Orioles Announce Zach Eflin Has Lower Back Strain

Coming off an electric Friday night game where the Baltimore Orioles overcame a 6-0 deficit in the second inning to win 22-8, they were hoping to keep that momentum going.

With Zach Eflin on the mound, their confidence had to be pretty high despite the right-hander having a tough showing in his previous two starts.

Unfortunately, the misfortune continued for Eflin and the Orioles, with the veteran getting shelled for four earned runs on five hits in the first inning.

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While that certainly wasn't the result anyone envisioned to start the game, it was still strange to see him not come back out for the second frame when reliever Scott Blewett was inserted into the contest.

As it turns out, the hook for Eflin was due to an injury.

According to Jake Rill of MLB.com, Baltimore has revealed that Eflin suffered a lower back strain, something he felt during his warmup prior to his start on Saturday before he tried to power through it and still pitch.

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That decision turned out to be the wrong one, and now interim manager Tony Mansolino says Eflin will get everything checked out which could result in imaging being done and even an injured list stint if things are severe enough.

Based on how this strain in his back is being presented, it sounds like it's a relatively new injury and didn't impact him during the other two starts this month that went off the rails.

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Either way, if Eflin has to miss time, that would be a huge blow to the Orioles.

This will be something to monitor in the coming days to see if he'll need time on the IL or not.

For more Orioles news, head over to Orioles On SI.