that he's making progress."

Left-hander T.J. McFarland remains in Trenton with Double-A Bowie following last night's start, when he allowed three runs and six hits in two innings. The Orioles are contemplating the next step.

"Actually, the description was good," Showalter said. "They made a couple errors behind him. Said he threw the ball a lot better than the numbers show, but Mac's the type of guy, you're going to need to catch the ball behind him.

"If you cut through the statistical part of it, they were encouraged last night. He's made some strides. Not sure exactly what they're going to do with him next. We're going to sit down after BP and talk about it, making sure we're covered, if he's an option and if we have some issues tonight that we have to confront in our bullpen."

I wrote this morning that right-handers are batting .368/.442/.500 against Nationals rookie Reynaldo Lopez, making his fifth major league start tonight, and left-handers are batting .180/.250/.340. That's one factor in Showalter's decision to start Steve Pearce in left field and sit Hyun Soo Kim.

"He needed to play," Showalter said. "I like the matchup a little better with the hard-thrower and we've got a long string of right-handed pitchers. And Stevie's a lot more than just a guy against left-handed pitching. Just want to get him in the flow again, and we feel like his arm should be playable again tonight. We'll see. He made some throws from right field yesterday, and just trying to take advantage ...

"This guy's a neutral split, if you look at his splits through his career. And plus-fastball. That's two of the reasons. Three or four. Plus, just want to get him in there. I think Stevie's got some things we can take advantage of. He needs to play some and he's gotten back about as healthy as he's been."

Pearce was restricted to first base and the designated hitter role due to soreness in his right forearm/elbow area. He didn't play the outfield with the Rays and made two starts with the Orioles in right, receiving a cortisone injection after the discomfort returned.

The Orioles shut him down, avoided a trip to the disabled list and eased him back into competition.

"Sometimes, your emotion gets in the way of your brain, all of us," Showalter said. "Without tipping a lot of our hand, we think it will be playable. We'll see."

For the fourth time in six games, the Orioles are facing a pitcher they haven't seen beyond video and scouting reports.

"In today's world, it's almost an excuse because ... there's isn't no substitute for history," Showalter said. "This guys' plus-arm, plus-stuff. I mean, you're going to see one of the quality arms in the National League tonight. You can see why they're so excited about him. But you can watch just so much video tape.

"We watched (A.J.) Cole's last outing, we talked to our people in Norfolk, who he had pitched against, and he still pitched well. It's a challenge that guys face up here. I think that's why sometimes when you face really good starters, like we did against Detroit in the playoffs a few years ago, it was a challenge, but at least there was some familiarity, what a guy was going to do. If they weren't carrying their best stuff, you had a shot against them because you knew the sequencing that they were going to do. And guys evolve.

"A guy like David Price, he's a lot different than he was a couple of years ago. The good pitchers do things to survive. (CC) Sabathia's different now than he was. As their knowledge of pitching comes up and their stuff goes down, it still keeps them at a high level.

"This guy's got as good of stuff as you'll want to see tonight."

Most of the players will bus to D.C. following tonight's game and stay at a hotel. Showalter will join them Wednesday morning for the annual visit to Walter Reed Medical Center.