Darren O’Day is not with the Orioles due to a sore shoulder

Darren O’Day was not his best on Thursday, when he labored to get the one out he needed to get. Now we know why: Something started bothering him with his shoulder during that outing.

As a result, O’Day’s status is uncertain. He is not in San Francisco at all for Friday’s game against the Giants. O’Day has returned to Baltimore to be examined by the Orioles team doctor on Saturday.

The Orioles summoned Tyler Wilson to the taxi squad in case O’Day has to go on the disabled list. O’s beat writers indicated that O’Day would not have been pitching this weekend regardless of whether or not he goes on the DL. The question is whether this turns out to be an issue that requires longer to resolve.

If O’Day has to go back on the disabled list, the O’s will be leaning once again on Brad Brach and Mychal Givens for more key innings than might have been expected before the season started. That worked out OK for Brach during O’Day’s last absence.

Maybe it will turn out to not be too serious, but you always have to worry when you hear about a player having a sore shoulder.

It’s never a good thing to be short a player. Being potentially short a player for a whole weekend series against a National League team is even less ideal. Good teams find a way to get by. With a Monday off day, the O’s might try to ride things out for a few days to see if O’Day is well enough by Tuesday.