BALTIMORE -- To be competitive in the modern game, starting pitching depth is paramount for any team. But it’s arguably even more important for a team like the Angels, whose top starter also happens to hit 456-foot home runs and pitch every sixth day instead of every fifth.

So while many teams will banter around the idea of a six-man rotation every year, for the Halos, it’s simply a fact of life.

You may argue that Los Angeles would need less depth, because if Ohtani were sidelined for any reason, the club could easily flip back to a five-man rotation with the pitchers already there. That’s true. But if any non-Ohtani starter is sidelined, the Angels still need depth to fill that spot and keep everyone on turn -- they’d effectively need a seventh starter, whereas the depth for most teams begins with their sixth.

It's a notable challenge whenever the team begins tapping into that depth, and those decisions affect its staff as a whole.

The Halos did so for the first time this season on Tuesday night, tabbing Chase Silseth to start vs. the Orioles at Camden Yards. The 22-year-old righty struck out five batters in the 7-3 defeat, but he took the loss after allowing four runs on six hits in 3 1/3 innings in place of José Suarez, who hit the 15-day injured list on May 8 due to a strained left shoulder.

The Angels got another leadoff homer from Mickey Moniak, as well as RBI hits from Zach Neto and Brandon Drury in the loss, but they went silent against Baltimore’s vaunted bullpen after the home team pulled away in the middle innings against Tucker Davidson and Andrew Wantz. Davidson, who was also a candidate to shift to the rotation, exited after being struck on the left foot in the sixth by a Ryan McKenna comebacker, but he was cleared by the team’s medical staff after the game.

Silseth’s efforts, meanwhile, weren’t lost on his manager.

“I thought he threw the ball well there for the first three, just had a little bad luck,” manager Phil Nevin said. “I’m trying to get as many outs as I can. It’s hard, because when you go to the 'pen that early, you don’t want to hamstring yourself down the line.”

The irony being that by starting Silseth, Nevin didn’t have the luxury of calling on someone who recently seemed to be emerging as a potential key reliever: Silseth.

Drafted and developed as a starter, the young pitcher struggled in a seven-start debut in the big leagues last season, but he was excellent in his first four starts at Triple-A Salt Lake this April. Those results carried over into four impressive relief outings in recent weeks for the Angels, before they shifted him to the rotation in Suarez’s place. Tuesday marked Silseth’s first start since April 19 -- nearly a month.

“You’ve just got to take it head on,” Silseth said of the role changes. “For some people, routine is everything. For some people, it’s not. I just need to take it on, take on anything they throw at me. It’s good to learn from this experience now rather than [in] the future. Experience is all I’m trying to gain, and I’m glad it’s now rather than later.”

Asked if he thinks he’ll benefit from a more structured routine next time out, Silseth didn’t dwell on it.

“I guess time will tell,” Silseth said. “All I got is to focus on what I got to do tomorrow, and then the next day and then the next day after that. Then, whatever they decide, and whenever the next time to pitch is, it’ll happen on that day down the road. That’s not my focus right now. My focus is tomorrow.”

Suarez’s shoulder issue could keep the left-hander sidelined through June, meaning Silseth could get an extended opportunity in the rotation. Nevin all but confirmed Silseth would get another start the next time through.

“It’s one start,” Nevin said. “He was a little out of rhythm. He’ll be in rhythm for his next one. That’s something we’ll discuss, but probably the way we’ll go.”