Chen set to return to O's after final rehab start

CHICAGO -- Pitcher Wei-Yin Chen will make his second rehab start for Double-A Bowie on Thursday night and, assuming that goes well, he will drive to New York after that to meet the Orioles for their weekend series against the Yankees.

Chen, on the disabled list with a left oblique strain, will take his workday over the weekend and could start Tuesday or Wednesday against the Rangers, with the start determined by Bowie's weather issues.

"We built in a rain day if he has to pitch tomorrow, there [instead]," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said of Chen's final rehab start with Bowie. "We would make it work either way. See where we are with Zach [Britton], see where we are with a lot of guys after we get through today."

The plan is for Chen to get around 90 pitches and go at least five innings before rejoining the team's rotation. The Orioles' most consistent starter the past two seasons, Chen is 3-3 with a 3.04 ERA in eight games in 2013, including May 12's outing in Minnesota in which he exited early with the injury.