Orioles infielder Jorge Mateo is beginning his injury rehab assignment Tuesday night for Triple-A Norfolk. The Tides are hosting Gwinnett.

Mateo is on the 10-day injured list with left elbow inflammation caused by a May 31 collision with Heston Kjerstad in right-center field. He was eligible to return on Tuesday but needs to get some at-bats.

“I feel a lot better right now,” Mateo said today via interpreter Brandon Quinones.

The injury occurred in the same elbow that underwent reconstructive surgery last summer, but Mateo was bothered only by some swelling. He’s able to swing a bat, play defense, slide and do “everything I need to do.”

Infielder Luis Vázquez remains on the roster in Mateo’s absence.

Infielder Jordan Westburg remains out of the Orioles lineup for tonight’s series opener against the Rangers at steamy Camden Yards.

Westburg is day-to-day with a sprained left index finger.

Gary Sánchez is the designated hitter and batting fourth. That’s sort of like getting a break.

Coby Mayo is starting at first base.

Ramón Laureano is batting second for the first time this season.

Ryan O’Hearn has opened up a commanding lead in voting for American League designated hitter for next month’s All-Star Game in Atlanta.

O’Hearn has received 937,205 votes to stay well ahead of the Yankees’ Ben Rice (409,336). This would be O’Hearn’s first All-Star selection.

Nelson Cruz in 2014 is the only Orioles designated hitter to be elected by fans.

O’Hearn is slashing .305/.387/.480 with nine doubles, 10 home runs and 29 RBIs in 65 games. His 1.9 fWAR ranks second on the team behind Gunnar Henderson’s 2.0.

Jackson Holliday stays in second place among AL second basemen with 806,133 votes, barely ahead of the Astros’ José Altuve at 795,123. The Tigers’ Gleyber Torres is first with 1,133,888.

NEW YORK – The Orioles almost have become numb to the injuries ravaging their roster again in 2025.

Catcher Adley Rutschman won’t return until after the break due to a strained left oblique, marking his first career trip to the IL. Infielder Jordan Westburg is day-to-day with a sprained left index finger, but he's going to join Rutschman if he isn’t available later this week.

Backup catcher Maverick Handley came out of yesterday’s game in the bottom of the second inning after colliding with Jazz Chisholm Jr. Ten players are on the IL, and Westburg and Handley are trying to keep it under a dozen.

Twenty-one Orioles have spent time on the IL this season, including 10 of the position players on the Opening Day roster. And that doesn’t include shortstop Gunnar Henderson, who stayed back in Sarasota with an intercostal strain.

The Orioles keep testing the next-man-up philosophy that’s preached in the clubhouse.

NEW YORK – Jackson Holliday singled on the first pitch thrown this morning. The Orioles had their fill yesterday of no-hit tomfoolery. Get that drama out of the way quickly and go about trying to win a series.

They made it to the eighth inning before losing their lead, and the series.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. lined a two-run double into right-center field off Bryan Baker to move the Yankees past the Orioles 4-2 before an announced crowd of 45,571.

Ben Rice led off the inning with a single and Giancarlo Stanton lined a one-out single into left field at 110.7 mph. Chisholm brought home Rice and pinch-runner Paul Goldschmidt, who slid across the plate as catcher Gary Sánchez tried to make a lunging tag.

Chisholm went to third base, and he scored an insurance run when Sánchez failed to hold onto Gunnar Henderson’s throw on DJ LeMahieu’s grounder. Plate umpire Jansen Visconti called Chisholm out before seeing the ball roll away.

NEW YORK – Orioles reliever Yennier Cano struck out the side yesterday in the seventh inning and was optioned after the game. Overall production and limited bullpen flexibility doomed the 2023 All-Star.

Reliever Yaramil Hiraldo was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk. He’s using Cano’s locker at Yankee Stadium.

Cano has a 4.73 ERA and 1.388 WHIP in 32 games. He was scored upon once in nine appearances this month, but the Rays tallied four runs against him in two-thirds of an inning. He had a streak of nine scoreless outings out of 10 prior to the implosion.

“It starts, ultimately, with the amount of innings we’ve had to cover here recently with the bullpen,” said interim manager Tony Mansolino. “We need a fresh arm. You have a limited amount of bullpen guys who have options, so there’s really just a couple to choose from. You start to look at the big picture, right? The whole season for players, too, and where maybe a guy can take a break and go down and maybe work on something and get back to what they were.

“I know yesterday looks great where Cano comes in, probably has one of his best outings of the year for us. I think you’ve got to be very careful with the recency bias and just understand that we have to look at the last three, four months, last year. And understand that Yenni Cano has been good at times. He’s been up and down. I think everyone can admit that. And I think this could be a really good opportunity for Yenni to go down right now and kind of make the small adjustment, whatever needs to be made in order to get back to being Yenni Cano.”

NEW YORK – Tony Mansolino issued an unintentional warning yesterday to opposing hitters.

The Orioles’ interim manager was asked whether reliever Félix Bautista is resembling the pre-elbow surgery version of himself, the dominant All-Star closer from 2023. Is The Mountain at his peak?

“I still think there’s another gear. I really do,” Mansolino said without hesitation.

“He’s been really good. I still think we’re gonna look up here in July and it’s gonna go up another notch. And I say that with all due respect. He’s been incredible. I think there’s another gear for the guy. He’s getting closer.”

Temperatures are soaring but Bautista is bringing some of his own heat. He struck out Aaron Judge on a foul tip Friday night at 99.7 mph and touched 99.2 against Jazz Chisholm Jr. after starting him out at 98. There’s some fluctuation, of course, with Bautista’s sinker also clocked at 97.7 mph on his strikeout pitch to Chisholm.

NEW YORK -  Less than 24 hours after plotting how to navigate the many bullpen restrictions in a regulation game, Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino stood in the visiting dugout at Yankee Stadium and watched Zach Eflin throw 30 pitches in the first inning.

Only one run scored on Trent Grisham’s homer, but it’s become an exercise in this series that Mansolino would rather sit out.

Eflin threw 29 more in the second and surrendered two second-deck home runs. By the conclusion of the third, Eflin’s pitch count had risen to 90 and the Orioles were barreling toward a 9-0 loss to the Yankees before an announced sellout crowd of 46,142.

Clarke Schmidt no-hit them for seven innings, his removal coming after 103 pitches. He walked two batters in the first and nailed Ryan O’Hearn in the fourth. JT Brubaker entered in the eighth inning, his first major league appearance since 2022, and former Yankee Gary Sánchez led off with a full-count single at 103.2 mph for the Orioles' lone hit.

The Orioles have been no-hit seven times, the most recent by the Mariners’ Hisashi Iwakuma on Aug. 12, 2015 in Seattle. Today would have marked the first combined effort for both teams. Instead, the Orioles settled for being shut out for the seventh time this season.

NEW YORK – Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman underwent an MRI this morning to determine the source of his left abdominal tightness. Maverick Handley is on the medical taxi squad and would be recalled if Rutschman goes on the injured list for the first time in his career.

Rutschman missed two games this season after taking a hard foul ball off his mask, but he’s managed to avoid the IL. He was scratched from last night’s lineup.

“He just walked in the building,” said interim manager Tony Mansolino. “Got an MRI this morning, we’ll sort through. … If it’s not something that he’s gonna be day-to-day on and something that he’s got to go on the IL on, then we’ll make that move before the game.”

Mansolino isn’t able to specify whether the injury’s related to the oblique.

Rutschman’s ability to play a physically demanding position, take a beating doing it and stay away from the IL at this point in his career impresses everyone in the organization. But that streak might be nearing an end.

NEW YORK – The next update on All-Star voting is a few days away and Ryan O’Hearn should maintain his lead among designated hitters in the American League. Teammates are pulling for him, believing that he’s earned the honor and wanting him to be rewarded for grinding and persevering through the difficult times in his career. And they know that the Rafael Devers trade from the Red Sox to Giants has improved the odds.

O’Hearn is too modest to campaign for it. Other players will do it for him.

“He’s 1,000 percent deserving,” said shortstop Gunnar Henderson. “He’s just been unbelievable this first half of the season. He’s been one of the best hitters in baseball. It’s really cool to watch him do his thing and really cool to see where he is now through the journey that he’s had in baseball, and there’s no one more deserving than him.”

Last night’s lineup didn’t include O’Hearn, who went 2-for-13 in four games against the Rays in Tampa and would have faced Yankees left-hander Max Fried. He pinch-hit in the eighth inning and singled to leave his average at .304 with an .867 OPS.

The first vote reveal on Monday showed O’Hearn with 353,029 to lead the Yankees’ Ben Rice (232,331) and the White Sox’s Mike Tauchman (177,483). He was a finalist last year but lost to the Astros’ Yordan Alvarez.

NEW YORK – The Orioles escaped the oppressive heat in Tampa, knowing that temperatures would rise in the Bronx for afternoon and late-morning starts this weekend and possibly touch triple digits Tuesday in Baltimore. A stretch of consecutive games in a row will reach 16 before Thursday’s off-day, and interim manager Tony Mansolino talked about scraping guys off the grass.

He had to scratch Adley Rutschman, who was bothered by left side discomfort. And the Orioles had to face Yankees left-hander Max Fried, who brought nine wins and a 1.89 ERA into the series opener.

Adversity keeps stacking up for a team trying to claw its way out of a deep hole. It can be weather, health, exhaustion, opponent or something else, but the Orioles won’t always let it stall the momentum that might be building.  

The Orioles jumped Fried early and lost their legs, but Coby Mayo delivered a game-tying single in the sixth inning and Ramón Urías led off the eighth with an opposite-field home run off Luke Weaver in a 5-3 victory over the Yankees before an announced sellout crowd of 47,034.

Urías fell behind 0-2 and worked the count full, and his 337-foot fly ball landed inside the right field foul pole. Gunnar Henderson extended his hitting streak to 14 games with a pinch-hit RBI single, and the Orioles (33-42) moved within nine games of .500 for the first time since May 11.

NEW YORK – Tyler O’Neill is almost ready to begin playing games again.

O’Neill was returned from his injury rehab assignment with Triple-A Norfolk last Saturday due to renewed soreness in his left shoulder. He was shut down for about a week after receiving an injection in his AC joint.

“My guess is we could see him out on a rehab assignment possibly by Tuesday somewhere, maybe a tick earlier if all goes well,” said interim manager Tony Mansolino. “Things happen, things kind of come off schedule at times, but if all goes well we’ll start seeing him playing some ball soon.”

O’Neill went 6-for-16 in five games with Norfolk while recovering from the impingement that forced him on the injured list retroactive to May 16.

Jorge Mateo hasn’t played since June 6 because of inflammation in his left elbow, the result of a collision with Heston Kjerstad in right-center field on May 31. Mansolino said that Mateo is “probably getting closer to talking about going out at some point.”

NEW YORK – The Orioles are going with their right-handed lineup tonight to open their series against the Yankees, which puts Gunnar Henderson, Jackson Holliday, Ryan O’Hearn and Cedric Mullins on the bench.

Jordan Westburg is leading off and playing second base. Ramón Urías is the third baseman and cleanup hitter. Luis Vázquez is the shortstop.

Coby Mayo gets back into the lineup at first base. Adley Rutschman is the designated hitter.

Henderson has a 13-game hitting streak, one short of his career high. He’s batting .396 with seven RBIs and nine runs scored during the streak.

Rutschman has registered a .317 career batting average against the Yankees, the third highest among active players after José Ramírez’s .332 and Jose Iglesias’ .329 in a minimum 150 plate appearances.

The mailbag is on a train to New York, demanding a seat on the Acela and refusing to ride the subway later to the Bronx. I’m with you, mailbag. I’d rather hop aboard a mange-diseased coyote.

I had some leftovers from the last mailbag dump, so let’s get to those questions first before the Orioles begin a three-game series against the first-place Yankees, who lost six in a row and didn’t score in three straight prior to defeating the Angels yesterday, 7-3.

These teams met at Camden Yards in late April and the Orioles won two of three games to leave their record at 12-18. Remember when that was reason to panic?

I kept saying, “It’s only April.” And I wasn’t wrong. But it only got worse.

Anyway, you asked, I answered, and you finally got confirmation that I didn’t skip you. The only editing happened when I called it a “mailbug.”

The Orioles try for the series split with the Rays tonight after squandering an eight-run lead last night in a 12-8 loss.

Ryan O’Hearn is the first baseman and Jordan Westburg is the designated hitter, which puts Coby Mayo on the bench again.

Colton Cowser is in left field, Cedric Mullins in center and Ramón Laureano inn right. Jackson Holliday stays atop the order.

Laureano hit line drives 13.5 percent of the time in his first 24 games, according to STATS. Over his last 23 games, his line drive percentage has increased to 32.8.

Charlie Morton has a 6.05 ERA and 1.656 WHIP in 16 games (10 starts). He tossed five scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts in his last start against the Angels after allowing four runs and six hits with four walks in 2 1/3 in Sacramento. He began the month with one unearned run allowed in 6 2/3 against the White Sox.

The Orioles’ attempts to climb out of the deep hole they dug earlier this season are aided by a relief unit that’s acted as a rope ladder.

Don't let last night's fraying in Tampa change your opinions and perceptions. 

The bullpen went into the matchup with a 1.76 ERA in the last 23 games since May 24, the second-lowest mark after the Cubs’ 0.68. Four of the 17 earned runs came from Dean Kremer after he was used behind opener Scott Blewett. They struck out 33.3 percent of batters in that span, the best reliever rate in baseball.

The improvement had lowered the bullpen’s season ERA to 4.42. It was 5.62 through May 23, fourth-highest in the majors.

Trevor Rogers made his second Orioles start of 2025 last night and was gone after 2 1/3 innings, forcing Blewett into the game and messing with the numbers, ideal order and momentum. Blewett was charged with one run in 1 2/3 and Yennier Cano, summoned by the fifth, coughed up four to tie the game. Andrew Kittredge surrendered four in the seventh to give the Rays a 12-8 lead. 

Coby Mayo is getting his first start at George M. Steinbrenner Field tonight and Adley Rutschman is on the bench for the third game of the series against the Rays.

Jordan Westburg is playing third base and batting second. Ramón Laureano is the cleanup hitter.

Ryan O’Hearn is the designated hitter and Colton Cowser is in left field. Cedric Mullins is batting ninth.

Cowser has hit three home runs in 11 games since returning from the 60-day injured list.

The Orioles have won 12 of their last 17 games since May 30, and the .706 winning percentage is tied with the Astros for best in the majors.

The Orioles recalled left-hander Trevor Rogers from the taxi squad to make tonight’s start against the Rays in Tampa, and reliever Grant Wolfram was optioned after spending one day with the team.

Rogers started Game 2 of a May 24 doubleheader in Boston and allowed two hits over 6 1/3 scoreless innings. He issued no walks and struck out five.

In four starts last season, Rogers threw first-pitch strikes at a 70.7 percent rate. The percentage was 81.8 against the Red Sox.

Rogers has made two career starts against the Rays and allowed four runs with 15 strikeouts in 12 innings. Yandy Díaz gets small-sample-size recognition for going 2-for-2 with a double and walk.

Rogers is working on five days' rest tonight. 

The Orioles have more mound decisions on their plate.

They needed a starter for tonight and must remove a reliever to fit him onto the roster. Trevor Rogers will go from taxi squad to active roster after his 6 1/3 scoreless innings against the Red Sox at Fenway Park. And Grant Wolfram could be one-and-done after the Orioles recalled him yesterday to replace Colin Selby, who was one-and-done.

Interim manager Tony Mansolino didn’t confirm Rogers’ start during his pregame session with the assembled media in Tampa, but he said, “We’re excited to kind of get him in here tomorrow.”

The food room? The showers?

He’s going to be on the mound and trying not to stand in a puddle of sweat. The heat seems intense. Dean Kremer’s skin had the shine of a glazed donut last night. He looked like he collided with the Exxon Valdez.

Left-hander Trevor Rogers has joined the Orioles in Tampa and is on the taxi squad.

The Orioles need a starter on Wednesday and Rogers appears to be the choice. He tossed 6 1/3 scoreless innings against the Red Sox in Game 2 of a May 24 doubleheader in Boston.

Coby Mayo is out of the lineup again tonight, as the Orioles try to bounce back from last night’s 7-1 loss to the Rays. Ryan O’Hearn is playing first base and Cedric Mullins is the designated hitter.

Colton Cowser is in center field. Jordan Westburg is the third baseman and cleanup hitter.

Gunnar Henderson has a 10-game hitting streak. He’s slashing .322/.402/.411 (29-for-90) in his last 24 games.