With Samuel Basallo being evaluated after leaving last night’s game with right abdominal discomfort, the Orioles selected the contract of catcher Sam Huff this afternoon and designated infielder/outfielder Weston Wilson for assignment.

The Orioles remain hopeful that Basallo can avoid the injured list. In the meantime, Huff gives them a third catcher.

Huff has appeared in three games with the Orioles and gone 2-for-9 with a double and RBI. He was on the catcher taxi squad.

In 26 games with Triple-A Norfolk, Huff was slashing .196/.275/.359 with three doubles and four home runs.

Wilson hit .231/.348/.333 in 19 games with the Orioles. He hadn’t been in the lineup since May 25, getting two at-bats off the bench.

The Orioles have slid over to the driver’s seat in their division. Buckle up.

No one is on more of a roll than the Orioles, winners of 10 games in the last 14 tries. They’ve moved within two games of .500 for the first time since May 1, when they held a 15-17 record, and are a half-game back for the last Wild Card.

Meanwhile, the first-place Rays are in a free fall and their parachute won’t open. They lost eight of their last 10 games before shutting out the Marlins last night. The Yankees are 1 ½ games behind them but won’t have Aaron Judge for perhaps the next two months due to a rib injury. The Blue Jays dropped to fourth place and the Red Sox, with a 10-21 home record, have been a mess since Day 1 and their third base coach waves home runners from shallow right field.

Adley Rutschman had four hits last night, came within a triple of the cycle and finished with five RBIs in a 13-3 win at Rogers Centre. He’s only the third catcher in Orioles history to reach base five times and have five RBIs, joining Matt Wieters in 2012 and Gus Triandos in 1957.

Rutschman also threw out another runner trying to steal and improved his percentage to 34.3.

As pointed out by STATS, Rutschman had a .190 average last season against breaking balls and a .196 average against offspeed pitches. He’s registered a .278 average this year versus breaking stuff and a .315 average versus offspeed.

Taylor Ward is the designated hitter today, with Blaze Alexander in left field. Coby Mayo is playing third base and batting fifth after homering last night into the second deck.

In 15 games since May 13, Mayo is batting .283 (15-for-53) with three doubles, four home runs, 10 RBIs, 11 runs scored and a .911 OPS.

Ward has a .388 on-base percentage against right-handers. The major league average is .319. He posted a .311 OBP against right-handers last season and a .310 OBP in 2024.

Colton Cowser is in right field. He’s batting .341 (15-for-44) with one double, four home runs, 13 RBIs, five walks and 10 runs in 8 games since May 17. During this stretch, he’s hitting .400 (10-for-25) with one double, two home runs and a 26.9 percent strikeout rate on breaking and off-speed pitches.

Kyle Bradish has lowered his ERA to 3.44. It’s 1.72 ERA in his last five starts, and he held Toronto to an unearned run in seven innings in his most recent outing.

Bradish has made four career starts at Rogers Centre and posted a 6.10 ERA and 1.548 WHIP in 20 2/3 innings. George Springer is 8-for-19 with five doubles and a home run.

Toronto is starting right-hander Braydon Fisher, with right-hander Spencer Miles expected to work in bulk relief. Fisher has made four starts among 84 career appearances over two seasons.

Fisher has a 2.62 ERA this year in 32 games (three starts) over 34 1/3 innings. He’s surrendered only three home runs. The Orioles saw him in back-to-back one-inning appearances at Camden Yards and he didn’t allow a run or hit.

Mayo has homered in his only career at-bat against Fisher.

Miles has made 16 appearances (two starts) in his rookie season and posted a 3.47 ERA and 1.156 WHIP in 36 1/3 innings. He’s also surrendered only three home runs.

Miles started against the Orioles in his last appearance and allowed six runs and five hits over three innings. Colton Cowser hit a three-run homer.

Daulton Varsho exited last night’s game with left wrist discomfort. X-rays were negative.

After posting the best OBP in the majors last year at .333), the Blue Jays ranked 25th this season at .311. They also have the second-lowest walk rate at 7.6 percent.

For the Orioles
Taylor Ward DH
Gunnar Henderson SS
Adley Rutschman C
Pete Alonso 1B
Coby Mayo 3B
Leody Taveras CF
Colton Cowser RF
Blaze Alexander LF
Jackson Holliday 2B

Kyle Bradish RHP

For the Blue Jays
George Springer DH
Nathan Lukes RF
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 1B
Jesús Sánchez LF
Ernie Clement 2B
Brandon Valenzuela C
Kazuma Okamoto 3B
Andrés Giménez SS
Myles Straw CF

Braydon Fisher RHP

Down on the farm, Triple-A Norfolk’s Christian Encarnacion-Strand hit his 13th home run last night and his sixth in the last 18 games.

Catcher Ethan Anderson hit his 10th  home run for Double-A Chesapeake, which lost to Akron 19-3. Luis De León allowed 10 runs and nine hits with four walks in 2 1/3 innings and has a 6.80 ERA.

Single-A Frederick lost to Hudson Valley 14-13. Enrique Bradfield Jr., on an injury rehab assignment, went 2-for-4 with a walk, two RBIs, a stolen base and three runs scored. Douglas Hodo III went 4-for-5 with a home run, two RBIs and three runs scored.

Jaiden Lo Re hit his first home run since moving up from the Florida Complex League to Class A Delmarva. Stephen Still tossed 5 2/3 scoreless innings with nine strikeouts in a 6-0 win over Augusta.