Orioles place closer Zach Britton on DL with forearm soreness

— -- The Baltimore Orioles placed star closer Zach Britton on the 10-day disabled list with left forearm soreness, manager Buck Showalter announced Sunday.

Showalter told reporters that Britton started to feel pain in his forearm after throwing a curveball on Friday, the same day he converted his 54th consecutive save opportunity. Britton's streak is tied for the second-longest in Major League Baseball history. Tom Gordon also saved 54 straight games. Former Dodgers closer Eric Gagne holds the MLB record with 84 consecutive converted saves.

The Orioles officially described Britton's injury as a left forearm strain when they announced the move. Right-hander Stefan Crichton was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk.?

Showalter said it's too soon to tell if Britton will be ready to return at the end of his 10-day stay on the disabled list on April 26.

"It's too soon to know, but we're confident it shouldn't be long term," Showalter told reporters.

Showalter said he planned to use setup man Brad Brach on Saturday if the Orioles would have had a save opportunity, but he will fill Britton's closer role on a situational basis. Mychal Givens and Darren O'Day also are options to close games.

"We have good options and we'll kind of play it accordingly," Showalter told reporters.

Britton, 29, leads the American League with five saves this season. The left-hander has a 1.29 ERA in seven innings pitched.