Hammel to undergo MRI on Wednesday

Orioles pitcher Jason Hammel has requested an MRI on his right knee Wednesday after feeling a sharp pain tonight that he's hoping won't lead to another surgery or the end of his season. Hammel said he felt the knee grab on the second pitch thrown to Evan Longoria, who walked with two outs in the fourth inning. He threw one pitch to Matt Joyce, unable to apply any pressure to the right knee, before leaving the game. "It felt exactly as it did in the game against Detroit," said Hammel, who underwent surgery two months ago and was making his second start tonight since being activated from the disabled list. "It's a very sharp pain in the knee in the same spot." Manager Buck Showalter told reporters that team orthopedist Dr. John Wilckens will examine Hammel on Wednesday. "Felt a little grab in there in the spot where the surgery was and we didn't want to take any chances," Showalter said. "We'll see what tomorrow brings in the evaluation. He's a little down right now about it, but hopefully we'll get some good news tomorrow that it's scar tissue or something. But we'll see." Showalter talks about the resiliency of his club, and it's really being put to the test. Hammel reinjured his knee on the same day that Nick Markakis underwent surgery on his left thumb. What was going through Showalter's mind when Hammel hopped off the mound? "At that time, we're trying to win the baseball game and let the smoke settle a little bit," he said. "We've been down this road many times this year with a lot of different challenges. The competition's enough. They've had challenges over in Tampa. Every club does. It's part of it. Fortunately, two guys that we had up here today worked very hard to give us some depth. We operated a good portion of the season without Hamm and Nicky, so we're kind of experienced at it, anyway. It's not the kind of experience you want to have." Steve Melewski will post more comments from Hammel on his blog, and I'll have more from Showalter later tonight.