Gary Sánchez has returned to the Orioles. He was reinstated from the 10-day injured list this afternoon, with catcher Maverick Handley optioned to Triple-A Norfolk as the anticipated counter move.

Sánchez went on an injury rehab assignment after getting rid of the inflammation his right wrist. He was rested yesterday.

Handley is 3-for-40, but he’s helped to lower the staff ERA to 4.93. He caught the combined shutout last night, which began with Charlie Morton’s 10 strikeouts in five innings.

Morton has a 2.97 ERA in eight games with Handley behind the plate. He provided an example last night of his connection to the kid.

“The other day he came in, ‘What time’s your ‘pen?’” Morton recalled. “I told him. He was like, ‘Would you mind if I came out and played catch with you?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, dude. Absolutely. I love that.’ I think it just shows his desire and willingness to develop and develop a rapport and just kind of throwing himself in the mix. Because you don’t really have many guys who are catching who are like, ‘Hey man, I’ll come catch a ‘pen.’ But I think he has a desire to get better. He has a desire to just work on his game, and whether that’s a physical thing, a mental, emotional thing, I think that’s why he and I are working well together.

The Orioles had a late start last night due to the threat of rain, with the actual precipitation lighter than anticipated before the downpour in the fifth inning.

The injury talk started much earlier, and it was heavier than expected.

Let’s take a stroll through yesterday’s updates and try not to roll an ankle.

Grayson Rodriguez

The “sluggish” start on March 5 in Fort Myers turned into an elbow/triceps issue, which turned into a lat issue that kept the projected No. 2 starter from pitching this season.

Charlie Morton had to wait out a rain delay tonight that lasted more than an hour before throwing his first pitch. The grounds crew sprinted to the tarp and stood shoulder-to-shoulder behind it after the top of the fourth inning, cutting through the finish line of the hot dog race.

Morton was the one on a roll.

The only way to slow him was to drench him.

Morton tossed five scoreless innings and tied his season high with 10 strikeouts before umpires halted play with one out in the bottom of the fifth following Ramón Urías’ single. The 69-minute break forced interim manager Tony Mansolino into a pitching change, with Yennier Cano entering in the sixth.

The bullpen backed up Morton with four scoreless frames, and a couple of solo home runs led the Orioles to a 2-0 win over the Angels before an announced crowd of 20,204 at Camden Yards.

Grayson Rodriguez said today that he will throw his first bullpen session next week since experiencing a setback in the middle of April in recovering from a strained lat muscle.

Rodriguez, speaking to the local media for the first time since early March in Fort Myers, also expressed confidence that he’ll pitch after the All-Star break.

“Throwing every day,” Rodriguez said of his flat ground sessions. “Right now feeling good.”

Asked about returning in 2025, Rodriguez said he doesn’t have an exact week or specific timeline, “but I’m definitely gonna pitch this year.”

Rodriguez is on the 60-day injured list. He experienced discomfort in his elbow/triceps area in camp, which robbed him of the normal velocity in his final appearance against the Twins, but he said today that he’s rehabbing only from the lat strain – his third including the summer of 2022 with Triple-A Norfolk.

The passion for baseball that flows through Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino rises in temperature and fluidity as he delves into a particular topic.

Bring up one of the infielders that he’s instructed, and listeners won’t get the short answer.

Mansolino is writing out the lineups after replacing Brandon Hyde and he hasn’t let Ramón Urías vanish from them. Jordan Westburg was reinstated from the injured list on Tuesday, but they were paired again last night, with Urías making another start at third base.

Urías belted a two-run homer Wednesday and made a couple of impressive plays in the field. He had eight hits in 26 at-bats this month before going 0-for-3 last night against Tarik Skubal.

During yesterday’s pregame media session, Mansolino wondered whether his audience knew “Ramón’s story.” The retelling brought him tremendous joy.

Interim manager Tony Mansolino reminded the media again this afternoon that the Orioles have beaten tough pitchers in the past. They didn’t fear Tarik Skubal. They weren’t cowering in corners of the clubhouse. Start the game and get after it.

They created some traffic in the first two innings tonight, drawing only the eighth walk off Skubal this season. But his roll was coming, and the Orioles couldn’t do much about it.

Dean Kremer surrendered two home runs in the fourth inning to give Skubal plenty of room to operate in the Tigers’ 4-1 victory before an announced crowd of 18,800 at Camden Yards. Last year’s unanimous choice for the American League’s Cy Young tossed seven shutout innings, and the Orioles lost back-to-back series after a six-game winning streak.

The Angels are next for the Orioles (27-40), who managed three hits off Skubal. He struck out Coby Mayo to end the seventh, pounded his fist in his glove and accepted cheers from Tigers fans behind the visiting dugout.

Tonight marked Skubal’s sixth scoreless outing. He blanked the Orioles for six innings on April 27 in Detroit. His ERA is down to 1.99.

The Orioles might not wait until next week’s road trip to reinstate Gary Sánchez from the 10-day injured list.

Sánchez batted twice this afternoon in his rehab assignment with Triple-A Norfolk and is 8-for-22 with a double and three home runs in seven games. He’s recovered from his right wrist inflammation.

Interim manager Tony Mansolino offered only a small percent a few days ago that Sánchez would rejoin the Orioles during the homestand. They have a weekend series against the Angels before heading to Tampa and New York.

“I told you the other day it was a small chance. I think the chance went up quite a bit because he hit the points that we needed and we’ll probably see him here at some point sooner than later,” Mansolino said today.

Sánchez is 3-for-30 in 12 games after signing an $8.5 million contract. Maverick Handley likely would return to Norfolk if Sánchez is reinstated.

Cal Ripken Jr. stood on sacred baseball ground this morning, at home plate in the exact spot where it was planted at the old Memorial Stadium on 33^rd Street. Ripken began his major league career in this neighborhood and he returned today, the site of the first Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation Youth Development Park, for the announcement of a partnership that’s creating the Ripken Foundation – Nike RBI Initiative.

This partnership strives to support instructional baseball and softball leagues at 30 organizations across 14 states, with the goal of expanding access to the sport for youth around the country.  

Players from the James Mosher Baseball youth league sat in a line in front of Ripken at The Harry & Jeanette Family Center Y at Stadium Place as he talked about the program and promised to offer them tips during the instructional period that followed.  

“It kind of gives us a chance to look into why we started the Foundation, and it was really to capture dad’s spirit,” Ripken said later in a media scrum.

“He had a really coaching spirit, helping minor league guys get to the big leagues, and he also went out and did different clinics in different areas to expose kids to baseball and the values of sports. So now when we kind of think about him, I think about him like as a teacher, because a coach does a whole lot more than just teach you how to play. Kind of helps with your confidence, kind of puts you in the right direction, and sometimes there’s issues that, if you have a good, trusting relationship with your coach, they start asking you questions. And that’s really the magic that happens through the relationship through sports, and hopefully that’s what we’re capturing with kids.”

Jordan Westburg raised hopes with his reinstatement Tuesday from the injured list, and expectations soared when he hit a leadoff homer in the bottom of the ninth and came back last night with a double, walk and three-run homer.

Look who's back. Back again.

Westburg punished a fastball from Tigers right-hander Will Vest in the first game of the series and a sinker last night from right-hander Beau Brieske, but the Orioles need more production against lefties. The loss dropped their record to 4-14 against southpaw starters, including openers like the Tigers’ Brant Hurter.

Overall, the Orioles entered last night slashing .202/.277/.279 against left-handers. Westburg will be in the lineup most nights, and every time the Orioles are matched up against them.

“I think whenever a guy comes off the IL, you don’t expect him to carry us, so the expectation for Jordan after missing a month, he’s not going to carry us,” warned interim manager Tony Mansolino. “If he does, we’ll take it. But I think over time as he gets back to himself, yeah.

Ramón Urías will find it harder to get into the Orioles’ lineup as more healthy players filter back from the injured list. Jordan Westburg probably will start at third base on most nights. Jackson Holliday is practically locked into second base.

There will be exceptions, of course, like Westburg serving as the designated hitter tonight and Urías occupying the bottom of the order. Interim manager Tony Mansolino won’t bury him. And they showed in loud fashion that they can co-exist.

“Urie will get plenty of time and at-bats,” Mansolino said Tuesday afternoon, “and it will be a really good role for him going forward, too.”

Zach Eflin doesn’t know if he’ll be with the club past the trade deadline. Pending free agents are likely on the table if the Orioles are defined sellers. But Urías and Eflin are living in the present and they were major contributors to a 10-1 win over the Tigers at Camden Yards.

Eflin held the Tigers to one run in 6 2/3 innings, and Urías gave him a lead in the third with a two-run homer. The Orioles put the game out of reach with a seven-run eighth that included Westburg’s second homer in two nights, a three-run shot off Beau Briske.

Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino said he’s “hopeful” that Grayson Rodriguez pitches this season, which must suffice as the latest update on the projected No. 2 starter.

Information on Rodriguez isn’t plentiful. The right-hander hasn’t talked to the local media since a March exhibition game in Fort Myers.

Rodriguez is going through a throwing progression and he’s doing “great,” according to Mansolino. Rodriguez hasn’t made a major league appearance since July 31 due to a right lat/teres strain that kept him out of the Wild Card series. He went on the 15-day injured list in spring training with discomfort in his elbow/triceps area but was moved to the 60-day IL with another right lat strain.

“He’s progressing as expected right now,” Mansolino added. “It’s not something we want to put deadlines on by any means. … There’s not always an exact script for every individual injury. We have human beings involved, so we’re very careful. And I know it probably frustrates you guys at times, but we’re very careful of not trying to set expectations through the media, but we also don’t do it privately.

“It’s not something we’re saying like, ‘You’ve got to be ready by this day.’ There’s usually kind of a list of options with some of these guys coming up and if they hit these checkpoints and it goes well. (Colton) Cowser probably expedited his process maybe by a day because he hit the checkpoints quicker, and there’s other scenarios of maybe it lasting a day longer. So we’re trying not to put too much pressure on these guys. I think that’s fair, right? It’s not a public thing. It's just dealing with injured players and understanding that we probably don’t know how every injury is going to heal.”

Rodriguez’s throwing is assumed to be on flat ground, but that information isn’t readily available.

“The exact specifics I can’t get into,” Mansolino said, “but he’s throwing, he’s progressing as expected.”

Even the injury has led to some confusion, with the lat listed as the reason for the 60-day stint.

“He probably needs to speak to that specifically,” Mansolino said. “I don’t feel comfortable answering that question. But I would say he never fully came back from the elbow, so it’s probably something, even if it is healed fully, which is might be, I’m sure it’s something that we’re conscious of as he builds himself back up to being a major league pitcher.”

Charlie Morton stays in the rotation and makes a start in the weekend series against the Angels at Camden Yards. No move back to the bullpen.

Infielder Luis Vázquez is waiting to make his Orioles debut after having his contract selected yesterday. He appeared in 11 games with the Cubs last summer and went 1-for-12.

Vázquez hit .280/.345/.447 in 37 games with Norfolk to position himself for a promotion. He first got noticed in spring training with a 325 average, 10 RBIs and .788 OPS in 21 games.

“I feel like I was able to make a really good impression during spring, which I think matters a lot, and I think thanks to that, I’m able to be here now,” he said via interpreter Brandon Quinones.

“Everyone knows that this is what I wanted. I’ve been playing the way I want to, and being up here in the big leagues is what I wanted, so I feel like I’ve been able to do just that and play really well.”

Former Orioles infielder Ryan Flaherty, now the Cubs' bench coach, phoned Mansolino and offered a strong endorsement of Vázquez. The Orioles acquired the infielder for cash considerations over the winter.

Flaherty “told me this might be the greatest shortstop he’s ever seen in person,” Mansolino recalled. “So coming into spring training, I trust Ryan and what he says, and what I saw was a really good shortstop. A really good defender. Talented, gifted, comfortable with the glove on his hand. A guy that probably hasn’t hit a ton in the minor leagues coming into this, but you look at his Norfolk numbers and the reports coming from Feddy (manager Tim Federowicz) down in Norfolk and kind of what he’s saying about him, there’s a lot to like.”

The Orioles signed left-hander Sayer Diederich, 24, to a minor league contract, according to their transactions page. He pitched in 2024 for the independent Billings Mustangs and hadn’t been with an affiliated team.

Ryan O’Hearn is at first base tonight against Tigers right-hander Casey Mize. Jordan Westburg is the designated hitter, Cedric Mullins is in center field and Colton Cowser moves to left.

For the Orioles

Jackson Holliday 2B
Adley Rutschman C
Gunnar Henderson SS
Ryan O’Hearn 1B
Jordan Westburg DH
Colton Cowser LF
Ramón Laureano RF
Cedric Mullins CF
Ramón Urías 3B

Zach Eflin RHP

For the Tigers

Parker Meadows CF
Gleyber Torres 2B
Kerry Carpenter DH
Riley Greene LF
Spencer Torkelson 1B
Wenceel Pérez RF
Colt Keith 3B
Jake Rogers C
Zach McKinstry SS

Casey Mize RHP

The Orioles are renovating and relocating the Jim Henneman Press Box for the 2026 season, using the current space for a new premium club section behind home plate.

The club section will accommodate a capacity of 380 members as part of the upgrades to Camden Yards set in motion since the Orioles reached agreement with the Maryland Stadium Authority on a new lease.

The MSA approved a $600 million bond program to that will be used for additional improvements. Other renovations on the horizon include an improved sound system, larger scoreboard and video board, and new control room.

The team’s press release today details perks of the club section and describes it as an immersive indoor-outdoor experience that will feature “the best views in Oriole Park and include VIP parking, a private entrance, and a rotating upscale menu and beverage program.”

Construction is scheduled to begin following the 2025 season and will be operational for 2026. Fans can follow along with all the ballpark renovations at Orioles.com/OrioleParkUpgrades, and the Orioles encourage them to sign up to be on the priority list at Orioles.com/premiumclub.

The Orioles got rid of their jet lag from the West Coast trip. They really are healthier.

They can’t brag, though. Jordan Westburg and Cedric Mullins returned yesterday, and the club announced at first pitch that Jorge Mateo was going on the injured list with left elbow inflammation.

Never a dull moment to the 2025 season. Never a peaceful stretch.

Mateo was injured while playing center field on May 31 at Camden Yards. He raced into the gap and his arm slammed into Heston Kjerstad’s arm. Kjerstad made the catch, but it wasn’t their only adventure while chasing a ball in that vicinity.

Both players have seen better days. Mateo is on the IL while batting .180/.231/.279 in 31 games. Kjerstad was optioned yesterday while batting .192/.240/.327 in 54.

Cade Povich put his hands on his head as Colton Cowser scaled the center field fence. A spectacular catch would limit the damage in the fifth inning and make it easier for the Orioles to rally. Having the ball fall on the other side would hasten his departure and complicate a comeback attempt.

Cowser landed on the track without the ball. Spencer Torkelson circled the bases with a 419-foot home run. And Povich was gone after one more batter.

A winning West Coast road trip was followed tonight by a 5-3 loss to the Tigers before an announced crowd of 20,291 at Camden Yards. The Orioles are 13 games below .500 again, with the return of a couple more injured players unable to provide a needed spark against the best team in baseball.

Povich was done after Zach McKinstry’s triple. He allowed five runs and nine hits with one walk and six strikeouts. The start drained him of 98 pitches and raised his ERA to 5.46.

Jordan Westburg marked his return from the injured list with a leadoff homer off Will Vest in the ninth, his first since April 19, but the next three batters were retired.

To reduce the deficit faced by the Orioles in the division and in the Wild Card standings, they always believed that they’d need to cut back on the number of players on their injured list.

They won’t pin every problem on their health, but it’s conspired against them again in 2025.

The IL count was down to eight with infielder Jordan Westburg and center fielder Cedric Mullins returning to the active roster earlier today. It grew to nine by tonight’s first pitch with the inclusion of infielder Jorge Mateo, who is bothered by left elbow inflammation. Mateo’s IL assignment is backdated to Saturday.

The Orioles selected the contract of infielder Luis Vázquez, who appeared in 11 games with the Cubs last season and was slashing .280/.345/.447 in 37 games with Triple-A Norfolk. He was a spring training standout with his .325 average, 10 RBIs and .788 OPS in 21 games.

Mateo’s experienced discomfort in the elbow since his May 31 collision with Heston Kjerstad, who was optioned earlier today. Their arms slammed together in right-center field and Mateo took the brunt of it, on the elbow that underwent reconstructive surgery last season.

The Orioles gave Heston Kjerstad plenty of chances in their lineup and outfield before the next round of players returning from the injured list finally forced a move. He was optioned today to Triple-A Norfolk, with a specific plan that interim manager Tony Mansolino referenced but didn’t detail.

Kjerstad hit .192 with five doubles, two triples, four home runs, 19 RBIs, six walks, 45 strikeouts and a .566 OPS in 54 games. He also had some mishaps in right field, and he wasn’t in the lineup for the three-game series in Sacramento.

“We saw it more as an opportunity to make some adjustments and make some changes,” Mansolino said. “I think what we didn’t want to do is just say, ‘Hey, go get ‘em.’ That’s obviously not the right message when a guy struggles here as talented as Hess and as good as this kid is, can be. There’s something that we’re missing, right?

“I think we’ve seen a lot of examples of really good players who at some point get optioned back out and they kind of show back up with a vengeance and become the players that they’re supposed to be. So I think as you talk to Hess you explain that, and he was great, he understood. Obviously disappointed to get sent out, but a lot of self-awareness and a lot of understanding that this is probably more an opportunity than anything else.”

Mansolino said it’s the “whole game” that Kjerstad will focus on after going back down.

The Orioles aren’t gaining sufficient ground in the standings but their roster is healthier.

Infielder Jordan Westburg and outfielder Cedric Mullins were reinstated from the 10-day injured list earlier today. But it cost Heston Kjerstad a roster spot. He was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk. And it cost Emmanuel Rivera a place in the organization after he was designated again for assignment.

Westburg hasn’t played in the majors since straining his left hamstring in Game 2 of an April 26 doubleheader in Detroit.

Westburg was 9-for-29 in his last seven games. He’s batting .217/.265/.391 with two doubles, a triple, four home runs and six RBIs in 23 games.

Westburg appeared in eight games with Norfolk on his injury rehab assignment and went 11-for-28 with four doubles and two homers.

The next homestand has arrived, with three games against the Tigers and three against the Angels before the Orioles fly to Tampa and reenact spring training at George M. Steinbrenner Field.

The Yankees are one of the road opponents, but they still play in the Bronx. The Rays relocated from hurricane-ravaged Tropicana Field to Tampa. Don’t let it confuse you.

The Orioles are 26-38 and 8 ½ games out of the last Wild Card. The Tigers have the best record in baseball at 43-24, and a plus-92 run differential that’s second-highest in the American League and third in the majors.

It should be noted that Detroit is 23-9 at home and 20-15 away from Comerica Park. But the Orioles are under .500 home and away.

If hoping and praying for a prolonged winning streak that gets the Orioles into a playoff race isn’t enough to hold your interest, here are a few other options:

The Orioles will happily take a day off at any point in the season, whether it interrupts an impressive run or follows a losing series to the lowly Athletics. Can never have too many resets. But they obviously wish that the latter didn’t apply.

The flight home yesterday had to feel much longer.

Facing the Tigers in a three-game set that begins Tuesday at Camden Yards could seem to many like it’s make-or-break, since every loss inflates the odds against them, and winning two of three or manufacturing a sweep against a team with the best record in baseball would hint again that the Orioles have plenty of life in them. But man, that series in Sacramento was a kick in the crotch, and with sharpened spikes.

The A’s deserve an F grade this season but they won 5-4 and 5-1 over the weekend. Tomoyuki Sugano was starting yesterday against Jacob Lopez, which on the surface seemed like a lock before it reversed. Sugano allowed four runs (three earned) and eight hits in 4 1/3 innings. Lopez allowed an unearned run in four innings and Sean Newcomb followed with three scoreless.

Lopez and Newcomb are left-handers. There’s the reverse. The Orioles are 4-13 against southpaw starters, including openers. They’ll see two right-handers against the Tigers, but also Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, who’s registered a 2.16 ERA, walked seven batters and struck out 105 in his 13 outings covering 83 1/3 innings.

The Orioles have a chance today to win three series in a row for the first time since June 26-July 7, 2024.

Coby Mayo is the designated hitter and Emmanuel Rivera is playing first base. Ryan O’Hearn goes to the bench.

Ramón Laureano is the right fielder and cleanup hitter. Dylan Carlson remains in left field, with Colton Cowser in center.

Cowser hit a 455-foot home run last night, the longest of his career and longest by an Oriole since Ryan Mountcastle’s 472-foot shot in 2023.

Ten of Laureano’s last 12 home runs have been off right-handed pitchers, with another one last night. He’s batting .375 (18-for-48) in the past 14 games.