Notes on Lowther, the Harveys, Hays and Mullins

Pitching prospect Zac Lowther is going to be used tonight following starter Matt Harvey. Could be right away, could be later in the game. But he's getting the ball for the third time in the majors.

The Orioles recalled Lowther this afternoon from Triple-A Norfolk, which was in Durham.

"I'm not exactly sure when I'm going to use him. I'm going to kind of see how the game is playing out," manager Brandon Hyde said in his Zoom call with the media.

"Harvey's excited about kind of opening for us, just because he's not going to pitch for a little while after, so he's on short rest, but he's hopefully going to give us a couple innings and we'll see how the game goes, where the score is, etc., from that point. Got a few guys down tonight because of last night, but should have most of the guys available and we'll kind of mix and match our way through this one."

Harvey won't start again until next week due to off-days on Thursday, Monday and June 10.

Keegan Akin pitches Friday versus the Indians at Camden Yards, followed by John Means and Jorge López.

"We want to get guys rest as much as possible. We're going to be really creative in how we get guys rest with these three off days within eight days or whatever it is-day," Hyde said.

"So Matt's probably not going to make another start until early-to-mid next week, and that was kind of why we started talking about starting him on short rest, because he's going to have a break and just use him kind of as an opener."

Reliever Hunter Harvey made his fourth rehab appearance last night with the Tides and worked 1 2/3 scoreless innings. He allowed two hits, walked none, struck out two and threw a wild pitch.

Harvey is nearing a return from the 60-day injured list. His oblique has healed and the velocity on his fastball has returned.

"Sometime this weekend, Friday to Sunday," Hyde said.

Outfielder Austin Hays is beginning his running progressions as he works his way back from a strained left hamstring, his second stint on the injured list this season.

"We are hoping for a rehab assignment for Norfolk early next week," Hyde said, "and if all goes well, joining us later in the week next week."

Hyde endorsed Cedric Mullins for a Gold Glove last summer. Mullins has earned more praise for his play in 2021, including last night's sensational sliding catch on the warning track to rob Nelson Cruz and prevent a run.

To say it was highlight-worthy would be underselling it.

Mullins sprinted into right-center field to make a play that Hyde described as the best he's seen by an outfielder in three seasons at Camden Yards.

Has Mullins actually gotten better in center field? Baseball-Reference.com assigns a 0.4 dWAR ranking to Mullins that's the highest of his career, compared to minus-0.4 in 2018 and 0.1 last season.

"I didn't know if he could get better," Hyde said. "For me, he was flawless defensively last year. He's playing the same way this year.

"That play last night, after rewatching it, that's a special play, just to go that far. But not only the distance that he went, it's the angle, the wall, the warning track, the athleticism in the slide to be able to stay safe and make the catch. You don't see that all the time. Cedric is playing Gold Glove defense once again this year and really proud how he's playing center field for us.

"You can see the leadership. The leadership qualities are just so much different now than it was a couple years ago, what he's like out in the outfield. He commands our defense in the middle of the field and it's been fun to watch him develop and grow."

There are several attributes that allow Mullins to make plays that extend well beyond the routine.

"He's got big-time speed, but big-time speed doesn't make you a good outfielder," Hyde said. "He's got really good instincts with reads off the bat. He works every day on it, so even though he's playing this level of defense, he goes out, takes live reads off the bat, he throws to bases almost every day, he has his ground ball routine out in the outfield and he does live reads every single day to continue to improve.

"I have to back him off. A lot of times I tell him to go inside. 'You need to go inside and get off your feet,' just because he's a worker. So I think he's got really good instincts when it comes to angles, reading the ball off the bat. You see him a lot of times, ball's hit and he kind of drop steps and just reads the ball for a split second and then he's off, and he never commits too soon. He's got that feel of always knowing where the ball is going to end up, and he's got no fear of the wall.

"What else can I say about him? He's an accurate thrower, his throwing has improved. He understands to keep the ball down, he keeps the double play in order all the time now. He communicates well with both corner outfielders. It's something that we talked about a lot two years ago, something to improve that, and he's done that. So he's just playing great."