BALTIMORE (AP) -Orioles catcher Ramon Hernandez is back on the 15-day disabled list, this time with a bruised groin.
Hernandez was hit by a foul ball off the bat of Seattle’s Ben Broussard in the ninth inning of the Orioles’ 9-5 win Wednesday. Hernandez was walking gingerly in the clubhouse on Friday and was placed on the disabled list before Baltimore’s game against the Colorado Rockies.
The Orioles purchased the contract of catcher Alberto Castillo from Triple-A Norfolk. Paul Bako will take over as the starting catcher, the same role he filled when Hernandez began the season on the disabled list with a strained muscle in his rib cage.
Castillo was the Orioles’ backup catcher before being sent to Norfolk on April 26, when Hernandez returned from the DL after missing 21 games. Obtained from Boston in March for outfielder Cory Keylor, Castillo batted .174 in eight games with Baltimore in April.
The Orioles survived three weeks without Hernandez earlier, and now must do it again.
“It’s not a good thing. but we did that early on in the season and hung in there,” manager Sam Perlozzo said. “It will be up to the rest of the guys to pick up the slack.”
Hernandez went 0-for-5 Wednesday and was 1-for-12 in the three-game series. He’s batting .244 with three homers and 27 RBIs in 34 games.
Bako, who started 13 games while Hernandez was on the disabled list in April, entered the weekend series against Colorado with a .219 batting average, one homer and five RBIs.
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