Orioles manager Buck Showalter will check on Manny Machado on Friday afternoon before making out his lineup, unsure whether the third baseman will play due to tightness in his groin.
Machado came out of tonight's game after the 11th inning as a precaution.
"Just had some tightness in his groin and that long of a game, I didn't like some of the body language he had moving around and everything, especially running down the line," Showalter said following an 8-7, 13-inning loss to the Indians.
"You get a feel for your players and I didn't think he was moving well and I kind of took it out of his hands. I thought it would be good to exercise a little caution there and see where we are tomorrow.
"It was well into the game. I finally asked Richie (Bancells) about it, to check it. Just wasn't moving like he normally does. I thought going down the line one time. I asked him and he said he thought it was OK."
Machado believes that the discomfort surfaced after he slid earlier in the game. He didn't want to come out, but wasn't given a choice.
"Sometimes, especially with young players, you just want to take it out of their hands," Showalter said. "Just trying to be cautious there with it, see where we are tomorrow."
The Orioles most likely will bring up a reliever for Friday's game after using five tonight. Preston Guilmet worked 2 1/3 innings after throwing 13 pitches Wednesday night at Triple-A Norfolk. Brad Brach still may not be available after throwing 47 pitches Wednesday in Pittsburgh.
"We'll see," Showalter said. "It's not just us. A lot of people are having to do it. But it's something we'll have to talk about here. I was kind of gathering with Dave (Wallace) there with what we'd have tomorrow."
Wei-Yin Chen has a no-decision tonight after being charged with five runs in 6 2/3 innings.
"I thought he pitched well," Showalter said. "I thought he deserved a lot better fate. He was pretty sharp. I thought his breaking ball was sharper. We had a passed ball that cost him. I don't know what they scored it, but Stevie (Clevenger)is pretty good at that, and just slipped through. But he pitched well enough to win.
"You score seven runs, you like your chances, but we just couldn't get a couple key outs there. We got a lot of good outs.
"Guilmet pitched well again. Zach (Britton) did what he's been doing. We got some good performances. I thought Wei-Yin was good as any of them."
No one was better than Guilmet, who retired all seven batters he faced.
"Unfortunately, because of where we were, I actually pushed him one more than I wanted to," Showalter said. "I'm trying to squeak every inning and at-bat out of everybody because we're pretty thin down there after Troy (Patton). He was efficient in his pitch count.
"Sometimes, when they're facing their old team it can work against you, but he's been pretty impressive. He's got good tempo. Real good. Aggressive. I look at him throughout his whole career, he's always been a one-inning guy."
Patton took the loss, leaving his ERA at 8.10 in 6 2/3 innings. He's allowed six runs and nine hits, walked four and struck out five since coming off the restricted list.
"Just his command's off," Showalter said. "He's getting a couple counts in his favor and just hasn't been able to finish the at-bat off. He's got some things that he's capable of that he's just not executing."
The Orioles have recorded 12 or more hits in four straight games for the first time since April 12-16, 2007. They've scored at least six runs in four straight games for the first time since May 22-25, 2013.
Nice stats until you consider that the Orioles have gone 1-3.
"The positive aspect is we're swinging the bats better, so you can look at it half full, half empty," Showalter said. "You'd like to take advantage of that type of offense. You use a lot of energy and concentration to get back in the game. We were down 3-0. I was real proud of that. And then we kind of gave it right back.
"You can say there were a couple pitches we'd like to have back, but there were also a bunch of really good pitches made to keep them at bay and give us a chance."
By accepting you will be accessing a service provided by a third-party external to https://www.masnsports.com/