TORONTO -- Orioles catcher Welington Castillo was scratched from the lineup just prior to Thursday night's 2-0 win in the rubber game against the Blue Jays with a left knee sprain, thrusting Caleb Joseph into a last-minute start.
O's manager Buck Showalter is optimistic that Castillo's injury is not serious, but said that his catcher will be evaluated by team doctors on Friday in Baltimore.
Castillo took pregame batting practice, but he slipped on the dugout stairs at Rogers Centre as he was going out to warm up starter Ubaldo Jimenez. Joseph made an immediate impact as he doubled in his first at-bat and later drove home an insurance run with an RBI single.
"I don't remember having as much fun," Joseph said, "because of the imagination, you see in your mind when a pitch is about to come, and it's actually coming to fruition. Every single time."
Joseph, who learned he was starting 20 minutes prior to the scheduled first pitch, was also tasked with catching Jimenez on short notice. The right-hander entered the game with a 7.26 ERA, but he turned in his best performance of the season, allowing just two hits over eight innings with eight strikeouts.
Injuries have forced Castillo to the 10-day disabled list twice already this season. After missing two weeks with right shoulder tendinitis earlier in the year, Castillo hit the DL again at the end of May with a groin injury.
In 44 games, Castillo is hitting .277 with eight home runs and an OPS of .760.