Orioles rotation unsettled after Akin

The Orioles rotation is undergoing more changes with John Means on the injured list and another off-day approaching on Thursday.

Rookie left-hander Keegan Akin is starting Friday night against the Rays at Tropicana Field. The Orioles are listing the next two starters as TBA.

Jorge López could get the ball Saturday afternoon on an extra day of rest, followed by rookie left-hander Bruce Zimmermann on his normal turn. However, the Orioles could decide to plug in a fifth starter earlier than needed via the schedule.

Dean Kremer worked 4 2/3 innings last night with Triple-A Norfolk and was charged with three runs, but two scored after Cody Carroll replaced him. He allowed one hit, walked three batters and struck out seven.

Maybe his reset is nearing an end.

Maybe the Orioles give the ball to someone in the bullpen, with Rule 5 pick Tyler Wells an intriguing possibility after tossing six scoreless innings with one hit allowed this month.

Maybe Matt Harvey returns on short rest again as an opener on Sunday, though it seems less likely with no off-day on Monday.

Or they just stick to a four-man setup, though if that were the case, we might not have TBA listings.

Read as much or as little into it as you like. Just do so with caution.

The Rays aren't listing any of their starters.

Rule 5 pick Mac Sceroler is healthy and available in the bullpen. He doesn't appear to be a consideration to start, with manager Brandon Hyde wanting to keep him in long relief.

Sceroler hasn't pitched since April 11. He went on the 10-day injured list with tendinitis in his right shoulder and had to go through the process of a cortisone injection, shutdown period, facing live hitters in Sarasota, Fla. and going on a rehab assignment with Norfolk, where he made two starts.

"It kind of started bothering me toward the end of camp at spring (training), but I didn't say anything. I just kind of thought that it was just general soreness that would kind of work its way out," he said today in his Zoom call.

"But as I kept throwing each day, and as time went on, it just kept getting worse, to the point where it was just doing me no good to keep throwing. And the whole rehab process, that was really my first arm problem that I've had in my whole career, so I didn't really know what all goes into it, but being that it was a shoulder injury, that does kind of take some time to rehab, because you want to be careful with that, so I was just taking it day by day and trying to get healthy."

Sceroler's uncle, former Orioles pitcher Ben McDonald, was a convenient source for information on how to proceed through an injury and remain patient.

"Being a competitor, you just want to get out there as soon as you can, regardless if you're 100 percent healthy or you're not, but I just had to learn that this is going to be a long process," Sceroler said. "Like I said earlier, it's a shoulder injury, so you can't rush that. The biggest thing was just understanding that everything happens for a reason and I've just got to take it day-by-day and get stronger, get my shoulder healthy and eventually get back here and help the team."

Sceroler is making the jump from high Single-A ball to the majors. He hadn't pitched in Triple-A until his two starts with the Tides.

"It was cool, it was a different experience," he said. "I think just coming off the rehab, I think I just have to keep throwing and kind of get back in the swing of things, find my mechanics, get into a good routine, start feeling good. It was kind of a struggle for me there a little bit, just coming off a rehab, but I'm feeling good now and ready to just get back to work and find a routine here."

The Orioles will try to stay on their offensive roll after tallying 28 runs and 37 hits in their last two games.

"I just think our at-bats are so much more competitive," Hyde said on his Zoom call, the rain preventing on-field media access.

"I think our guys up and down the order are doing a nice job from a pitch selection standpoint. We're not chasing as much out of the zone, we're situational hitting fairly well right now, driving guys in from third. I just think our at-bats have really improved this last five or six days. And it's not just by a couple guys, it's all the way down the order.

"When you have multiple guys taking really good at-bats, you can feed off each other. And before for me we had a couple guys at the top that were really producing all our runs, the top half of our lineup, and now the last five days we've had numerous guys take really good at-bats and that's allowed other people to. It just falls in line when that happens."

For the Mets
Jonathan Villar 3B
Francisco Lindor SS
Pete Alonso 1B
Dominic Smith DH
James McCann C
Billy McKinney RF
Kevin Pillar LF
Mason Williams CF
José Peraza 2B

Taijuan Walker RHP