Logan Ondrusek to undergo MRA (and other notes)

SARASOTA, Fla. - Orioles starter Wade Miley stranded a runner on first base today in a scoreless first inning, returning to the mound after being hit on the left forearm and ribcage during Friday's game against the Pirates in Bradenton.

Miley gave up a hit and struck out a batter, throwing 13 of his 18 pitches for strikes. The Orioles will try to get at least three innings out of him.

Reliever Logan Ondrusek, shut down with discomfort in his right elbow, will undergo a magnetic resonance angiogram later today.

An MRA is a type of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan that uses a magnetic field and pulses of radio wave energy to provide pictures of blood vessels inside the body. I had to look it up.

Ondrusek said this morning that he felt pain in his elbow while facing his last batter Monday afternoon in Lakeland. He gave up a two-run homer earlier in the inning.

The injury news is much better on other fronts.

Chris Tillman and Zach Britton looked good in their bullpen sessions this morning.

"It went well today," said manager Buck Showalter. "Just got through back there and that went good. So see what the next step is, but that was a good hurdle to get over. See how they are tomorrow."

Showalter said Tillman is "right on schedule."

Britton could pitch in his first game later this week, depending on feedback from pitching coach Roger McDowell and head athletic trainer Richie Bancells.

"I don't know," Showalter said. "See how he feels tomorrow and then we'll sit down with Roger and Richie and see if they're ready to release him into that type of action. I'll have an answer maybe after the game, probably tomorrow."

Both pitchers are pain-free and that's what matters most.

"They're fine, but you're always (thinking), what's tomorrow going to bring after they rest?" Showalter said. "That was pretty intense there. The next step is if they recover well from it. Of course, it's two different things that they're trying to overcome."

Shortstop J.J. Hardy no longer is bothered by back spasms and is amping up his workouts.

"J.J.'s very close," Showalter said. "What is the 10th, Friday? If we get through today and tomorrow, then he should go into full baseball activities on Friday. If he gets through today and tomorrow and there's nothing, he'll do everything we just got through doing back there and fall into normal baseball activities."

Outfielder Joey Rickard has been playing in games without any pain in his right thumb.

"Physically he's fine, knock on wood," Showalter said. "That's been encouraging. And he's kind of picked up where he left off last spring. He looks very much like he did last year, a guy that we were excited to add."

Rickard didn't play after July 20 when he tore a ligament in his thumb at Yankee Stadium.

"I quit asking him about it," Showalter said. "The first few days I said, 'How does that feel? Do you think about it?' And he said, 'I don't even think about it anymore.' So that was a good decision to not do the surgery. There was a lot of back and forth about whether they needed to go in there or not. But it looks like it's healed pretty well."

Minor league infielder Garabez Rosa, a regular presence in exhibition games in previous springs, remains shut down after being hit on the right hand. He's 1-for-4 in five games.

"It's sad for me," Showalter said. "It's costing him a lot of money. It's big for him to come over here and get meal money. We brought him over every day. We talked the last two days about it. I feel bad about that."

The Orioles brought pitchers Keegan Akin, Alex Wells, Garrett Cleavinger and Cody Satterwhite from minor league camp.

Manny Machado is playing third base again today for the Dominican Republic in its exhibition game against the Pirates, but he's moved down to third in the order.