Updates on Gonzalez and Casilla

SARASOTA, Fla. - X-rays taken on Miguel Gonzalez's left shin yesterday came back negative, and he's hoping to make his next start without interruption. A line drive off the bat of Phillies catcher Cameron Rupp hit Gonzalez just below his kneecap during the fifth inning of yesterday's game at Ed Smith Stadium. Head athletic trainer Richie Bancells rushed to the mound, and Gonzalez was forced to leave after facing only three batters. "It's a little sore, but not bad," Gonzalez said. "It could have been worse. No bone, no nothing. Shin, everything, is fine." Gonzalez had intended to join teammates in Harrisonburg, Va., later that day for the gathering of family and friends honoring Monica Pence Barlow, but the Orioles sent him for X-rays. "I looked at it. The doctor showed me and everything was fine," he said. Gonzalez will play catch today, but he's been instructed not to run. He walked to his locker this morning without a limp. "Walking is fine," he said. "They told me not to run today and just play it safe. Just take it day by day. "It's nothing serious. Just get the swelling down. We're treating it. And just go from there. I'll play catch today. Nothing to worry about." Gonzalez must be careful not to take the mound with any discomfort that could cause him to alter his mechanics and risk injury. "Usually, two days after is the worst," he said. "Just go out there today and play catch and see how it feels." Gonzalez said he can't recall being hit that hard by a comebacker. "That's probably been the hardest ball hit back at me, so hopefully it doesn't happen to me again. It was scary," he said. "Once I started walking, I thought it was going to be fine. But with adrenaline and all that, you never know what exactly it is. That's why they told me to go get an X-ray." Meanwhile, infielder Alexi Casilla won't play before Monday because of lingering soreness in his right hamstring. Casilla was scheduled to make his spring debut on Sunday, though manager Buck Showalter left open the possibility of using him in one of today's split-squad games. "They want me to rest a little bit," he said. "I was kind of feeling it a little bit. Nothing bad, but they want to make sure. They don't want me to go back, make it worse. They want to make sure that when I start playing, I'm 100 percent ready. "Feeling just a little bit. It's like uncomfortable. It needs more time." Casilla signed a minor league deal to compete for a utility job, but the hamstring is keeping him off the field. He admitted today that he's become frustrated. "Yeah, because I am missing a lot of games," he said. "A little frustrating, but it's better if I start playing healthy. If I rush it I'm going to lose the whole spring. So, I've got to start playing healthy, 100 percent." And that could finally happen in a few days. "I want to be there on Monday," Casilla said. "I told the trainers that. I want to be there on Monday."