BALTIMORE -- It has been only two appearances, but manager Brandon Hyde is already happy with the relief work he has seen from Jorge López.

In Thursday's 13-1 win over the Angels, the righty reliever tossed two innings of shutout ball, walking one and fanning four in his second appearance out of the ‘pen. He tossed a scoreless inning on Aug. 22 against the Braves.

“Looked pretty good,” said Hyde. “Yeah, 96 to 98 [mph]. I really liked the curveball he threw yesterday. I like the aggressiveness, thought his stuff was excellent. That's the best stuff I've seen this year.”

During López's relief appearance Thursday, his velocity was up from his 2021 average on every pitch, with his fastball touching more than 98 mph for the first time all season. His slider and curveball both looked like the quality pitches the Orioles know he can throw. However, that is the issue for the former starter.

López still owned a 6.19 ERA entering Friday. When you break it down by inning, it becomes clear what has driven that number up.

In the first three innings of a game, the right-hander's ERA is 5.50. In the fifth inning alone, batters are hitting .465 against him, and his ERA is 14.79. He breaks down as the game goes on, leading to the decision to send him to the bullpen.

Hyde hasn’t decided what role López will play down the stretch. He might ask him to pick up a few bulk relief appearances.

“I'm just kind of seeing what it looks like,” said Hyde. “[Is he going to] start again? I'm not really sure at this point. I think we're just looking to see what he looks like right now. And he's looked really good his last two appearances.”

Down on the farm
High-A Aberdeen
• Mets All-Star right-hander Noah Syndergaard faced Aberdeen on Thursday in a rehab start for the Brooklyn Cyclones, tossing one inning. Lamar Sparks -- the Orioles' fifth-round pick of the 2017 Draft -- took the pitcher deep, boosting the team to a 12-5 win.

• Hudson Haskin, the Orioles' No. 16 prospect per MLB Pipeline, fractured his thumb and will sit out the remainder of the season. The outfielder spent time at both Low-A and High-A, slashing .274/.379/.404.

Double-A Bowie
• Orioles No. 22 prospect Zac Lowther continued his rehab assignment with the Baysox on Thursday, tossing four innings and allowing two unearned runs in his first start at Double-A. The left-hander has been sidelined since late July with a left shoulder strain. Once activated from the injured list, Lowther likely will return to Triple-A Norfolk.

Triple-A Norfolk
• The Tide lost 4-3 on Thursday after a late-inning rally by the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, the Marlins' affiliate. Adley Rutschman, baseball's No. 1 prospect, went 1-for-3 with a double. Ryan McKenna reached base three times with a single and two walks and stole a base.

• Richie Martin, claimed off waivers from the A’s in 2018, blasted his first home run at the Triple-A level on Thursday and had two RBIs.