Talking to Showalter before tonight's game

PITTSBURGH - The Orioles are braced for a different starter to face them Thursday night when the Indians visit Camden Yards. But which one? The Indians used nine pitchers today in their 11-10, 13-inning victory over the Tigers, including Josh Tomlin, who had been listed as Thursday's starter. Tomlin threw the last three innings and was credited with the win despite allowing a run in the top of the 13th. The game ended with Tigers reliever Al Alburquerque committing a balk with the bases loaded. A balk-off win? Orioles advanced scouting coordinator Ben Werthan turned in his report on Tomlin, which now can be tossed in the trash. "Ben's in a full panic in there," said manager Buck Showalter. "He's going over the Columbus roster. I asked him to see if (Justin) Masterson or any of those guys are pitching on an extra days rest. The life of an advanced scout changes. He was all prepared. Now he's got to start over. "It's funny for us. It's not funny for him. They're all kidding him in there. It's not really panic. But he thought his work was done. He handed out the advanced report on the plane and now he's got to shuffle the deck." Left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez is coming off the minor league disabled list and starting Thursday for Double-A Bowie. Rodriguez has recovered from a sprained knee. Showalter was asked how catcher Matt Wieters is adapting to his stay on the disabled list. "He'd be the best judge of that, but it's not easy for him," Showalter said. "He's been moving around a lot, back and forth. Too many stairs here. He spends a lot of time in the dugout. As he told me, 26 of them. "He's doing OK. This is not what he wants. I think he's ready to come to some... Today would be the two-week mark from what the doctor said." There's still no timeline for Wieters to pick up a ball and start throwing. "No, just when he feels like that area he's not having any feedback on it, he's not feeling anything when they're treating it," Showalter said. "Just day-to-day action. That will tell you when something is going on there as far as scarring over or healing some. So, there's no set black and white date, but I think we know where the date falls that would preclude him from starting the season next year if he had the procedure. We talked about that. "I think we all know what we're talking about it, but it could come earlier if he doesn't feel like anything is resolving. I'm sure that will be a conversation that... "We keep hoping each day he will come in and say, 'Yeah, I want to test it. See how it feels.' We may not get there. We'll see. We're trying to stay positive about it." Triple-A Norfolk's Kevin Gausman allowed four runs and six hits in five innings last night, with one walk, six strikeouts and one homer. He's thrown 87 pitches, 56 for strikes. Gausman took a shutout into the fifth. "I was reading the narrative," Showalter said. "They said he had two broken-bat singles and a swinging bunt. And they said he made a bad pitch selection that cost him a little bit, but they said he pitched pretty well. His stuff was good. Just one of those nights." Vice president of baseball operations Brady Anderson is in Bowie to watch outfielder Dariel Alvarez and first baseman Christian Walker. "I was looking at the league leaders on the off-day and they're right there at the top," Showalter said. "Brady is impressed with both of them." Alvarez was moved to center field. "He's doing pretty well out there," Showalter said.