The Orioles acted out their season last night in one game.

They fell behind 3-0 after the second inning and looked dead as the score held up through the fifth. They scored three runs in the sixth, getting back-to-back homers from big guns Gunnar Henderson and Pete Alonso, and led 5-3 in the seventh on Jeremiah Jackson’s bases-loaded single.

What a comeback. Except closer Ryan Helsley showed more rust by allowed three runs in the bottom of the ninth in a 6-5 walk-off loss.

Gutsy rally followed by gut-punch defeat.

The defense cracked again with Tyler O’Neill’s throwing error to end the game.

The Orioles were 30-0 when leading after the eighth inning.

I’ve been on the baseball beat full-time since 1997 and haven’t covered a game at Dodger Stadium. My lone appearance came as a fan shortly after I graduated college, back when Fernando Valenzuela was pitching.

I remember that he wasn’t his usual dominant self and I missed half the game – or it felt that way – waiting in line for a hot dog that didn’t live up to the hype.

Great weather, though. And I wore a tank top and short white shorts. Not my finest moment.

I have a photo that I will never share.

Here are more mailbag questions worth sharing.

Any updates on Adley Rutschman?
Manager Craig Albernaz told the assembled media that the team was playing it safe and Rutschman wouldn’t leave the bench last night. That kind of transparency is rare. Managers usually don’t want the other side to know who’s unavailable. “We’re giving him the off day and still evaluating him,” Albernaz said. “You get hit in the head with a ball, him being a catcher and consistently getting hit in the head with foul tips. I wish we could duck those, but you can’t. We’re just playing it cautious to make sure he’s OK.”

Do you still see the Orioles as a playoff team, four games back in mid-June?
In back of what? I still see the Orioles as capable of making the playoffs because the math and the talent on the roster say they can do it. But they have to start stacking series wins like building blocks. They need to start winning at least two out of three. At least. They can’t keep going forward and then slipping back in reverse. It’s killing their season. They need to play better on the road. The offense can’t disappear for long stretches, especially with runners in scoring position. They were 3-for-35 with RISP over their last six games before arriving at Dodger Stadium and going 1-for-2 last night. Over their last 13 games since June 6, they’re 15-for-85. Their .169 average before last night ranked as the third lowest in the majors. Quality starts are wasted. A playoff team? Perhaps. But not on its current course. Not seven games below .500, 12 1/2 out of first place and 3 1/2 out of the Wild Card.

Is Alby at risk of losing the clubhouse following the comments regarding Samuel Basallo playing through injuries and suggesting that the Padres handled a situation correctly by throwing at Gunnar Henderson? Basallo did not seem thrilled by the remarks and MLB obviously disagrees with Alby considering they suspended Padres pitcher Ron Marinaccio and manager Craig Stammen. These remarks have gained some national attention.
I wouldn’t package national attention with a manager losing the clubhouse and vice-versa. Two separate things. There could be more happening behind the scenes with Basallo that we don’t know about, but at least that part is kept in-house. Enough has been said about it to rile fans and confuse some media. But Basallo seems fine and has moved on from it. I wouldn’t interpret Albernaz’s remarks about the Padres throwing at Henderson to mean he didn’t think anyone would be suspended. He was glad that Marinaccio threw at the shortstop’s right hip instead of anywhere above the shoulders. And everyone in the ballpark braced for the possibility that Henderson would be hit. It just seemed much dumber after another reliever tried twice two innings earlier and missed. We’re still learning about Albernaz, who never managed in the majors. We didn’t know much about him beyond the impressive resume and thick New England accent. He’s going to be guarded at times, perhaps a product of working for this organization. He’s going to be blunt on some occasions. “I try to be accountable at all times,” Albernaz said recently. He can’t please everyone, and that includes people who want honestly from him but then get upset over what he says.

Could Joseph Dzierwa work all the way up to Norfolk by season’s end?
Dzierwa made eight starts with High-A Frederick and earned a promotion to Double-A Chesapeake. It wouldn’t be unprecedented for a player to perform at three levels in the same season. Outfielder Nate George did it in 2025. And Dzierwa was drafted out of Michigan State. We’re not talking about a high school pitcher. Dzierwa has plenty of time to convince the Orioles that he’s deserving of another bump, unless they want to keep him with the Baysox for whatever reason.

What will you do if there is a lockout in 2027?
I’ve experienced past lockouts that forced me to sleep in my car, but let’s stick to baseball. What will I do? A little less than I’d do if there wasn’t a lockout. I won’t have any major league transactions to share. No roster moves. We didn’t have 2021 Winter Meetings, which followed the cancellation of the 2020 Winter Meetings due to COVID. But I come up with stories throughout every offseason, even during the slowest of times. Is it easy? No. Do I wonder every year how it’s gonna happen? Sure do. And then, it happens.

Is Alby tough enough? Been two incidents in a week where he didn’t show a lot of fire to bolster his team (throwing at Gunnar, and the non-out of basepath call in Toronto).
Not sure anyone can question the toughness of a man who takes a screaming line drive off the side of his face, stays on his feet and returns to the dugout later to hug the player who fractured his cheek bones. Albernaz came out twice to argue calls in that Toronto game. I understand that some fans want to see their manager go all Earl Weaver on an umpire and scream, turn his cap backward and kick dirt. That doesn’t really happen much anymore. What goes on behind closed doors with a manager and his players usually stays there. Buck Showalter would calmly address the media after a bad loss and no one questioned how much he cared. But he had a managerial track record. Albernaz still has to prove himself. Anyway, I don’t think he’s coddling players – ask Samuel Basallo – or rolling over when umpires blow a call. I’ll reference Showalter one more time: If something happened in a game, he’d look down the bench and if the players were OK with it, he’d be OK with it. Albernaz would have gotten more heated if Henderson and teammates exploded over the hit-by-pitch.

Do you think Andrew Magno is close to making his major league debut with the Orioles? He has been quite impressive at Triple-A, throws from the left side, and would seem to be an upgrade compared to a struggling Keegan Akin.
Magno has some numbers on his side. The traditional kind. He’s allowed two earned runs in 29 1/3 innings in his 25 appearances. You can’t ignore a 0.61 ERA. He’s 28 years old with a career 2.91 ERA in seven minor league seasons, but he’s never gotten the call. The Orioles signed him in December after he elected free agency, and after he posted a 2.31 ERA in 42 games with Double-A Erie. The Orioles have made a bunch of bullpen moves, including signing Lou Trivino to a major league contract and letting him go after two poor outings. Cameron Foster allowed nine earned runs (10 total) and 17 hits with eight walks in nine innings. Left-handers Nick Raquet and Josh Walker have joined the club multiple times. Magno still hasn’t gotten the call. That could change, of course, but it’s hard to say “close” when he’s been bypassed this many times.