Orioles closer Zach Britton hadn’t pitched in a competitive game in nearly seven weeks, so when he was warming up in Ripken Stadium’s home bullpen Tuesday night preparing for his first minor league rehabilitation outing with the Short-A Aberdeen IronBirds, he caught himself getting some pregame jitters.
He turned to his former Orioles teammate Mark Hendrickson, now the pitching coach at Aberdeen.
“I was telling him, ‘I’m kind of surprised that I’m kind of nervous to get back out there and compete,’ ” Britton said. “The last time I pitched was over a month ago in Boston.