Buck not concerned about Dodgers' pitching change

BALTIMORE -- Interleague Play is tricky enough, considering the relative unfamiliarity with National League opponents compared to teams in the American League. Finding out three hours before game time that your foe, in this case the Los Angeles Dodgers, had to change starting pitchers added yet another alien element.

Rather than face Chad Billingsley, the Orioles drew righty Stephen Fife instead. The 26-year-old was called-up from Triple-A Albuquerque on Sunday, as the Dodgers placed Billingsley (right elbow soreness) on the 15-day disabled list.

"We found out about it at 10 o'clock this morning," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "It's kind of like the whole Interleague thing. You're scrambling, calling contacts, people that you know."

Recently, the Orioles have scrambled better than most in Interleague Play. Last season, they finished 11-7, matching the best mark in franchise history. The current series against the Dodgers is Baltimore's first against an NL team in 2013.

Showalter made no changes to his lineup, one that included designated hitter Nolan Reimold batting ninth. Reimold drove in three runs during Baltimore's 7-5 victory in Game 1 of Saturday doubleheader, before sitting out the nightcap, a 6-1 Orioles victory. With a win on Sunday, the Orioles would claim their first series sweep since last Sept. 28-30, against the Red Sox.

Fife was 1-1 with a 4.61 ERA for the Isotopes this season. In five starts for the Dodgers last year, he went 0-2 with a 2.70 ERA.

"He pitched well for them last year," said Showalter. "It's one of those curves you get thrown, [you] try to make the adjustment. It usually works in their favor, [but] we'll see."