Gausman on call if rain forces twin bill in Detroit

BALTIMORE -- The season is less than a week old and Orioles manager Buck Showalter is debating whether to use MLB's 26th man rule. Mother Nature makes the debate a necessary one.

Baltimore heads to Detroit for a three-game series starting Friday. Showalter said the forecast calls for non-stop rain entering Friday's 1:08 p.m. ET first pitch with intermittent showers from there.

That could lead to a Saturday doubleheader, which means the ability to use the extra player. In this case, Showalter is thinking about right-hander Kevin Gausman, who is ranked the Orioles' No. 2 prospect.

Gausman was slated to start for Triple-A Norfolk Thursday night in Charlotte, but the right-hander was scratched from the assignment.

"You can only bring them in for that one game and then they have to go right back out," Showalter said of the 26th-man rule before Thursday's matchup with the Red Sox. "We're talking about shutting Kevin down tonight and keeping all available. I haven't done it yet, [but] we're talking about."

Gausman, 23, went 3-5 with a 5.66 ERA in 20 games including five starts for the Orioles last season.