The oddity of Miley's start, the concern over Britton's arm

Wade Miley needs to get the line drive magnet out of his pocket, especially because it doesn't direct the baseball to just one spot.

Miley exited last night's game with two outs in the first inning after being hit twice within three pitches. Just in case you were running short on lunacy.

The Yankees put a reliever on first base and then back on the mound. The Orioles turned a triple play in Boston after misplaying a fly ball in shallow left field. Three nights at Fenway Park were defined by ugly incidents and steaming controversies. I heard words that made me wash my ears out with soap.

Getting back home didn't get the Orioles back to normal. Miley was smoked on the left wrist by José Abreu's liner and on the left thigh by Avasaíl García's liner, which knocked him down and almost caused him to perform a backward somersault.

X-rays were negative and the Orioles announced Miley's injury as a left wrist contusion. That's a bruise to you and me. And nothing about the leg, which was good to not hear.

García played innocent and tried to pin it on one of the other Garcías. There were three in the White Sox lineup.

But seriously ...

Miley's painful adventure last night conjures up images of the exhibition game against the Pirates when catcher Elias Diaz's liner ricocheted off his left forearm and hit his rib area. He insisted that he came out only as a precaution and made his next start.

Let's never question his toughness.

The Orioles will have to make at least one roster move today after Gabriel Ynoa relieved Miley and tossed six scoreless innings with no walks. Ynoa wouldn't be available for a while, and he experienced cramping in his hamstring.

Of course he did. The Orioles can't get everyone healthy.

Zach Britton wasn't available last night and Showalter told reporters that the closer underwent another MRI to determine the cause of discomfort in his forearm. It's an obvious worry, as you could tell by the way Showalter addressed the issue on "O's Xtra" on MASN.

He didn't say much and didn't provide much in the way of optimism.

Britton is expected to go back on the disabled list. He needs more time for the forearm to fully heal.

Britton told me after getting the triple play in Boston that he "felt good physically."

"I felt a little bit more comfortable on the mound," he said. "It was good. I knew Buck was going to pitch me regardless. Just kind of get your feet wet a little bit again. I haven't had a ton of innings, so just be able to get out there again.

"It wasn't ideal. You'd like to have a three-down inning, but my arm feels good and that's the biggest thing. You can make adjustments when you feel good. If you're not feeling good, then you're just worried about being healthy. I think I'm over that stage now. It's just about getting out there and executing pitches and hopefully that will come in the next few outings."

We no longer know when that next outing will come.

Chris Tillman will make his debut on Sunday, but the concern shifts back to Britton.

Dylan Bundy has faced the White Sox twice in his career, including one start, and allowed two runs in eight innings with one walk and 10 strikeouts. Abreu is 4-for-4 with a home run against him.

Dylan Covey's rookie season hasn't gone smoothly, though it barely rates on his adversity scale. He's 0-2 with a 7.29 ERA in four starts and has posted a 1.762 WHIP in 21 innings, with 10 walks and only eight strikeouts.

Talk about a reverse splits guy. Right-handers are batting .417 (15-for-36) against Covey and left-handers are batting .255 (12-for-47).

Covey is making the jump from Double-A Midland, where he registered a 1.84 ERA in six starts before losing the last three months of the season to an oblique injury. The White Sox scouted him in the Arizona Fall League and selected him from the Athletics in the Rule 5 draft.

The Brewers made Covey the 14th overall pick in the 2010, but he decided to attend the University of San Diego after the team's physical revealed that he had Type 1 diabetes. The Brewers wanted to reduce his signing bonus from $2.5 million to $1.6 million.

Covey lives with an automated insulin pump hooked to his body, bringing back memories of former Orioles pitcher Jason Johnson, the first player granted permission to wear the device on the field.

Shameless plug alert: I'm appearing on "Wall to Wall Baseball" from noon-2 p.m. on MASN.