Zach Britton on his simulated game today

CHICAGO - It won't be much longer now for Orioles closer Zach Britton. He is scheduled to pitch in a game for Triple-A Norfolk and begin a rehab assignment on May 30 with the Tides. That is the last stop on a long road that is leading him back to beginning his season with the Orioles.

The right Achilles surgery of December is much further in his rear-view mirror now, and today he threw a one-inning simulated game, here at Gauranteed Rate Field. He threw 20 pitches and has a two-inning game scheduled Saturday before he heads for Norfolk.

"It was good," Britton said after today's sim game. "Just one inning and felt good. Every time I get on the mound, I'm feeling a little bit better. Kind of like you would in spring. Every time you get on the mound you feel a little bit sharper. And that is where I'm at right now."

He is well past any further concerns about his rehab or any mental hurdles he had to clear. Or any hesitation over the injury.

"Yeah, I think the last month or so I stopped thinking about it and now I feel normal. And just worried about pitching. That was nice to go from worried about the injury, to just worried about pitching. Just getting out there and competing and you can only do so many sim games against your own guys. You get to the point where you need to face a different team in a game situation and that is where I'm at now."

Britton hasn't pitched in a game since Sept. 18 for the Orioles and now he looks forward to beginning that minor league rehab assignment.

"It's been a long time coming," he said. "I'm at the stage where you can only throw so much against your own guys. And you can get a better read too of where you are at from a pitching standpoint. Get some adrenaline going and that is what I'm looking forward to the most."

What Britton doesn't know quite yet is how many minor league games he'll need before he can pitch for the Orioles. A reliever typically during spring training may only throw between 5-10 innings.

"No, we have some stuff written down but we kind of have to see how it goes. We don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves, but hopefully not too long of a rehab. But you never know until you get out there. You might feel great right off the get-go or need a few outings to get into a rhythm. Hard to say right now," he said.