Updates on O'Day, Rasmus, Tillman and Beckham (O's down 6-4)

The tarp remains on the field at Camden Yards this afternoon in anticipation of inclement weather that's delaying the start of the game. The sky is darkening. A storm is approaching.

Orioles reliever Darren O'Day will throw a bullpen session on Sunday and could begin a rehab assignment in his slow return from a hyperextended right elbow.

"If that goes well, then it will move pretty quickly then," said manager Buck Showalter. "He'll go out and pitch an inning and see where we are, so I hope that goes well and he recovers well the next day."

Outfielder Colby Rasmus stopped by the ballpark again today before returning to Double-A Bowie, where he began his rehab assignment last night.

"Colby got through last night healthy," Showalter said.

Chris Tillman continues to throw bullpen sessions down in Sarasota before eventually going on a rehab assignment. The condition of his back isn't the only factor in whether he comes back to the rotation. The Orioles need to see results.

The rotation's last spot is filled by rookie David Hess, who's registered three quality starts in four outings. Tillman, meanwhile, posted a 10.46 ERA and 2.213 WHIP in seven starts.

"He'll go out on rehab and take some starts there and he's going to have to show us not only that he's healthy, but he's doing something different than he was doing here before he left," Showalter said. "I feel confident that he's going to be able to do that.

"So much can change in that time period, how you look at the rotation and what have you. But pretty common knowledge that he's going to have to show us that he's ready to come back and do some things differently than when he left here. I don't think that's a big revelation, right?"

The same guidelines apply to Rasmus after he went 2-for-21 with 13 strikeouts before a hip injury forced him onto the disabled list.

"It's kind of similar to Chris, right?" Showalter said. "It's not always just about being healthy. That we can come in here and do some things that we weren't able to do before. I'm hoping that Chris and Colby get some of the injuries behind them and kind of get it going.

"Both of those guys have got some obstacles to cross before we're ready to make that commitment. They're going to have to do some things. It's not just, he's 0-for-4 but he was healthy.' They know that."

Third baseman Tim Beckham has been working out at Camden Yards while recovering from core muscle surgery.

"The eligibility date is the 23rd and he's going to be pretty close to that," Showalter said. "He's running now. Brady (Anderson) and the staff wanted to bring him back here to go through some stuff here with some of the new stuff we have in the weight room here that could help with his rehab. So, he came in yesterday and he's doing some one-on-one work trying to help with the process a little bit."

Leff-hander Richard Bleier tossed a scoreless inning last night to lower his ERA to 2.25, but he allowed two more hits - raising his total to 34 - and is carrying a 1.357 WHIP in 28 innings. He's averaging 10.9 hits per nine innings, compared to 8.8 last year and 7.8 with the Yankees in 2016.

Opponents have registered a .306 average against him.

"It's funny I was looking at that today," he said. "They're hitting .300 off him, the hits to innings are not good, but his results usually are pretty good. Obviously, recently not to the level he was doing it the first month or so.

"Richard is one of those guys, when the season is over you'll like his body of work. And it's not your typical relief pitcher that, a strikeout per inning. He can defend himself against left-handed hitters and right-handed hitters."

Bleier's ERA was down to 0.40 on May 9 before he hit a rough patch. Working for the third time in four days, he allowed two runs to the Rays in two-thirds of an inning.

"I don't know if anybody could be as good as he was early on for about a month," Showalter said. "He was talking to me about it the other day. It's been a little challenge. Somewhere in between is Richard.

"I know some of what the problem is, is he doesn't quite have the feel for the cutter that he had earlier. It was there for him every time he went for it. He's actually walking less guys than he has at any point in his career, but I think the inconsistency a little bit with his cutter has gotten him in a little more hot water than he's used to."

Update: Adam Jones homered off Masahiro Tanaka in the first inning to give the Orioles a 1-0 lead. Jones has amassed 10 or more home runs in 10 consecutive seasons.

Update II: Miguel Andújar hit a two-run homer off Kevin Gausman with two outs in the second inning to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead. Andújar drove an 0-2 splitter into the left field seats.

Update III: Giancarlo Stanton hit a two-run homer off Gausman with two outs in the third to increase the lead to 4-1.

Update IV: Joey Rickard homered with one out in the bottom of the third to reduce the lead to 4-2.

Update V: The Orioles committed errors on three consecutive plays in the top of the sixth and the Yankees scored twice to increase their lead to 6-2. Jones had two of the errors and Jonathan Schoop airmailed a throw to first base while trying to complete a routine double play.

Manny Machado led off the bottom of the sixth with his 18th home run.

Update VI: Danny Valencia's two-out RBI double in the sixth reduced the lead to 6-4. The Orioles stranded two runners in scoring position.