The Orioles received split news on their two MRIs earlier today.

First baseman Ryan Mountcastle suffered a broken bone in his left foot, with the imaging confirming a fracture of the fourth metacarpal – the second bone from the outside edge of the foot.

Mountcastle exited last night’s game in the second inning after stumbling between first and second base on a double. The team announced that Mountcastle had left foot pain.

This is another huge blow for a player who’s had trouble avoiding the injured list in his career. He missed more than two months last season with a strained hamstring.

The Orioles signed Mountcastle to a $6.787 contract, with a $7.5 million club option, to avoid arbitration. Playing time was sparce early on with Pete Alonso at first base and every opposing starting pitcher a right-hander.

Catcher Adley Rutschman is on the injured list with inflammation in his left ankle. He was scratched from last night’s lineup. But his absence should be much shorter.

“So it was encouraging news with Adley, so just nip this in the bud and then he’ll be good to go. So real encouraging news,” Albernaz said.

“With Mounty, yeah, it’s a little tougher.”

Rookie Samuel Basallo becomes the No. 1 catcher with Rutschman out. He hit a two-run homer today in the first inning.

“Obviously, it’s not anything that I’m happy about or proud of, seeing one of my teammates go down like that. With that being said, I am thankful for the opportunity, and I’m ready to contribute in any way that I can and help this team win,” Basallo said through interpreter Brandon Quinones.

“I’m going to be ready to go each and every single day.” 

The Orioles have 12 players on the injured list and Mountcastle will make it 13, tied with the Diamondbacks for most in the majors. They also must be having flashbacks to 2025. But they battled through the adversity to win back-to-back games and the series against the Giants.

“I think the players in that clubhouse have shown their resiliency,” Albernaz said after a 6-2 win at Camden Yards. “Like last year was last year and that’s something that I talked about when I got the job this offseason and through spring training, just the players’ feedback and what they felt from last season. And obviously we added some new pieces, but the last thing is, it’s not last year. And yesterday the boys stepped up.

“Right before the game, Adley gets pulled and Mounty ends up messing up his foot, and everyone sees that and the boys stepped up. And then today, same thing. And to me, that’s the sign of a resilient group. And in this game, you have to be. The season’s too long, there’s ups and downs, guys get injured. It’s all part of it. But the good teams can overcome that, and right now we’re showing signs that we can. And I’d bet on this team a lot.”

*Tyler O’Neill went on the seven-day concussion list earlier today. Albernaz explained why.

“That was kind of newish,” he said. “What I mean by that is for a week he’s been battling illness and sickness, and then on the off-day, he was extremely dehydrated on Thursday and he ended up fainting. And come to find out through that, we’re guessing that he probably banged his head a little bit. So that was the touch-and-go aspect of it, because we weren’t sure if it was the dehydration of the illness. And as he was getting worked up to play, he just felt dizzy, so we’ve got to make sure he’s good to go.”

This is the fourth time that O’Neill has gone on the IL since the Orioles signed him to a three-year, $49.5 million contract before the 2025 season.

*The Orioles are listing Monday night’s starter against Arizona as TBA, but Dean Kremer is throwing in the Camden Yards outfield this afternoon. He had to wait until kids were done running the bases.

*Does left-hander Cade Povich stay with the club and move into the bullpen? He found a sweet way to celebrate his 26th birthday, retiring the first 12 batters and surrendering one run over 6 2/3 innings.

Povich allowed five hits, threw 97 pitches and became the first Orioles starter to win on his birthday since John Means on April 24, 2019 against the White Sox.

“That was awesome to watch,” Albernaz said. “That was so much fun. He was efficient in the strike zone, fastball had real life today. I mean, he was going 22 inches of vert, 20 inches of vert on every four-seam. He did a great job of landing all of his off-speed pitches for strikes, so now the Giants had to honor that because he’s getting the strike zone. The changeup, the curveball had real bite to it, depth. He was using the cutter well. Yeah, it was a great pitching performance.”

Albernaz applauded Povich before taking the ball from him, and he patted the pitcher on the chest. Albernaz wanted him to know how much the effort was appreciated and to enjoy the moment as fans stood to cheer him.

“I tapped him on the chest and let him know that was awesome, it was fun to watch, and the boys around him in the infield were saying the same thing. And as he walked away, I just told him, just take that in, that’s cool,” Albernaz said.

“You know, it’s very rare in this game where you kind of get to feel that, so he was well deserved and the fans were awesome.”

“Yeah, it was amazing,” Povich said. “I had some really good plays behind me. Walking off, Alby told me to take it all in, and yeah, it was amazing. It was special.”

Povich impressed his catcher, too.

“I think everyone saw what he was able to do out there today,” Basallo said. “Really, his last two outings up here have been incredible, to say the least. He’s been impressive.

“I think right now, he’s just being really confident and aggressive with his pitches. I think the pitching staff as a whole, that’s what we’re seeing out of them. They’re being aggressive and going out and attacking hitters. I think that’s what I’m seeing with Povich right now. 

Other highlights included how Basallo’s two-run, opposite-field homer in the first inning was 107.9 mph, Anthony Nunez striking out his only batter on three sweepers after replacing Povich, and Pete Alonso coming to life with a two-run double on a two-strike curveball almost in the dirt, and a single.

Alonso hit into a double play to end the eighth, but shortstop Willy Adames made a nice stop of a 108.8 mph grounder.

“For Pete, everyone in the clubhouse knows how hard he works and he hasn’t wavered from being the teammate that he is,” Albernaz said.

The Orioles moved back above .500 at 8-7 and must find ways to keep moving while injuries try to drag them down.

“It’s a long season,” Alonso said. “I know it’s still early. But I think for us, if we can just be battle tested the whole year and play our best baseball towards the end, that’s ultimately the goal.

“The whole point is to win the whole thing at the end of the year, hold up the trophy. So for us to be battle tested, to be resilient, to have those characteristics, is obviously super important for getting to the postseason. … Being able to bounce back, being able to kind of stay in the moment, lock in, I think that shows a lot about this team and the men that are in this clubhouse and staff we have.”