Chen, Showalter and pregame notes

Left-hander Wei-Yin Chen said he is "very disappointed" that he's been diagnosed with a strained right oblique that forced him to go on the 15-day disabled list today. "I really wanted to help the team win and hoped the result was just a cramp, but things went in a different direction. I hurt myself and I hope I can get well sooner," Chen said through his interpreter. "The only thing I can do is heal very fast and just come back sooner and help the team. I hope my oblique can heal up really soon and really fast. It's not painful but it's really sore." Chen said the Orioles haven't outlined a rehab schedule for him. He's going to fly down to Sarasota on May 21, the day before his wife returns to Taiwan. Chen couldn't provide much information on his MRI, saying, "I'm not a doctor." "I looked at the MRI and I have no idea, but the trainer told me I probably hurt my oblique, strained the muscle, so that's what it is," he said. "The only thing I can do right now is help myself and get better and not do anything to get any worse." Chen is expected to need more than 15 days for the injury heal and to get ready to pitch. "Fingers crossed for me," he said. "This is day-to-day progress. I cannot push myself too hard. I just will try to do my best." Chen sustained an oblique injury in Japan, but it was more toward the front side and it happened during a bullpen session. "Throwing in a game and in the bullpen is a totally different story," Chen said. "I don't think it can compare with that." Manager Buck Showalter isn't certain how long Chen will stay on the disabled list. "It's one of those things that's tough to handicap the severity of it," Showalter said. "There's three grades and I think his was in the middle. It's so hard to test it because testing it might make it not heal as proper as it should. "I don't know. I'm thinking best case scenario. As I said before, if you look at the history of these things, it gives you the idea that it is a little later than sooner. We'll take whatever comes our way. "I know what the doctors said, what their estimation is. I just don't think it's good for players to be seen as some set day and think they have failed if they haven't reached that time, so I just want to leave it like it is. We know it's going to be at least the DL period and hopefully not much more than that. "I think there will be some things Wei-Yin will be able to do other than throw, but the actual throwing motion is the last thing that you do. It's a challenge for the people that do it to decide when to do it. If it's too early, you get another setback. It's a slippery slope." The Orioles are still listing Saturday's starter as TBA, though it's going to be Jair Jurrjens. Showalter referred to Jurrjens as "an option" and "a candidate." Jurrjens was supposed to start Saturday at Triple-A Norfolk, but the Tides now list the starter as TBA. Miguel Gonzalez played catch today instead of throwing in a bullpen. If it went well, he could be sent out Wednesday on an injury-rehab assignment and pitch Thursday or Friday. Gonzalez is eligible to come off the disabled list on Sunday and could start Tuesday against the New York Yankees at Camden Yards. It would be more likely to happen if his rehab start is Thursday. "It doesn't have to be seven, eight innings," Showalter said of the rehab start. "It could be two to five. We don't want to push it too much. You see the date, but until that gets all the way healed ... The last thing we want to do is have him come back too quick and all of a sudden he's back to square one with the problem again." Jake Arrieta threw a bullpen session today at Norfolk after missing his last start with a strained right shoulder. Second baseman Brian Roberts is riding a stationary bike in Sarasota as he rehabs following surgery on his right hamstring. Catcher Taylor Teagarden could have the splint removed from his left thumb on Thursday while visiting with a hand specialist in Sarasota. Reliever Alex Burnett, who was recalled today, threw 16 pitches yesterday for Norfolk. That was done by design. He hadn't thrown in a while and the Orioles wanted him on the mound. They just made sure his pitch count stayed below 20. The Orioles are 5-0 in series-opening games at home and 9-3 overall. With Sunday's win, the Orioles improved to 12-3 following a loss. Since April 21, Pedro Strop ranks second among all major league pitchers - with a minimum of 35 batters faced - with a .038 (1-for-26) batting average against. Tommy Hunter is fifth on the list at .125 (4-for-32). The Orioles are 56-33 since Aug. 9, 2012, the day Manny Machado made his major league debut. They're tied with the San Francisco Giants for the best record. The Orioles' run-differential of plus-85 during that span ranks third behind the Tampa Bay Rays (plus-108) and the Detroit Tigers (plus-88). The Orioles have won nine of their 12 series this year, including four in a row and seven of the last eight. J.J. Hardy has hit in nine straight games, going 12-for-35 (.343) with three homers, seven RBIs and five runs scored. Norfolk has placed left-hander Daniel Schlereth on the seven-day disabled list. Infielder Buck Britton has been transferred from Double-A Bowie to Norfolk, where he joins brother Zach.