Baltimore Orioles Get Mixed Results From Pitcher's Rehab Start
The Baltimore Orioles were happy to see one of their star pitchers inch closer to his return, but didn't have a whole lot of confidence to gather from the recent performance.
So far, Major League Baseball still hasn't seen what the Baltimore Orioles are truly capable of doing when their roster is fully healthy and available.
They're down three of their expected starting pitchers and are having some bullpen issues because of this.
Still, the Orioles sit with a 14-7 record entering Monday and are on pace to win 108 games, which would be tied for second-most they've ever won in a season.
Getting their young star Kyle Bradish back at the top of their rotation would go a long way in helping that.
The 27-year-old has been on the injured list since spring training with a concerning UCL sprain in his throwing elbow. Because those types of injuries are normally a precursor to the dreaded Tommy John surgery, Balimtore has been very careful with his rehab.
Bradish made his first start of the season on April 16 at the Double-A level. He looked very solid, throwing three scoreless innings while allowing only one hit.
His second start came at Triple-A on Sunday.
This was immediately a positive sign because he clearly felt good enough to throw twice in a five-day window compared to waiting until April 23.
But his results left a bit more to be desired as he gave up four earned runs on six hits in 3 1/3 innings of work.
It will be interesting to see what comes out of this appearance.
Bradish was initially expected to return at some point in May, and potentially early in the month, but the Orioles want to make sure he's ready to come back and pitch at the Major League level without risking more injury.
There's a good chance he'll get more rehab starts than expected before making his return to Baltimore, but as long as he's ready, and has a reduced chance of damaging his UCL, then the organization will be more than comfortable waiting for that point before activating him.
