Phillips undergoes MRI on elbow (O's and Twins tie 3-3)

SARASOTA, Fla. - Orioles reliever Evan Phillips underwent an MRI on his sore right elbow this week and was sent out today for a second opinion.

Phillips struggled in his debut against the Rays on Feb. 23 with three runs and two walks in two-thirds of an inning. He registered a scoreless inning against the Braves three days later with a walk and strikeout.

"We gave him an MRI. It showed OK. Mild," said manager Brandon Hyde.

"He's seeing a second opinion and it's going on today. That's why you haven't seen him out there this last handful of days."

Hyde said Phillips has been dealing with the soreness for about a week.

"He came in after and was a little sore," Hyde said. "We got him checked out, had an MRI done. It came back as nothing serious and he's just getting a second opinion.

"He would miss, not significant time but some time, because of just letting the elbow calm down, but we're getting a second opinion on it today."

Phillips appeared in 25 games last season and posted a 6.43 ERA and 1.857 WHIP in 28 innings. He allowed one run in September with 11 strikeouts in 8 2/3 innings.

Hyde labeled shortstop José Iglesias (quad) and infielder Ramón Urias (shin splints) as day-to-day.

Left-hander Tommy Milone is scheduled for a "possible side tomorrow," according to Hyde. Not a simulated game.

"He's still got a little bit of a kink in that trap, so we're a little bit unsure of his game schedule," Hyde said. "We want him to throw a side hopefully in the next couple of days and then we'll figure it out from there."

Brandon Bailey will work out of the bullpen Friday night against the Yankees in Tampa rather than make today's start against the Twins in Sarasota.

"We just pushed him back a day," Hyde said. "There was nothing significant."

John Means and Alex Cobb will stay back in Sarasota on Friday and pitch simulated games while Thomas Eshelman starts against the Yankees.

Reliever Cody Carroll has been off the last two days and likely will pitch Friday night in Tampa while attempting to run his scoreless streak to five straight appearances.

Carroll has allowed two hits, walked one batter and struck out three over four innings. He blanked the Nationals Tuesday in West Palm.

"Everything's been going real well," he said. "Feel good, body feels good, so it's been good."

The body broke down last year after Carroll notched his third exhibition save and was optioned. He underwent disc surgery on his lower back and didn't pitch until making two August appearances in the Gulf Coast League and joining the Surprise Saguaros in the Arizona Fall League.

The slate is wiped clean. The injury and inactivity aren't working against Carroll in his bid to make the 26-man roster for opening day. Hyde confirmed that the right-hander, obtained from the Yankees in the 2018 Zack Britton trade, is in the mix.

"I came in ready to go just as I would regardless of what happened last year," Carroll said.

"I would hope so."

Carroll said he was more careful with his body over the winter. Took a few more precautions. Back surgery will do that to a person.

"But other than that," he said, "everything was completely normal."

Results don't matter for some pitchers in camp who use the six weeks to get ready for the season. Carroll doesn't have that luxury.

He must do exactly what's transpired in Florida.

"My goal was to come in here and show that I'm ready to go and ready to pitch in big leagues as soon as I got here," he said, "and I think I've done that so far."

"I just love the way that, so far he's really thrown strikes," Hyde said. "He's got a mid-90s fastball, really like his secondary stuff. I like the presence on the mound. Big, tall guy with a high slot. He's got a ton of ride with his fastball and he's pounding the zone so far, so he's carried over his quality performances."

Update: The Orioles scored twice in the ninth inning and stranded two runners in a 3-3 tie with the Twins.

T.J. Nichting had an RBI single and Austin Wynns tied the game with no outs on an infield hit.

Adley Rutschman collected his first spring hit with a single in the ninth.

Cedric Mullins had a sensational diving catch earlier in the game, racing to left-center field and going airborne. Fully extended and held onto the ball after a hard landing.

Keegan Akin allowed one run and three hits with a walk and two strikeouts in 2 2/3 innings. Nelson Cruz homered off him.

Hunter Harvey and Tanner Scott each logged a scoreless inning. Dean Kremer tossed two scoreless innings and threw the equivalent of two more innings in the bullpen.

Alex Kiriloff hit a solo home run off Cole Sulser in the ninth before the Orioles rallied.

Hyde on Akin: "I thought Keegan Akin threw the ball well. I thought he got better as the game went on. I thought the velo was up early, which was fantastic to see. Had a really nice fastball going and the offspeed stuff got better as the game went on for him. Just made a two-strike mistake to Nelson Cruz, but besides that threw the ball great."

Hyde on Akin's improved offspeed stuff: "I think he shows flashes of it. I thought there were some flashes of some good changeups. Threw a handful of good ones. Thought the breaking ball was good at times. A little bit inconsistent. Tough to go through American League lineups if you can't land it in there and get them to chase when you want, so I think there's still improvement to be made, but I was impressed by the performance. He really made one mistake."

Hyde on whether he's seen a better spring catch than Mullins': "That was a great catch. I don't know. I'd have to really think about it, but that was an incredible catch. The ball was practically behind him when he made the catch. He can go get it in center field."

Hyde on Mullins this spring: "His all-around game for me is better. I like the work that he's put in with his swing from both sides of the plate. I thought he was a good defender last year. I think he's even improved on that this year. He's taking control in the outfield more. I feel like he's more aggressive on the bases. He's making improvements in every part of his game."

Hyde on Rutschman getting his first hit: "He was due. I thought he was going to hit one in the palm trees. No, it was nice to see. I'm sure it felt good to get his first spring training hit."