The Orioles brought up a fresh bullpen arm, and it’s a familiar one.

Anthony Nunez was recalled again this afternoon. And Albert Suárez was designated for assignment again.

Nunez has a 4.60 ERA in 40 appearances with the Orioles. He was on the Opening Day roster, optioned, recalled and sent down again.

The process of rebounding from the Yankees’ sweep begins tonight with the Orioles hosting the Rays in another division matchup before they hit the road again for a three-city trip.

The Orioles are 15 ½ games behind the first-place Rays, but no one is tracking that deficit. They’re two back for the last Wild Card, with five teams ahead of them. The Mariners are one game behind them.

It’s still crowded.

A loss would drop the Orioles seven games below. 500 for the first time since July 10. They won three of four against the Rays this month at Tropicana Field before returning home to play the Yankees.

It’s been a strange season series, which seems appropriate in 2026. The Orioles swept Tampa Bay in a three-game series in Baltimore in May after losing all three games at The Trop.

Samuel Basallo is catching. Dylan Beavers is in left field, Leody Taveras is in right and Tyler O’Neill is the designated hitter.

Beavers has hit three home runs in his last four starts.

Pete Alonso has a 12-game hitting streak, the longest of his career. It includes seven multi-hit games.

Alonso is one home run away from becoming the fifth player in major league history with 30 in at least seven of his first eight seasons, joining Albert Pujols (eight), Ralph Kiner, Eddie Mathews and Mark Teixeira, per STATS.

Gunnar Henderson has a career .600 slugging percentage against the Rays, the fifth-highest mark all-time in a minimum 200 plate appearances after Mike Trout (.657), Manny Ramirez (.612), Jose Cruz Jr. (.610) and Carlos Delgado (.603).

The Orioles went 0-for-16 with runners in scoring position in the Yankees series.

Trevor Rogers faced the Rays in his last start and allowed two runs and seven hits in six innings. Rogers has surrendered two runs in each of his three starts this month and four of five.

Rogers had allowed two runs or fewer in 10 of 11 starts. The Rays scored seven earned runs and eight total against him in 3 2/3 innings on May 18 in St. Petersburg. He had a 6.87 ERA that’s been shaved to 4.15.

Rogers owns a 5.40 ERA in six career starts against the Rays. Yandy Díaz is 7-for-13 with three doubles. Ryan Vilade is 4-for-4 with a double, triple and home run.

The Orioles lead the American League with 82 errors and the majors with 75 unearned runs allowed. The defense has got to tighten up or it doesn’t matter who’s starting.

Tampa Bay won nine straight games and held the best record in baseball before the Orioles nearly swept them this month. They’ve now lost five of seven.

The Orioles are seeing Freddy Peralta again. He allowed two runs and one hit in 4 2/3 innings against them in his last start.

In three starts since the Mets trade, Peralta has allowed 12 runs and 16 hits in 14 1/3 innings. He’s made improvements since his Rays debut in Colorado, when he surrendered seven runs and nine hits in 3 2/3.

O’Neill is 4-for-16 with a double and seven strikeouts against Peralta. Colton Cowser, who’s in center field, is 2-for-5 with a double and homer.

The Orioles are 30-19 (.612) against the Rays since the start of the 2023 season, the second-best record in a divisional matchup between two teams over that time, per STATS. The Rays are 32-20 against the Blue Jays.

The Rays have won nine straight road games. They’ve never won 10 in a row.

For the Orioles
Jackson Holliday 2B
Pete Alonso 1B
Gunnar Henderson SS
Tyler O’Neill DH
Samuel Basallo C
Dylan Beavers LF
Coby Mayo 3B
Colton Cowser CF
Leody Taveras RF

Trevor Rogers LHP

Tonight’s game airs exclusively on Apple TV.

*Reliever Félix Bautista will begin his injury rehab assignment Sunday at Double-A Chesapeake and join Triple-A Norfolk on Tuesday.

Bautista is recovered from last August shoulder surgery to repair his labrum and rotator cuff. He hasn’t pitched for the Orioles since July 20, 2025.

“Feeling good right now, thank God,” he said via interpreter Brandon Quinones. “Body’s feeling great. There haven’t been any setbacks or anything like that, so I’m feeling really good.”

Bautista was named the American League’s top reliever in 2023 and made his first All-Star team, posting a 1.48 ERA with 33 saves in 56 games and striking out 110 in 61 innings. He missed the playoffs and underwent Tommy John surgery in October.

He knows a thing or two about rehabs.

“It was another very difficult process, considering it was almost the same timeline as Tommy John, almost missing the same amount of time with those injuries,” he said of his latest ordeal. “But I tried to stay mentally strong and persevere and get through it as strong as I could.”

I’ll have more from Bautista in my next entry.