The Orioles have one more game against the Mets at Citi Field before reaching another off-day and figuring out what they’re doing with the rotation.

Kyle Bradish is out of it after going on the injured list Sunday with lower abdominal discomfort. Shane Baz was removed last night with no outs in the bottom of the fifth inning after Bo Bichette’s 105.1 mph line drive nailed him on the back of the right elbow.

Baz crouched on the mound, shook the glove off his left hand and grabbed his elbow. Reliever Grant Wolfram was rushed into the game after Baz’s one warmup toss sailed to the backstop.

Manager Craig Albernaz told the media that X-rays on Baz’s elbow were negative.

“He’s pretty sore.”

He’s also pretty lucky. But let’s see how he feels in the next few days.

The team leader in starts is Baz with 30, followed by Bradish with 29. The roster is expanded while the rotation is shrinking.

Chris Bassitt takes the ball tonight to conclude the series, with the Orioles returning home for a weekend set against the Brewers and three more games against the Blue Jays. Being idle Thursday makes it a little easier, but the Orioles have at least one hole to plug. And it’s two if Baz isn’t able to answer the call when needed again.

Cade Povich and Trey Gibson are with Triple-A Norfolk and options for the Orioles. Povich made his last start on Friday and Gibson the following day.

The Mets scored a run in each of the first three innings against Baz, who’s 6-15 with a 4.11 ERA after signing his five-year, $68 million extension. He was spared a 16th loss on Pete Alonso’s game-tying home run in the ninth – the 300th of the first baseman’s career.

Of course, Alonso did it at Citi Field. And he got a curtain call, which had to thrill reliever Kodai Senga.

Alonso is only the third player to reach 300 career homers within his first eight seasons.

Meanwhile, Félix Bautista retired the three batters he faced last night in his ninth injury rehab appearance and eighth with Norfolk. He threw 12 of 17 pitches for strikes, and his sinker was 93-96 mph.

*The Orioles are using the Arizona Fall League to get some needed work for a handful of pitchers and last year’s top draft pick.

MLB Pipeline ranks Braxton Bragg as the No. 22 prospect in the system, but he didn’t pitch for an affiliate this year after undergoing Tommy John surgery on July 30, 2025. He was No. 7 at the time of his procedure.

Bragg made three starts with High-A Aberdeen last season and allowed an unearned run with six hits and 18 strikeouts in 16 1/3 innings. He moved up to Double-A Chesapeake and posted a 2.32 ERA in nine games, striking out 59 in 42 2/3 innings.

Joining Bragg on the Peoria Javelinas roster are right-handers Patrick Reilly, Kiefer Lord and Teddy Sharkey, and left-hander Kailen Hamson. Reilly, Lord and Sharkey have returned from Tommy John surgery.

Lord didn’t pitch in 2024 and appeared in only three games with Class A Delmarva in 2025. He was removed from a June 23 game with High-A Frederick due to left oblique discomfort and missed about 2 ½ months.

Frederick outfielder/first baseman Ike Irish, drafted 19th overall as a catcher in 2025, also will play in the AFL after undergoing season-ending surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. The injury occurred on July 22 while he slid into second base.

Irish appeared in 76 games with the Keys after his promotion from Class A and batted .286/.388/.528 with 20 doubles, a triple, 16 home runs and 59 RBIs. He slashed .361/.388/.754 with six doubles and six homers in 13 July games.

The Orioles selected catcher Caden Bodine 30th overall in the same draft and traded him to the Rays as part of the package for Baz. He played at four levels of the system, including 13 games with Triple-A Durham, and slashed .341/.409/.512 with 27 doubles, two triples, 16 home runs and 98 RBIs in 115 games to earn the organization’s Co-Player of the Year award.

Baz has pitched much better for the Orioles than his record indicates, with poor offensive support hurting him continuously, but Bodine was a big prospect piece to part with in that deal. A few scouts I’ve talked to also love his work behind the plate, though he’s thrown out only 19 percent of runners attempting to steal in two minor league seasons.

Bodine won the Buster Posey Award, given annually to the top Division I catcher, before the Orioles drafted him.

Outfielder Vance Honeycutt and infielder Brandon Butterworth also are headed to the AFL. Honeycutt, the 22nd-overall pick in 2024, is a much different case from most of the others. He didn’t hit with Frederick, got a bump anyway and tore up the Eastern League.

Honeycutt batted .288/.381/.616 with seven doubles, a triple and five home runs in 20 games with Double-A Chesapeake.

If it doesn’t make much sense, consider what he did in spring training when brought over from minor league camp. Something clicks with Honeycutt at different times.

*Blaze Alexander, on the injured list for a second time, began baseball activities this week. However, he paused them for a good reason.

He was needed back in Arizona for the birth of his first child.

Alexander was hitting, fielding and throwing, according to Albernaz.

With 10 games left in the regular season, you can do whatever you want with that information.

Alexander is eligible to return on Saturday after being shut down with discomfort in his lower back. He missed six weeks earlier this season with a non-displaced fracture in his left hand.

“He’s doing everything he can to get back as soon as he can, but first things first. He has to go be a dad and be with his first child and enjoy it,” Albernaz told the media.

“When he comes back, we’ll talk more, but he needs to go be a dad.”

Did anyone imagine in March that Alexander’s absences would hurt the team this much? He’s batting .303/.358/.414 in 93 games after hitting .230/.323/.383 in 74 games with the Diamondbacks last season. His 1.9 bWAR ranked fourth yesterday among players still in the organization.

The Mets started left-hander Sean Manaea last night, and Albernaz couldn’t call upon Alexander, Luis Robert Jr. or Christian Franklin. He sat left-handed hitting Dylan Beavers and Heston Kjerstad, and he started switch-hitting Leody Taveras in right field and left-handed hitting Colton Cowser in center.

Taveras was 4-for-27 with 14 strikeouts this month and slashing .188/.247/.318 in 50 games since the break. He was batting .200 with a .502 OPS against left-handers. Cowser was batting .146/.236/.208 against them, but his defense offered a huge plus, and he was 4-for-11 in his previous four games.

Alexander would have been in the outfield if available. Robert, too, but he’s on the IL with a left hamstring strain. He just started baseball activities.

“We’ll see,” Albernaz said in his media scrum. “Day-by-day with Luis. The hamstring is tough, especially with the type of game he plays, style of game and the position he plays. We want to make sure that it’s holding up in the right spot and he’s recovering in the right way.”

Franklin is continuing his rehab assignment with Triple-A Norfolk.

*Gunnar Henderson has a team-leading 26 doubles and is on pace to finish first for a third consecutive season.

Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson holds the club record with five straight from 1960-64. Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. did it in four straight from 1989-92 and three in a row from 1982-84.

*A record that the Orioles didn’t want to set:

Before last night, their offense had 10-plus strikeouts in 68 games. The 2021 team held the previous mark with 67.

The 68 games were fifth most in the majors.

Mets pitchers struck out 17 Orioles last night. They didn’t issue a walk until the 11th inning.

If searching for other reasons why the Orioles didn’t go on the necessary tear this month to become more serious Wild Card contenders, they had one hit with runners in scoring position in each of their last three games before last night and were 3-for-27. They were 1-for-9 Monday but won 2-1 because Henderson homered in the eighth inning.

*I wrote earlier this week that four Orioles have made at least 26 starts this season – Baz, Bradish, Trevor Rogers and Brandon Young. They tied the club record held by four other quartets.

2015: Ubaldo Jimenez, Wei-Yin Chen, Chris Tillman, Miguel Gonzalez
2014: Tillman, Chen, Gonzalez, Bud Norris
2010: Brian Matusz, Jeremy Guthrie, Kevin Millwood, Brad Bergensen
2006: Erik Bedard, Kris Benson, Rodrigo López, Daniel Cabrera

*Coby Mayo pulled 20 of his first 23 home runs to left field, ranking among the highest percentages of any right-handed hitter at 87.

The Astros’ Isaac Paredes was first at 100, followed by the Diamondbacks’ Nolan Arenado at 96 and the Dodgers’ Andy Pages at 90.5.

Per STATS, Mayo could post the highest pulled home run rate by an Orioles right-handed hitter since Steve Pearce (95.2) in 2014.

The more you know …

Mayo went to center field last night for a three-run, inside-the-park homer in the 11th that broke a 4-4 tie.

Pearce never did that.