masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgThe Orioles confirmed again yesterday how their starters will line up heading into the All-Star break. The rainout didn’t force an adjustment beyond denying Dillon Tate his first major league assignment as an opener.
Jorge López, Thomas Eshelman and Spenser Watkins are going to oppose the White Sox in the weekend series that begins tonight at Camden Yards, followed by four days without games.
Four days to pretty much make anything possible.
There are only a few certainties to begin the…

The Orioles confirmed again yesterday how their starters will line up heading into the All-Star break. The rainout didn’t force an adjustment beyond denying Dillon Tate his first major league assignment as an opener.

Jorge López, Thomas Eshelman and Spenser Watkins are going to oppose the White Sox in the weekend series that begins tonight at Camden Yards, followed by four days without games.

Four days to pretty much make anything possible.

There are only a few certainties to begin the second half, or so it seems from what has been said publicly.

Matt Harvey is staying in the rotation, and for now he’s the No. 1 starter by alignment and default.

Manager Brandon Hyde stood by the veteran again Wednesday night in separate postgame Zoom calls, talking about Harvey getting time off to “recharge” and “rest” and fulfill the need for “a breather.”

In order to make his next start. Nothing else was implied.

Hyde just needs to decide which game, with the Orioles traveling to Kansas City and St. Petersburg, Fla.

John Means is making two more starts on his injury rehab assignment, including tonight at Double-A Bowie, before his reinstatement from the injured list. Hyde said Means will start “the fourth or fifth game after the break,” which puts the left-hander inside Tropicana Field, where he made his last relief appearance in the 10th inning of an April 18, 2019 game before going back into the rotation for good.

Means-Throws-Gray-SEA-Sidebar.jpgWho leaves in order to make room for Means?

No one has a job in a hammerlock.

Keegan Akin was supposed to work in bulk relief last night because the Blue Jays lean heavy to the right side and Hyde wanted to limit the rookie’s exposure to the lineup beyond maybe one time through it.

Hyde wanted to “shorten the game” for Akin, which maybe suggests a role change unless this really was more about Toronto’s lineup. It certainly leaves room to wonder if Akin is guaranteed a long look in the rotation or could pitch out of the bullpen or back at Triple-A Norfolk with Dean Kremer.

López is out of minor league options and probably on firmer rotation ground, though everyone in the organization has envisioned him as a bulk reliever or late-inning power arm.

The overall numbers are detrimental to his starter health. López is 2-11 with a 6.02 ERA and 1.599 WHIP in 17 starts. He’s averaging 10.3 hits and 4.1 walks per nine innings. But completing the sixth inning in three of his last eight starts makes him a staff workhorse.

He hasn’t made it through the fifth in four of the last five, but nonetheless …

Eshelman hasn’t gone more than 4 2/3 innings in his four starts. He’s allowed 13 runs and 23 hits in 16 1/3 innings. He’s vulnerable, of course, with the Orioles certainly capable of putting him in the bullpen for long relief or declaring him as designated for assignment and hoping he clears waivers.

Watkins held the Blue Jays to one run in five innings in his first major league start and second appearance. Hyde stated the obvious immediately after the game. Watkins, the former 30th-round draft pick who signed as a minor league free agent, would get another start.

The promise was for one game. Hyde gladly will give out more of them if Watkins keeps making it through the early innings and limiting damage.

Zac Lowther is out of the running, with the Orioles giving him a couple of relief appearances and optioning him. It makes more sense to start him at Norfolk than sit him in the bullpen.

Hyde will be asked again about Tyler Wells. He’ll again mention the Tommy John surgery and lost seasons and the need to monitor innings and increase them carefully.

Bruce Zimmermann isn’t expected to be reinstated from the injured list until late July or early August. He was pushed back 10 days to two weeks in his recovery from left biceps tendinitis.

Zimmermann hasn’t completed the sixth inning since his first two starts of the season. But he made it through the fifth in his last four outings and lowered his ERA from 5.59 to 4.83 – which also qualifies as a workhorse in these surroundings.

The Orioles can figure out later how to make room for Zimmermann. They’re going to be busy arranging their five starters coming out of the break and subtracting one while welcoming back Means.