BALTIMORE -- Orioles starter Mike Wright made his first appearance out of the bullpen this season on Wednesday night, tossing a scoreless ninth inning, but the right-hander remains in the rotation and on track for Saturday's start.
"He had four days' rest, it was his day to throw. He hadn't had a work day yet, and you get a lot more benefit from doing it in the game and getting the ball in his hand in that situation," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said of the reasoning behind the decision in his team's 7-0 loss to the Yankees.
"[The outing] should eliminate any [rust] of being on the mound or pitching in a competitive situation before he starts on Saturday," said Showalter. "He's had two days off after throwing 12, 13 pitches. We thought it was a perfect opportunity to get him in there. Plus, he can get people out. Which he did."
Wright pitched around a leadoff single from Mark Teixeira, getting a double-play ball, to face the minimum in the inning. He is coming off a quality start against the White Sox and has had two quality starts in his last three games.
Wright is 1-2 with a 5.40 ERA as a starter.