Orioles’ Urías cleared to play; Bradish likely to start on Wednesday; Akin returns

WASHINGTON—Ramón Urías isn’t in the Orioles starting lineup against the Washington Nationals on Tuesday night, though he’s available to play. Urías was hit in the head by a pitch from Chicago’s Kendall Graveman on Saturday and was held out on Sunday because he was in concussion protocol.

“A lot of pain in my head, but it went away quickly. Thank God, nothing happened,” Urías said. “When I got hit, it was a little dizzy in my head, but it went out quickly.”

Urías was hoping there wouldn’t be any trepidation at the plate after being hit.

“We’ll see, depending on who’s on the mound,” he said, laughing.

Urías was cleared to play after some testing, he said.

“Depending on how I was feeling, doing some cardio, doing some running stuff,” he said. “I went to the field yesterday to do some stuff. Everything feels good, feels normal.”

Manager Brandon Hyde said he’s not hesitant to play Urías.

“He’s cleared everything,” he said. “It’s unbelievable from what that looked like and how that sounded. Such a scary moment. Passed all the tests, wants to be in there. He’s ready to go. I just want to make sure he feels good, and feels right. He says he does. I [won’t] hesitate to use him off the bench, in a pinch-hitting moment or for defense late.”

Bradish waiting: The Orioles have yet to name a starter for Wednesday night, and it’s expected that Kyle Bradish, who’s eligible to return from the 15-day injured list, will make the start. Bradish was hit by a line drive on April 3^rd and suffered a bruised right foot.

“We need a starter tomorrow. We’ll see what our options are after the game tonight,” Hyde said.

Hyde said he would not consider any of the Orioles’ current starters in the bullpen.

Cano stays, Watkins goes: Keegan Akin has returned from the paternity list, and Spenser Watkins was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk. Yennier Cano replaced Akin on the roster, and he stayed. Watkins, who replaced Cole Irvin, returns to the minors.

“Cano was outstanding in Chicago and [fills] a hole we have in our bullpen with a right-on-right tough matchup, and Cano filled that over the weekend in Chicago,” Hyde said. “I had no idea what to expect. After 1 2/3 [innings] one day and pitching against the middle of the order the next, it’s great to see that sinker getting the swing-and-miss that it did and bad contact.

“Watkins, we want to keep in a stretched-out role and with the day off yesterday and the day off tomorrow, we want to get him back in the rotation and make sure he’s a rotation candidate for us going forward.”

Mateo having fun: Shortstop Jorge Mateo and centerfielder Cedric Mullins are tied for the American League lead with eight stolen bases, and Mateo had a key steal on Sunday when he stole third in the eighth when the Orioles took the lead.

“From the moment I got on second base, I was already thinking of ways of how to try to steal third,” Mateo said through a translator. “It’s always my mindset, trying to get on base and finding out ways to steal the next base and, thankfully, it worked out that way on Sunday.”

Mateo has benefited from the new rules that encourage stolen bases — a limit of two pickoff attempts and bigger bases.

“With the bigger bases, it has been beneficial for me and for us so far, and with the pickoffs, it’s interesting to see how it will play out,” Mateo said.

It hasn’t changed Hyde’s way of managing, he said.

“We would have been aggressive like this regardless of the new rules just because of the team speed we have,” Hyde said.