Sisco's collision, Brach's slump and other observations

The Orioles announced after last night's game that rookie catcher Chance Sisco was day-to-day following a collision with Pedro Álvarez's forearm, the equivalent of running face-first into an oak tree.

Sisco sustained a "facial contusion," according to the club, but wasn't showing symptoms of a concussion.

He just looked that way while lying flat on his back after a failed pursuit of a pop up in foul territory.

It doesn't appear that the Orioles are going to summon another catcher to Anaheim, trusting that Sisco will be available. Caleb Joseph will get the start tonight against Angels left-hander Andrew Heaney, but he would have been in the lineup anyway.

Joseph is the only other catcher on the 25-man roster and the Orioles had a contingency plan in mind. It's just the execution that's tricky because they're on the West Coast.

Triple-A Norfolk is home for a series against Durham. A map isn't needed to confirm that there's a significant distance between the Tides and Orioles.

Manager Buck Showalter told reporters in Anaheim that the club would check on Sisco this morning. It couldn't wait too long to make flight arrangements.

Austin Wynns would have been the logical choice if Sisco needed a replacement because he's on the 40-man roster and healthy. Andrew Susac is on the seven-day disabled list with an ankle injury.

Audry Perez moved up from Double-A Bowie to replace Susac and homered twice in his first game, but he isn't on the 40-man.

Wynns is batting .268/.318/.317 in 12 games. He's an asset behind the plate and the Orioles gave strong consideration to breaking camp with him before choosing Sisco.

Susac outlasted Wynns in camp and was batting .359/.479/.615 with four doubles, two home runs and 12 RBIs in 11 games before going on the disabled list. He was positioned as the first catcher up.

At the moment if appears that no one is coming up and Sisco avoided a serious injury.

The Orioles, however, couldn't avoid another loss, with Justin Upton's walk-off single on an 0-2 pitch from Brad Brach giving the Angels a 3-2 win. Another gut punch after the Orioles scored twice in the top of the ninth to tie the game.

The offense again was slow out of the gate, with only one hit through eight innings. It began to heat up toward the end of the homestand and went back into hiding.

Alex Cobb finally got it together last night, shutting out the Angels through the first five innings before Manny Machado's throwing error in the sixth led to one run and was followed by Luis Valbuena's homer. Another defensive breakdown for a club that's now committed 19 errors in 29 games, the 10th-highest total in the majors.

Not included are the bobbles that prevent double plays from being executed and other mishaps that go down as hits or a fielder's choice.

Richard Bleier retired all four batters he faced to lower his ERA to 0.50 with a 0.70 WHIP in 18 innings. He can't pitch every night without his arm falling off, but it's going to get harder to take him out of games.

Brach entered with one out in the ninth and didn't record an out. Two singles, Mike Trout's third intentional walk of the night and Upton's walk-off.

Brach's ERA increased to 6.55 in 12 games. He has a 2.00 WHIP in 11 innings, with 15 hits and seven walks. A stretch of seven scoreless outings in a row, lowering his ERA to 2.35, has been followed by runs in three of the last four.

The bullpen has been a concern this season and Zach Britton's absence can't account for all of it. The 4.26 ERA and 1.36 WHIP are 16th in the majors and the .248 average-against is 17th. Remove Bleier from the equation and you'll pull a muscle from cringing.

Mychal Givens seems to have shaken his slump with four consecutive scoreless outings that lowered his ERA from 6.52 to 4.61. He's allowed two hits and walked two batters, so we're not talking clean innings, but it's a much-needed improvement.

Adam Jones was 0-for-15 before his game-tying single in the ninth inning. He's batting .240/.248/.405 while staying in the cleanup spot through 29 games.

Jones is hitting .300 against left-handers and .220 against right-handers.

Chris Davis walked twice in three plate appearances after returning to the lineup. Can't really determine if the three-day break and extra work with hitting coach Scott Coolbaugh actually paid off.