Updating Orioles rotation and lineup, Mullins' return, Mountcastle's rehab, and more

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde has announced his starters for the next two games.

Kyle Bradish is closing out the series against the Mariners on Sunday, and left-hander Cole Irvin faces the Reds on Monday.

The alignment keeps Bradish on normal rest. Irvin started June 16 against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, allowing three solo home runs in the third, and tossed an inning in relief Wednesday afternoon against the Rays at Tropicana Field.

Hyde mentioned after the game that the Orioles would give Irvin a start “at some point in the next few days.”

Five days, to be exact.

Irvin made two relief appearances against the Reds as a rookie in 2019 and registered 2 1/3 scoreless innings.

George Kirby opposes Bradish on Sunday, and the Reds are starting left-hander Brandon Williamson on Monday.

Tyler Wells opposes left-hander Andrew Abbott Tuesday, and Kyle Gibson opposes right-hander Luke Weaver Wednesday.

Hyde wrote Cedric Mullins’ name in the lineup today for the first time since May 29 against the Guardians, when the center fielder strained a groin muscle while running to first base.

“It’s a good feeling,” Hyde said. “I know he’s excited to be back in there, and we’re excited he’s back. Missed him while he was gone, and happy to have him back.”

The Orioles didn’t present an exact timetable for Mullins’ return, but it seems faster than anticipated. He made it in less than a month.

“This was by far the best-case scenario,” Hyde said. “Give Cedric, our medical team, (head athletic trainer) Brian Ebel and his guys, the people down in Sarasota, credit for doing a great job with him and getting him back as quickly as they did.”

"I had a hamstring injury back in 2017, and I kind of had a flashback to that,” Mullins said. “But it didn’t feel as bad as back then, so I had an idea that it wasn’t going to be as long of a stint for me."

The Orioles won 11 of 20 games without Mullins.

“Obviously, there was a lot of concern when we lost Ced,” Hyde said. “Hopefully, we were going to respond the way that we did. We could have played better. There’s some games in there that we didn’t play our best baseball, but to lose one of your main players and to stay above .500 and to stay right in the thick of it, I think that was really important, and we did that.

“All good teams have depth, and we added some depth with (Aaron Hicks), so that was a huge part of us staying afloat with Ced gone.”

The original lineup had Hicks in right field, where he’s made 69 starts and 121 appearances in the majors, but none since 2017 with the Yankees. However, the new lineup posted a few minutes ago has Mullins serving as designated hitter, Hicks in center and Anthony Santander in right.

Rain is creating a soggy outfield that might have influenced the decision.

“(Hicks) hasn’t been there for a while,” Hyde said before the change was announced. “They’ve got a guy named (Aaron) Judge that plays over there in New York. But he’s played outfield his whole life. He’s going to be playing a little bit of all three spots, and he’s fully aware of that.”

Austin Hays is in left field again, giving the Orioles impressive range from line to line when Mullins is playing center and Hicks is in right.

“I feel really good with those three outfielders we have out there right now,” Hyde said. “We’re so much more athletic this year. This team is a really athletic team, and Hicksy has played really well for us defensively.

“Push him over to the corner, let Anthony (Santander) kind of rest a little bit, give him some DH days. I think that’s going to help us out.”

Ryan Mountcastle remains on an injury rehab assignment at Triple-A Norfolk. He went on the injured list with vertigo during a 4-for-30 slump and is hitless in 12 plate appearances with the Tides.

How Mountcastle approaches his at-bats wields some influence on his reinstatement, but his physical condition is the ultimate barometer.

“I think maybe a little bit of both,” Hyde said. “I’d like to see him get going offensively, too, but I think the most important thing is he feels good and that he responds the next day feeling well. And so far, so good the last few days, so that’s all positive.

“I think taking good at-bats - maybe not the result of the at-bat but taking good at-bats - is going to be important, and hopefully he does that here coming up.”

For the Mariners
J.P. Crawford SS
Julio Rodríguez CF
Ty France 1B
Teoscar Hernández RF
Jarred Kelenic LF
Eugenio Suárez 3B
Cal Raleigh C
Mike Ford DH
Kolten Wong 2B

Bryce Miller RHP