Two days after Keegan Akin unraveled in the 10th inning of an Orioles loss, the club placed the left-handed reliever on the 15-day injured list Friday with lower back discomfort.

Akin has spent most of the 2023 season in Baltimore’s bullpen, but Wednesday’s outing, in which he allowed three hits and four runs while recording just two outs against the Cincinnati Reds, was the latest in a four-game stretch that ballooned his ERA from 3.66 to 6.85. The move is retroactive to Thursday.

To replace Akin, the Orioles recalled left-hander Nick Vespi from Triple-A ahead of their series opener against the Minnesota Twins on Friday. This is the third time Vespi has been called up, but in the first two instances in mid-May and early June, he didn’t pitch before being optioned back down.

Vespi, 27, pitched 26 1/3 innings out of Baltimore’s bullpen in 2022 with a 4.10 ERA and a 1.405 WHIP. Over the past two seasons, however, he’s dominated Triple-A hitters. After pitching 28 2/3 innings without allowing an earned run last year, Vespi has posted a 1.71 ERA and a 0.987 WHIP in 26 1/3 innings this season.

Consistency from left-handed relievers has been a problem for the Orioles this year. Aside from Danny Coulombe, who has been one of the best lefty relievers in the majors this year, Cionel Pérez (4.76 ERA) and Akin (6.85 ERA) have largely been ineffective.

Last year, Akin, a second-round draft pick by the Orioles in 2016 and a converted starting pitcher, posted a 3.20 ERA and a 1.090 WHIP in 81 2/3 innings across 45 appearances. He struggled to open the season with a 5.91 ERA in his first 13 appearances, earning him a demotion to Triple-A on May 9. After about three weeks with Norfolk, Akin returned and pitched the best he had since last season, allowing just one run and striking out 11 in his next nine innings. On June 11, he struck out six of the nine batters he faced in the Orioles’ 11-3 win over the Kansas City Royals.

However, Akin allowed multiple runs in three of his next four outings, all Orioles losses. He gave up two runs in 1 2/3 innings June 21 against the Tampa Bay Rays, seven runs (six earned) in 2/3 of an inning June 23 against the Seattle Mariners and four runs (two earned) Wednesday. He’s surrendered 12 hits and 13 runs (10 earned) over his past four innings.

()