Orioles catcher Gary Sánchez avoided a second trip to the injured list after a Gregory Soto pitch in the dirt nailed him on the finger Tuesday night at Globe Life Field.  

Can he do it again?

Sánchez exited today’s game against the Braves in the bottom of the fifth inning with right knee soreness after making a tag at the plate to end the fourth. He was in obvious pain, as shown on the MASN broadcast.

Austin Riley doubled to left field with two outs to score Ronald Acuña Jr. with the tying run. Colton Cowser retrieved the ball and fired to Gunnar Henderson, whose relay nabbed Matt Olson.

Sánchez made the sweeping tag and got his left arm tangled with Olson, which appeared to be the source of the injury. But the team identified it as his knee.

The source of it could be the foul popup that Sánchez caught in the first inning. His knee slammed into the padding behind the plate, but he walked away without a limp.

The Orioles have three catchers on the injured list – Adley Rutschman (oblique), Maverick Handley (concussion) and Chadwick Tromp (back). Jacob Stallings, signed to a minor league deal on June 24, has replaced Sánchez in-game twice this week.

Sánchez went on the injured list April 28 with right wrist inflammation and didn’t play again until June 14. He had five multi-hit games prior to today since his reinstatement, going 18-for-59 (.305) with two doubles, five home runs, 20 RBIs and 12 runs scored in 16 games.

The Orioles and Braves have an 11:35 a.m. Roku game on Sunday and Sánchez likely would have been on the bench or serving as designated hitter. He could make a quick recovery, be day-to-day or force the club into another roster move.

No. 1 prospect Samuel Basallo isn’t in Triple-A Norfolk’s lineup tonight, though it was set before Sánchez’s removal from the game. David Bañuelos, who has spent considerable time on the Orioles’ taxi squad, is catching for the Tides.

The Tides don't have a third catcher on the roster.

The five catchers used by the Orioles leaves them one short of the club record in 1986, 1962 and 1960, per STATS. Wrote about it here.

Sánchez struck out in both at-bats today. His contributions lately are improving the Orioles’ overall numbers at the position, but their .216 average and 67 hits before today ranked 24^th in the majors, and their .648 OPS was 22^nd.

Gary Sánchez: .231/.297/.418 in 30 games
Adley Rutschman: .227/.319/.372 in 68 games
Maverick Handley: .073/.133/.073 in 16 games
Chadwick Tromp: .188/.188/.438 in six games
Jacob Stallings: .000/.000/.000 in three games