Castillo's shoulder, Britton's MRI and more notes (O's win 6-5)

Catcher Welington Castillo remains confident that he can come off the disabled list when eligible on Thursday.

Castillo took batting practice today and will play catch on Sunday. He's no longer experiencing the same discomfort in his right shoulder that surfaced in spring training.

"I feel better every day," he said. "I feel way, way better. I think that's going to be the last test, when I start throwing, because that's when it's really bothered me. Now I feel way better, and that's a good thing.

"Today was the last set of medication and I think it's doing a good job on my body. My body is taking it really well. I feel good."

Castillo doesn't think he's going to require a short injury rehab assignment.

"I'm going to keep doing everything like catching bullpens," he said. "I'm going to coordinate that with the pitching coach (Roger McDowell). Whenever they have a side, I'm going to go out there and catch them. I'm going to be hitting, I'm going to do my work, like receiving and stuff like that. So I'm going to be close enough to the game."

Showalter didn't have much to say last night about closer Zach Britton, who underwent an MRI due to more discomfort in his left forearm, but he provided some information this afternoon while meeting with the media

"MRI looked about as you would expect from a guy that pitched the day before," he said, adding that Britton will fly down to Sarasota after meeting on Monday with Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles.

Showalter had a timeline in mind for Britton's return, but he's not making it public.

"I know, listening to what he and the doctors on the West Coast have been talking about, it's very positive, because he's already seen the MRI," Showalter said.

The Orioles will remain cautious with Britton, and Showalter emphasized today that they didn't take any unnecessary chances with him.

"You're implying we weren't extra cautious this time?" he said. "Obviously, that's very important. That's why we did him every other day and didn't pitch him, and we'll continue to be very cautious with him. At the same time to do the job that we need done, there's certain things Zach wants to get back to, too."

Britton said he rushed back against the advice of doctors.

"Maybe that's true," Showalter said. "I'm not one who deals with hindsight or whatever. He answered a lot of questions with his (rehab) outings. In fact, we actually threw him an extra outing just to be sure down there, so I don't look back on that with any regret. I think we're where we need to be with it and I look forward to him getting back as soon as possible."

Britton woke up early yesterday morning and noticed that the discomfort had returned.

"It was really uncomfortable," he said. "Came in and it was really, really stiff. Kind of the same thing I had in Toronto a little bit. I knew that obviously wasn't a good sign.

"I didn't think that was going to happen, especially so soon after coming back, but I knew I wasn't back with like extension or finish on my pitches all the way. Talking with Caleb (Joseph), it seemed like after my pitch count got around 10, balls started flattening out a little bit more. For something that happens so naturally for me, to sink the ball, when that's not happening. ... It's not like I'm manipulating the ball to do something, so something that I do that's so natural, I'm having a hard time doing it. So I want to get that issue fixed so that I can get back and do what I do well, because there's really no other reason for me to be out there.

"I can't help the team if I don't do what I do well. You put some other guys in situations you don't want to. So, right now I think the best move is to go see ElAttrache and kind of figure out what's going on."

Britton is expected to need more than 10 days before coming off the disabled list. This won't be a quick process and he's going to heed the advice of doctors.

"You've got to respect their opinion," he said. "They see this stuff all the time, but a lot of time they tell you it's based on how you feel and I felt OK. I wasn't throwing, I felt like I recovered. I went down to Bowie and felt pretty good. Maybe the cold in Boston didn't help it, either. But I didn't think I was going to have a setback like this.

"Thankfully it's the same issue. It's not anything else with the elbow. It's a muscle, which is great because it's going to heal. Ligaments and tendons, normally you've got to manage it. It's going to heal, it's just a matter of time. I guess if there's any positive, that's it."

Gabriel Ynoa worked six scoreless innings last night after replacing Wade Miley, but he felt some cramping in his hamstring that's gotten worse.

"His hamstring is pretty sore today," Showalter said. "He's obviously going to miss a start, so we're contemplating whether to DL him or not. He was pretty sore today. A lot of times when a guy says that's a cramp, it's usually a precursor to something else. We'll see. It's pretty sore today."

Miley is expected to make his next start despite a bruised left wrist.

"I think so," Showalter said. "We'll see how the workday goes,"

X-rays on Jonathan Schoop's right hand came back negative, but he has some swelling in his palm after being hit last night.

"A pretty good lick on the fatty part of the palm here," Showalter said. "Probably will stay away from him tonight."

Kevin Gausman is starting Monday on regular rest after Wednesday's 20-pitch outing in Boston and the ejection for hitting Xander Bogaerts with a curveball.

"You've got to keep in mind, when a guy is getting ready to start, he's got a full workday," Showalter said. "He warms up for 15 or 20 minutes. He goes in, he pitches an inning in a very stressful situation, comes in the dugout, goes back out, warms up again. To push that envelope and go some other direction in May, I don't think is very smart.

"We look at it as kind of beneficial in the long run. Where Wade's concerned, it's a little different dynamics."

Showalter said using Gausman in long relief would be "a mistake for him."

"He needs a workday. He needs to do a lot of things," Showalter said. "That throws everything out of sorts. Starting pitchers are creatures of habit. They need to stay on schedules. Even Ubaldo (Jiménez), the thought of bringing him back early ...

"Hoping that at some point, this kind of settles itself out and we're able to get back in the routine that starting pitchers need to be successful. What Ubaldo do for us, that's a real break from his routine. Fortunately, we had Tyler (Wilson) sitting there just like we had Ynoa last night."

Update: The Orioles made a series of roster moves official. Britton and Ynoa were placed on the 10-day disabled list. Pitchers Alec Asher and Logan Verrett were recalled from Triple-A Norfolk to replace them.

Update II: The Orioles sent nine batters to the plate against Dylan Covey in the first inning and took a 3-0 lead. Covey balked in the first run with the bases loaded and one out. Mark Trumbo had an RBI single and Trey Mancini followed with an RBI double.

Covey threw 31 pitches in the first inning and surrendered a home run to Manny Machado in the second. Machado has five homers and 10 RBIs in his last nine games.

Update III: Melky Cabrera's sacrifice fly in the fifth reduced the lead to 4-1. Omar Narváez scored after a one-out walk and Yolmer Sánchez double, the ball eluding a diving Mancini in left field.

Leury García singled up the middle to score Sánchez, and the lead is down to 4-2.

Update IV: Trey Mancini hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth to increase the lead to 6-2 and knock Covey out of the game. Mancini has six homers this year.

Update V: Cody Asche hit his first home run of the season, a solo shot with two outs in the sixth to reduce the lead to 6-3. Bundy has thrown 105 pitches.

Update VI: Jose Abreu lined a two-run homer off the left field foul pole in the eighth inning to reduce the lead to 6-5. Donnie Hart retired the side in order in the seventh, but Mychal Givens ran into trouble after replacing him.

Update VII: The Orioles defeated the White Sox 6-5. Darren O'Day notched his second save.