KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Former Western Michigan baseball All-American and current Baltimore Orioles left-hander Keegan Akin is scheduled to make his first Major League start on Monday, Aug.31.

Akin is scheduled for the Orioles to start on Monday against the Toronto Blue Jays with first pitch set for 2:07 p.m. inside Sahlen Field in Buffalo, New York. It will be the first career MLB start for Akin. The match-up is the Free Game of the Day and can be streamed on MLB.TV.

The left-hander was called up to the Orioles on August 8 and has made two relief appearances against the defending world series champion Washington Nationals and the Tampa Bay Rays. During his time in the minor leagues Akin registered 9.9 strikeouts per nine innings in 80 games.

On August 8 Akin became the 33^rd Western Michigan baseball player to make his major league debut and the first since Adam Rosales do so with the Cincinnati Reds back in 2008.

In 24 starts last season with Triple-A Norfolk, Akin posted a 4.73 ERA and 131 strikeouts in 112.1 innings. In Double-A with the Bowie Baysox, Akin was named the 2018 Eastern League Pitcher of the Year after recording a 14-7 record with a 3.27 ERA.

In his three years at Western Michigan, Akin posted a 17-13 record with a 3.07 ERA and ranks second in career strikeouts (270) and fourth in career innings (278.1). During the 2016 season Akin guided the Broncos to the programs first ever MAC Tournament title en route to MAC Tournament MVP honors.

During his junior campaign, Akin earned Baseball America Third Team All-American honors after going 7-4 on the mound with a staggering 1.82 ERA. Akin in 2016 set the single-season strikeout record with 133 while his 109.0 innings pitched was the second most in a season. Akin was taken in the second round (54^th overall) by the Orioles in the 2016 MLB Draft, the highest WMU draft pick since 1970.