HOUSTON – “For a lot of the year, for the first month and a half, there were a lot of nights when we probably looked like the worst team in major league baseball,” Tony Mansolino said after Friday night’s dominant win over the Astros. 

“We were probably 30th of 30 how we played the first month and a half. Tonight, for nine innings, we looked like the best team in baseball in all facets of the game. On the mound, defensively, and then also at the plate.” 

Today, the Orioles excelled in all facets once again in a dominant 12-0 victory. 

"The Friday night game, the game today, we’ve played really well, and we’ve played well for a while now," the interim skipper said today. 

After taking two of three against a playoff-caliber Mariners team, they took two of three against a playoff-caliber Astros team. Baltimore didn’t play favorites with who they want to win the American League West. 

HOUSTON – All eyes are on the future of the Orioles. Calling up one of the best prospects in baseball only fuels that fire. 

On Friday, Brandon Young came within four outs of a perfect game. Yesterday, Dylan Beavers made his long-anticipated debut. 

And today, for the grand finale, Samuel Basallo, the No. 8 prospect in the game, according to MLB Pipeline, puts on an Orioles jersey for the very first time in the big leagues. 

His dad was the one to call and tell him that he had made the Show. 

“There’s no better feeling than getting that phone call from your family,” Basallo said this morning, via interpreter Brandon Quinones. “My dad is very special to me, he means a lot to me. To get that phone call from him and from my family, it means everything.” 

HOUSTON – The August schedule isn't an easy one for Baltimore. 

With inexperience everywhere, the O's have had to face the two crown jewels of the American League West, the Mariners and Astros, in two consecutive series. 

Baltimore took two of three against Seattle. And after taking game one in Houston, the Birds fought tooth and nail in Game 2. 

In the end, though, it was Houston that came away with a 5-4 victory in 12 innings. 

And, of course, it was Ramón Urías. Last night, the former Oriole broke up Brandon Young's perfect game bid. Tonight, he walked it off. Another slow dribbler to third, and another heartbreaker. 

HOUSTON – The second half of the Orioles’ 2025 season won’t go the way that many had expected. 

Baltimore won’t be competing for an American League East crown, nor will O’s fans be keeping an eye on wild card playoff spots. Instead, the excitement will come from memorable moments, encouraging signs for the future, and individual accomplishments. 

Last night, Brandon Young provided the excitement. The rookie tossed 7 ⅔ innings of perfect baseball before surrendering his first hit with one out to go in the eighth. He did so in front of family and friends, who made the short trip from Lumberton, TX to watch Young deliver the best start of his young career. 

Today, it’s Dylan Beavers who provides the excitement, making his MLB debut as one of the O’s most anticipated prospect promotions. 

“It’s super exciting,” Beavers said this afternoon. “It’s what I’ve kind of been working for my entire life. But there’s nerves, too, kind of uncertainty in not knowing when it’s going to happen. A little bit of a mixed bag of emotions, but yeah, exciting.” 

HOUSTON – When a pitcher is in a groove, you can look up at the box score in the middle innings and think to yourself, “Oh wow, he’s through four without allowing a hit.” Usually, it doesn't amount to much. 

Tonight, many in Daikin Park may have shared that thought about Brandon Young. 

The rookie looked sharp through three. Then, he was through four perfect innings. And then five. 

Through six, things start to feel real. Through seven, folks at home change their evening plans to find a television. 

Young recorded the first two outs of the eighth inning, but surrendered his first hit and baserunner of the game on a 56 mph single off the bat of, you guessed it, former Oriole Ramón Urías. It was a tough play for Young, who fielded the dribbler and delivered a throw wide of first. 

HOUSTON – On Friday, Aug. 1, the Orioles roster looked drastically different for an afternoon contest at Wrigley Field. 

Gone were four members of the lineup, a starting pitcher and four key pieces of the bullpen, including a new resident of Chicago, Andrew Kittredge. 

Orioles hitters saw their former teammate right away, as Kittredge entered that game in the top of the seventh inning, blanking the O’s en route to a Cubs victory. 

Kittredge, while impressive in an Orioles uniform, didn’t have much time to leave a lasting impression. After missing a large chunk of the season, the right-hander appeared in just 31 games for Baltimore, pitching to a 3.45 ERA. 

So the feeling evoked upon seeing Kittredge trot through the outfield glass in Chicago’s colors was, more than likely, relatively subdued. 

Entering the 2023 season, the Orioles’ farm system was at the peak of its powers. 

Baltimore had eight top-100 prospects, according to Baseball America. That included the No. 1 overall prospect, Gunnar Henderson, another top-10 prospect, Grayson Rodriguez, a rising star in Jackson Holliday, a soon-to-be Rookie of the Year candidate in Colton Cowser, and the underrated Jordan Westburg, checking in at No. 76. 

By the time 2024 rolled around, however, that list had taken quite a hit due to graduations. Then it included just three players, with Coby Mayo and Samuel Basallo joining Heston Kjerstad. 

With Mayo’s graduation this season, there was some question as to who, if anyone, would join Basallo in the top 100. Baseball America’s most recent rankings gave us an answer, highlighting three Orioles prospects on the rise. 

Nate George 

CHICAGO – A post-trade deadline world involves a lot of moving pieces. 

The Orioles will take chances on waiver claims and young talent, hoping to find diamonds in the rough. 

Who knows if Ryan Noda will be a flier that becomes a piece. This afternoon, though, he was a ninth-inning hero. One of two, but we'll get to that.

With the O's down 3-2 and down to their final out, Noda brought Colton Cowser home to tie the game at three. 

But the heroics, and the good feelings it brought, were short lived. The Cubs walked it off in the ninth, and the Orioles fell 5-3. 

CHICAGO – The process was supposed to be smoother for Jeremiah Jackson. 

Entering the 2018 MLB Draft, the Alabama high schooler was the No. 57 prospect in the class, according to MLB Pipeline. They noted that the shortstop had been starting at that position for his high school team since the seventh grade, winning two state championships in the process. 

His upside was high enough for the Angels to make him the 57th pick in that year’s draft.

Jackson hit the ground running with a .939 OPS in 65 games in rookie ball in 2019. In 2021, he advanced to Single-A, and finished that minor league season with an OPS over .900, too. 

But then, in Double-A, he hit a road block. 

CHICAGO – For seven and two-thirds innings, things looked bleak for the Orioles' offense. 

Yesterday, the Birds were blanked in nine innings. Trevor Rogers' eight-inning complete game, allowing just one run, was for naught. 

This afternoon, it looked as if the Orioles would squander another solid pitching performance. Baltimore had allowed just three earned runs in seven innings, and the offense was, once again, shut out. 

For over sixteen innings, the O's offense was lifeless. 

A three-run home run from Gunnar Henderson in the eighth inning changed everything, and the Orioles walked away victorious, 4-3. 

CHICAGO – For years, the Orioles’ rebuild afforded them the opportunity to find diamonds in the rough. 

You know the story here. Cedric Mullins wasn’t a highly touted prospect as a 13th-round pick out of Campbell, but became Baltimore’s everyday center fielder. John Means was selected in round 11. Anthony Santander was a Rule 5 draft pick that turned into an All-Star. Ramón Urías was a waiver claim. 

For the last few seasons, dart throws like that wouldn’t have found much playing time in Baltimore. Even top prospects like Coby Mayo have had to wait patiently for more playing time. 

But after a deadline in which the Orioles traded away nine big leaguers, the final two months of the 2025 season give the O’s roster a familiar feeling: opportunity. 

“Weird to think that I’m sitting at the most service time down there now,” Keegan Akin joked about the O’s bullpen. 

CHICAGO – The message from interim manager Tony Mansolino and the players remaining in the Orioles clubhouse is clear: Yes, the trade deadline may have shaken things up, but the goal of winning a baseball game each day remains the same. 

The Orioles, with their young core still in place, believe they still have the talent to do just that. The names on the lineup card, particularly in the middle, have changed a bit, and Mansolino will need to get creative with a bullpen missing many of its established arms. 

But as Mansolino said pregame, there’s no time for licking wounds. There’s baseball to be played out in Chicago. 

Trevor Rogers was more than up to the challenge. The O's offense, though, couldn't find a rhythm in a 1-0 loss to the Cubs.

The lefty tossed the first complete-game loss for the Orioles since Chris Tillman did it back in 2013. 

CHICAGO – The usual nametags weren’t anywhere to be found in the visitor’s clubhouse this afternoon. 

There’s no Cedric Mullins, who patrolled center field in Baltimore for parts of eight seasons. Ryan O’Hearn and Ramón Urías won’t be digging into the infield dirt in Wrigley Field this weekend. The bullpen has about half of its normal arms. 

Things feel different. 

The Orioles’ farm got significantly better over the last month with an influx of talent from both the MLB Draft and trade deadline. That impact won’t be felt in the big leagues until those prospects either develop into major league talent themselves or are traded for established veterans. 

For now, the Orioles will be playing the rest of the 2025 season with a different cast of characters. It’s a good thing that Baltimore finds itself in “The Friendly Confines” with so many new faces. 

CHICAGO – The trade deadline has come and gone, and what a busy day it was. 

For most of us, anyway. Kevin Brown and I were stuck in an airport vying for a plane to Chicago for about six hours. 

The Orioles were certainly busy, though, trading away Cedric Mullins, Ryan O’Hearn, Ramón Laureano and Charlie Morton, adding to their previous deals sending Ramón Urías, Andrew Kittredge, Seranthony Domínguez, Gregory Soto and Bryan Baker out of town. 

On a lengthy edition of “The Bird’s Nest,” Annie Klaff and I broke down all of the deals in great detail. You can listen to the full episode here.

The biggest prospect returns came in the form of arms Boston Bateman and Juaron Watts-Brown, who joined the O’s top 30, according to MLB Pipeline, at spots six and nine, respectively. 

In 24 hours, the Orioles’ roster could look very different. 

The front office is realistic about where Baltimore finds itself in the standings. Despite a great homestand with incredible performances from the likes of Cedric Mullins and Ryan O’Hearn, the Orioles would have to leapfrog seven American League teams to make the playoffs. 

The reality of the situation wasn’t lost on the fans at Camden Yards, nor the players in the clubhouse, a few of which have already changed jerseys. 

Ahead of today’s deadline, the Orioles have already sent Gregory Soto to the Mets and Seranthony Domínguez to the Blue Jays in exchange for some high-upside arms. 

In exchange for Soto, the O’s received RHP Wellington Aracena and RHP Cameron Foster from New York. Foster didn’t enter Baltimore’s top 30 according to MLB Pipeline, nor was he a top-30 prospect in the Mets system according to Baseball America. But Aracena is ranked by both outlets. 

CLEVELAND – On Monday, the Orioles got out to a 3-0 lead before the Guardians even came to the plate. Ramón Laureano, a catalyst for the O’s all season, kickstarted the offense and drove in two of those runs. 

Cleveland responded, though, pushing three runs of their own across in the bottom of the first. The Guardians went on to win that game 10-5, thanks in large part to a four-run seventh. 

This afternoon, the Orioles got out to a 3-0 lead before the Guardians even came to the plate. Ramón Laureano, a catalyst for the O’s all season, kickstarted the offense and drove in two of those runs.

This time, the Orioles came out on top 4-3.

They did so behind an excellent start from Charlie Morton and a sharp bullpen, one that didn't feature the recently injured Félix Bautista. 

CLEVELAND – It hasn’t been the best season for Orioles relievers. 

Entering the final game of their four-game set in Cleveland, the O’s bullpen had the third-worst ERA in the American League at 4.80. This series hadn’t improved those numbers, with the ‘pen allowing 10 earned runs in the last three games. 

Last night, though, the relief corps just allowed one. It was an RBI single off the bat of Steven Kwan in the eighth inning of a tie game. That’s not a spot where you’d normally expect to see Colin Selby, but he’s the Baltimore arm who surrendered the run that ultimately decided the game. It wasn’t the plan to pitch him in that spot. 

Instead, interim manager Tony Mansolino had slated Seranthony Domínguez for that frame and Félix Bautista for the ninth. 

But in the seventh inning, the bullpen relayed a message back to Mansolino that Bautista would not be available. The closer was in the process of getting ready to loosen up for potential game action, and something flared up. That changed the interim manager’s plans and, perhaps, the outcome of the game. 

CLEVELAND – For the first seven innings of tonight’s ballgame, the Orioles had the momentum. 

The Guards had mustered just two hits and two runs, a pair that scored on a weak single from Kyle Manzardo.

The O's had enough chances to win this game. Ultimately, the Birds' bats didn't come through in a 3-2 loss. Not having their best reliever available late in the contest certainly didn't help matters.  

On Monday night, the Orioles and Guardians combined to score six runs in the first inning of play. Last night, there was only one, but it came on a José Ramírez solo shot. 

Tonight, the first extra-base hit of the game didn’t come until the top of the third inning, courtesy of Cedric Mullins. 

CLEVELAND – Zach Eflin, Grayson Rodriguez, Kyle Bradish, Albert Suárez, Cade Povich and Tyler Wells would form a pretty solid six-man rotation. Suárez could come out of the bullpen or be an option for a swing start here or there. 

Unfortunately, all six were on the injured list until this afternoon. 

The injured staff lost one of its front-line starters today, as Eflin was reinstated from the IL after missing some time with lower back discomfort, an injury that forced him to exit his June 28 outing against the Tampa Bay Rays. 

Now, just shy of a month later, he returns to face a Guardians lineup composed entirely of either left-handed or switch-hitters. With the right-hander Eflin on the mound and just two left-handers in the O’s bullpen, it’s not a bad strategy to implement. 

Lefties are hitting .347 with a .714 slugging percentage and an OPS over 1.000 this year against Eflin, so finding a rhythm in his return to the big league mound will certainly be a challenge. 

CLEVELAND – Every time the Orioles knocked on the door in Cleveland tonight, the Guardians answered. It resulted in the Guards taking Game 2 of this four-game series by a final score of 6-3.

"First half of the game didn’t go so well for us tonight and I thought we hung in there and the at-bats were good and we put up a couple runs as the game went on," interim manager Tony Mansolino said after the game. "Just, we have not gotten our bullpen kind of going to the same extent we probably had it going when we were playing our best ball a few weeks ago."

The O’s put up runs in innings five, six and seven. The Guardians did the same, plus some runs early with Baltimore starter Brandon Young on the mound. 

There’s not a big enough major league sample size to be confident in what kind of Young outing you’ll get. 

Thus far, his big league outings could be classified as solid, ones that aren't spectacular but keep you in most ballgames. In all but one start, his last, Young allowed four runs or fewer. A typical line could feature four innings of work and three earned runs.