NEW YORK -- The Orioles' starting rotation took another hit on Tuesday when right-hander Zach Eflin was placed on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to Saturday) with right shoulder inflammation.

But the Orioles are hopeful that Eflin's injury is a short-term issue and that the 30-year-old right-hander -- who has been great for Baltimore since he was acquired from the Rays on July 26, just before the Trade Deadline -- will be back for the bulk of the playoff push.

"We're optimistic that he's going to be able to not miss much time after the IL, if any," manager Brandon Hyde said Tuesday. "But it's a big loss. He's pitched great for us. And hopefully, we'll have him in September."

Eflin, who was scheduled to start Wednesday's series finale against the Mets at Citi Field, experienced soreness in his pitching shoulder following his outing against the Red Sox on Thursday.

Until Tuesday afternoon, the Orioles were still hopeful Eflin would be able to make his start in New York. But after he tested his shoulder by throwing pregame at Citi Field, the team decided to take a more cautious approach. Baltimore doesn’t expect Eflin to need any additional imaging on his shoulder, but it needs to wait for his inflammation to go down.

"It had been getting better the last few days, and so we were kind of hopeful, but also a little bit concerned about [whether he could] make the start tomorrow," Hyde said. "We just feel like the best thing, the right thing to do right now is to give him a little bit of extra time with his shoulder."

The Orioles have managed to keep pace with the Yankees in the American League East race, but a rotation that would be one of baseball's strongest at full health has been decimated by injuries.

Even before Eflin went down, Baltimore was missing right-hander Grayson Rodriguez (right lat/teres strain) for extended time, and righties Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells and lefty John Means are all out for the season due to elbow surgery.

"We've had our share. There's no doubt," Hyde said. "You hate to lose pitching right now, and Zach's been everything we've asked and more since we got him at the Trade Deadline. I know he's really disappointed also. He was hoping to make that start tomorrow. But we feel like if we just give him a little bit of time off, he'll be back out there for us."

Eflin's shoulder flareup is especially frustrating because he had fortified the rotation so well in a time of need. Eflin won each of his first four starts with the Orioles, all quality starts, while pitching to a 2.13 ERA.

To help fill Eflin's spot in the rotation for the time being, the Orioles recalled left-hander Cade Povich, the team's top pitching prospect, from Triple-A Norfolk.

But Povich will not be able to take Eflin's upcoming turn because he just pitched for Baltimore on Saturday. Hyde said pushing up ace Corbin Burnes by a day is also not an option, but other than that, "everything's in play," including a bullpen game.

Without Eflin, the Orioles' rotation stands as Burnes, Dean Kremer, Albert Suárez, Trevor Rogers -- who had another shaky outing in Monday's series-opening loss to the Mets -- and Povich, who has been up and down as a rookie.

Povich’s last start with the big league club was encouraging, at least. The 24-year-old, who was sent to the Minors at the end of July after allowing 17 runs (14 earned) and issuing 13 walks in 10 2/3 innings in a span of three starts, returned to strike out six and allow just two runs on six hits and no walks over 6 1/3 innings against the Red Sox in Saturday’s loss.

"The command was so much better, and the aggressiveness in the strike zone with all his pitches," Hyde said. "You didn't see the misses wide of the strike zone, and he was really, really aggressive in attacking guys. That was something I know that he, when we sent him down the last time, that he was going to really focus on, and he came up and did that. He was outstanding."

Povich, and the Orioles' other healthy arms, will have to step up at the most important time of the season.

"The games aren't going to stop and wait for guys," Hyde said. "We have to have guys step up. And other teams are having similar issues to what we're having also. Hopefully, we can get these guys back healthy in September -- a few of them at least -- and keep going."