Orioles closer Zach Britton threw off a full mound Tuesday for the first time in his rehabilitation from surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon, a step that essentially starts the baseball part of his rehabilitation in earnest.
"He had the half-mound [Friday], he had the [pitcher fielding practice], so that was the next step," manager Buck Showalter said. "That went well today. That slope is a big step for guys with injuries. ... If you think in terms of spring training, it's like the first day of spring training today.