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CHICAGO – Four relievers pitched last night for the Orioles before they could secure an 8-7 win over the White Sox. Left-hander José Castillo kept his jacket on and his seat on the bench.
Castillo would be the 69th player to appear in a game with the Orioles this season. The Marlins set the record last year by using 70.
The Orioles are in a September race, but not the one they wanted.
The club record was 62 in 2021, but it didn’t stand a chance this year. Injuries and the trade deadline created a roster churn that’s still in motion.
The Orioles have used 39 different pitchers, including position players forced into emergency relief, the second-most in franchise history behind the 42 in 2021. Thirty-four position players have gotten into games, tied for first with the 1955 team.
“I don’t think that’s what we want by any means, and I think there’s extenuating circumstances causing it. I don’t think it’s a choice we’re making,” said interim manager Tony Mansolino.
“The way we have to actually look at it is, in spite of that, in spite of the players coming in and out and being so transient and the whole deal, we’ve been really good here for three or four months and have won a lot of games, so really proud of the group, the coaching staff, the front office, everybody that’s kind of hung in there and put out a competitive roster on the field, and the players obviously playing well themselves.”
Having 23 different players homer this year is a team record and it leads the majors. Having 19 players steal a base also is an Orioles record.
* Shortstop Gunnar Henderson produced run-scoring singles last night in the third and fifth innings after entering the night with six hits in 41 at-bats this month. He also singled in the eighth for his first three-hit game since July 29.
He hasn’t homered in the last 20 games, but he’s 6-for-15 in the last three.
“Just trying to stack as many days as I can,” he said, “just take as many good at-bats as I can and see where I’m at the end of the season.”
Henderson deserves serious consideration for Most Valuable Oriole because he leads the club in just about every category among qualifying players – games, runs, hits, doubles, triples, RBIs, walks, stolen bases, hit-by-pitches, average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS and fWAR. He’s one home run behind leader Jackson Holliday.
The defense has been outstanding, which also should factor into the voting.
This isn’t a league award. It’s about the team.
Mansolino believes that Henderson will figure out the issue with his swing during the offseason.
“Gunn has had a solid offensive year,” Mansolino said yesterday afternoon. “It’s actually a good year. If you ask him, he’ll tell you it’s a bad year. That’s how talented this kid is.
“The kid has gone through a year where he probably hasn’t had his A swing the whole year, and you look up on the board, it’s a pretty good year.”
* The trade deadline was over. Pencils down, as they quip. The Orioles created six openings on their 26-man roster with aggressive strikes that removed high-leverage relievers, veteran hitters and a 41-year-old starting pitcher.
Just when it seemed safe to turn the page, the Orioles penned one more move. They barely made it under the wire, and cash transactions don’t get much attention anyway.
Dietrich Enns arrived from the Tigers, and beat writers who filed their stories turned on their laptops again to do some research and post again.
The Orioles are getting more out of Enns than Detroit, which used him in seven games, twice in starts, and he responded with a 5.60 ERA and 1.528 WHIP in 17 2/3 innings. Enns has made 14 appearances with the Orioles, starting once, and registered a 3.28 ERA and 1.297 WHIP in 24 2/3 innings.
Like any Orioles reliever, he’s had some duds mixed in, with earned runs allowed in six of his last 10 appearances. Before Monday’s three-inning save, Enns went 1 1/3 innings against the Blue Jays on Friday and allowed two runs and three hits. One run scored after he left. And he surrendered a solo home run and walked three Dodgers batters over two innings on Sept. 5.
In between those games were the scoreless 10th and 11th innings against the Pirates, with Enns stranding the automatic runners.
Mansolino expressed his optimism over Enns’ future with the Orioles following Monday night’s 4-1 win over the White Sox. Enns retired all nine batters he faced for the save.
Enns is a 34-year-old rookie, which isn’t the norm. He debuted with the Twins in 2017 and didn’t pitch in the majors again until 2021 with the Rays – a total of 11 games and 26 1/3 innings. It took another four years for him to resurface with the Tigers, with stops in Japan and Korea.
“What a neat story," Mansolino said. "Kind of where he was before, and then going overseas, and then coming back to Detroit, coming over in the trade. Remembering the trade deadline day. It was a lot that day, losing so many of our guys, and then we got the call that we got Dietrich Enns, and I probably didn’t really get that excited at the time, but boy am I excited right now.
"He’s really good, and I think he’s definitely kind of forcing his way onto this thing going forward. He’s been tough.”
The Baltimore Sun noted how three-inning saves had occurred 221 times in Orioles history, 12 in the past 20 years and three in the last five. Cole Irvin was the most recent on Sept. 2, 2024, and Keegan Akin did it twice.
But digger a little deeper, Enns is among 10 Orioles relievers to toss three or more perfect innings to earn the save, according to STATS.
Here’s the list:
Dietrich Enns, Sept. 15, 2025, three innings at White Sox
Paul Fry, Sept. 26, 2018, three innings at Red Sox
Ubaldo Jimenez, Aug. 7, 2016, three innings at White Sox
Kerry Ligtenberg, May 24, 2003, three innings at Rangers
Arthur Rhodes, June 24, 1997, four innings at Brewers
Mark Williamson, Sept. 19, 1989, 3 1/3 innings vs. Tigers
Nate Snell, May 31, 1985, four innings vs. Athletics
Jim Palmer, May 14, 1982, four innings at Mariners
Wayne Garland, May 11, 1976, three innings at Brewers
Eddie Watt, Aug. 13, 1972, three innings vs. Red Sox
