Aquino to start for Orioles Wednesday in place of Tillman

Milwaukee — Left-hander Jayson Aquino will start for the Orioles on Wednesday night against the Milwaukee Brewers in place of right-hander Chris Tillman, who remained in Baltimore for the pending birth of his first child.

"We looked at some of the options and felt like from talking to everybody, he was pitching the best of the starters," manager Buck Showalter said. "His body of work was a little better, and he's been up here."

"I'm thankful for the Orioles for this opportunity, and just getting ready for tomorrow," Aquino said through club interpreter Ramón Alarcón.

Tillman will be placed on the paternity list Wednesday, Showalter said, with Wednesday or Thursday being when "they should have some idea of what's going on there" in terms of the birth.

Aquino has made one major league start this season, allowing two earned runs in six innings in a win over the Boston Red Sox on April 22. He had two relief appearances the following week in New York and allowed three runs in each before being sent back to Norfolk to start.

That start was a "confidence booster," he said.

"I've always been very confident in my abilities, but definitely being able to do it previously and now getting another chance today, I feel a lot of confidence from it," Aquino said.

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He has a 4.66 ERA in 14 starts for the Tides.

Aquino was on the taxi squad Tuesday in anticipation of his activation Wednesday, and arrived from Triple-A Norfolk on the same day as right-hander Tyler Wilson.

Wilson was recalled, replacing right-hander Jimmy Yacabonis in a bullpen that should settle down with Wednesday's return of closer Zach Britton.

Yacabonis pitched 3 1/3 innings and allowed one run in relief of left-hander Wade Miley on Monday, and Showalter has frequently said they try to keep pitchers who pitch well, but the club needs potential bullpen innings behind right-hander Ubaldo Jiménez on Tuesday.

"We need some potential length in our pen," Showalter said. "I usually don't like to send a guy out who pitched pretty well like Yac did yesterday, but it's out of necessity. He presented himself well. I'm pleased with him. That would have been a tough one that early if he hadn't done a pretty good job for us. It's Tyler's day to pitch. You like to think you don't need it but you better be prepared."

Wilson said he's been feeling strong working in Norfolk's rotation of late. In all but one of his last five starts, he's pitched into the sixth inning and allowed three runs or fewer.

"I've felt good," he said. "I've felt really good lately, been getting deep into games and just trying to command the zone, attack guys, be efficient, keep our team in rhythm. Just trying to challenge contact and compete as best as I can. Physically I feel good, and I want to continue that."

Originally Published: Jul 04, 2017 at 1:51 pm