Concerns Mount After Orioles Announce Latest Injury Concern

Another injury concern may have found the Orioles, as Zach Eflin's six-inning quality start against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday was cut short due to shoulder fatigue, despite the veteran only dealing 73 pitches. 

Eflin has been the Orioles' best starter - becoming the first Oriole since Dylan Bundy in 2018 to begin his season with three consecutive quality starts.

It was an efficient outing, and Eflin pointed out his ability to get contact early in counts as the reason for his quick work. On Monday, 16 of the 23 batters he faced saw three pitches or fewer. 

The 31-year-old right-hander gave some thoughts on what he felt in his shoulder while speaking to reporters in his postgame press conference.

“Just fatigue. I think it was precautionary. Evaluate tomorrow and see how I feel after sleeping tonight,” Eflin said. “Currently, I’m pretty optimistic, but we’ll see how it feels tomorrow.”

The news came the same day as the Orioles' announcement that swingman Albert Suarez has a Grade 2 right subscapularis strain which will force him to miss several months. Suarez joined Grayson Rodriguez, Kyle Bradish, Tyler Wells, Trevor Rogers and Chayce McDermott in the pile-up of injured Orioles pitchers.

Eflin's comments leave room for optimism, but on a team so beleaguered by injury, the Orioles organization will only exhale when his testing clears him of injury. 

“We'll hopefully keep our fingers crossed that everything's OK there, because he was absolutely cruising,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “We’re hoping for the best tomorrow.”