BOSTON – Adley Rutschman was scratched from tonight’s Orioles lineup with right abdominal discomfort.

Rutschman didn’t play last night, with Samuel Basallo making his first start behind the plate. Alex Jackson is catching tonight.

The lineup shuffling has Jackson batting ninth and third baseman Luis Vázquez moving up from eighth to second.

Jordan Westburg was limping in the clubhouse earlier today and had a walking boot at his locker. He exited last night’s game in the first inning after twisting his right ankle.

So far, he's avoided the injured list. Interim manager Tony Mansolino will provide an update later. 

An MRI on closer Félix Bautista’s right shoulder was inconclusive, but he’s going to remain unavailable for a considerable period.

Bautista went on the 15-day injured list after throwing a season-high 34 pitches on July 20 in Tampa and experiencing a decline in velocity.

“There’s a lot of swelling in the shoulder, can’t quite make a determination quite yet or diagnose it,” said interim manager Tony Mansolino. “Once the swelling goes down enough to scan it again, then we’ll have more information, and that’s gonna be probably more weeks than days.”

Bautista underwent elbow reconstructive surgery in October 2023 and didn’t pitch again until 2025. He hasn’t recaptured the triple-digit heat that was common during his All-Star season, but he recorded 19 saves in 20 chances and had a 2.60 ERA in 35 games. He struck out 50 batters in 34 2/3 innings but also walked 23.

The need for a closer lessens with the Orioles in last place and approaching the trade deadline as sellers, but they want to remain competitive, and their options are limited with Bryan Baker dealt to the Rays and Gregory Soto to the Mets. Seranthony Domínguez and Andrew Kittredge also are trade possibilities.

Being sellers doesn’t always equate to being losers. A team can hit four home runs in the first two innings and pretend that stripping the roster of key players isn’t a detriment.

And it can blow a lead and fall to the worst team in baseball, a reminder of why the front office is punting on 2025.

The Rockies overcame a four-run deficit, were tied in the seventh and got a solo homer from Ezequiel Tovar off Andrew Kittredge in the eighth to defeat the Orioles 6-5 before an announced floppy hat crowd of 25,090 at Camden Yards.

Alex Jackson doubled against reliever Jake Bird with one out in the seventh and scored the tying run on Jackson Holliday’s single. Kittredge entered in the eighth, struck out his first batter and surrendered his fourth homer in 28 appearances. Two more Rockies struck out.

"That's a bitter one right there," said interim manager Tony Mansolino. "It feels like here lately we've thrown up some good numbers early in games on that last road trip, and we just haven't been able to hang on. Part of that is pitching and part of that is not adding more runs as the game goes on. We have to add more runs. We had a couple spots we could have. We didn't get it done, unfortunately, tonight. Got to add more runs and got to hold leads."

TAMPA – The Orioles took a quick lead again this afternoon with Jackson Holliday’s leadoff home run. They built on it in the third inning with Alex Jackson’s first homer since last July. They keep playing to win, as reflected by the lineups, but there’s no escaping the reality of their situation.

Today’s 5-3 victory over the Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field featured a 2-hour, 36-minute rain delay – longest of the season - prevented a sweep and left the Orioles 10 games below .500 at 44-54. They’re playing four this week in Cleveland before returning home. And each day that passes makes them wonder how much the clubhouse will change.

If it’s a distraction, the Orioles pushed it aside today. They led 4-0 by the third on Henderson’s 109.2 mph, two-run double off Ryan Pepiot. The only losses came later in the inning when plate umpire James Hoye ejected Ramón Laureano and interim manager Tony Mansolino.

Laureano thought he checked his swing on a strikeout, flung his helmet and protective padding at home plate and was tossed. Mansolino picked up the argument after Laureano walked away and received his first career major league ejection.

Ramón Urias entered the game at first base and Ryan O’Hearn moved to right field.

Jacob Stallings made his fifth start and seventh appearance behind the plate last night with the Orioles. Alex Jackson should return to the lineup this weekend after doubling twice in his first start in Game 2 of Thursday’s doubleheader.

They’ve spent less than three weeks in the organization, Stallings arriving ahead of Jackson, and probably will stay together for a while. Four catchers are on the injured list – Adley Rutschman, Gary Sánchez, Maverick Handley and Chadwick Tromp – and none of the returns are imminent.

Rutschman (oblique) is doing some light hitting. Sánchez (knee) is projected to miss eight-to-10 weeks. Tromp (back) is doing full baseball activities but must go on a rehab assignment after the break. And he’s ahead of Handley (concussion), who’s playing catch and running but won’t swing a bat for at least a week.

“I have never seen anything like this before,” Tromp said. “The past four years I was with the Braves and we didn’t use more than three in all the seasons, so this is definitely strange and weird. You never know. But I believe in this group. I think we can do something special.”

The Orioles tied the franchise record by using six catchers this season. They needed only two in 2024, Rutschman and James McCann, which was an unusual occurrence for the club.

A day that began with the Orioles making a seller move concluded with a doubleheader sweep that could get more people buying into the idea that the 2025 season is salvageable.

Jordan Westburg hit a two-run homer off Mets left-hander Brandon Waddell in the second inning, Colton Cowser broke a tie in the fifth with an RBI single and the Orioles didn’t let up in a 7-3 victory over the Mets before an announced Game 2 crowd of 17,961 at Camden Yards.

Tomoyuki Sugano was down 2-0 in the first inning and lost a lead in the fourth, but he earned his first win since June 27 and first quality start since June 3, also the last time he got through the sixth. Fans stood to cheer as he walked back to the dugout after 99 pitches.

A bullpen that lost Bryan Baker to this morning’s trade with the Rays tossed three scoreless innings in a combined effort from Andrew Kittredge, Gregory Soto and Seranthony Domínguez. Domínguez allowed the only two baserunners.

Duel victories improved the Orioles to 42-50, their first time being eight games below .500 since May 6. Their last doubleheader sweep was June 25, 2016 against the Rays. Kevin Gausman and Oliver Drake combined on a shutout in Game 1 and T.J. McFarland recorded the win in Game 2 after relieving Chris Tillman.

The Orioles haven’t announced their starters for the weekend series against the Marlins that closes out the first half, but interim manager Tony Mansolino confirmed that rookie Brandon Young gets the ball on Sunday, and left-hander Trevor Rogers is certain to face his former team the previous afternoon.

This will be a first for Rogers, taken by Miami with the 13^th-overall pick in the 2017 draft out of Carlsbad High School in New Mexico.

The Marlins dealt him to the Orioles at last year’s deadline for prospects Kyle Stowers and Connor Norby, who make their respective returns to Camden Yards this weekend. Stowers arrives as a first-time All-Star. Rogers was optioned after only four starts, against the Guardians, Blue Jays, Nationals and Mets. His five starts this year, spread out between May 24 and Sunday, came against the Red Sox, Rays, Rangers twice and Braves.

“It’s gonna be a little strange,” Rogers said earlier this week. “That’s the only team I was with for seven years and they gave me a shot, so I’ll always be thankful for them. A lot of memories, a lot of good teammates over there, a lot of good people over there. So I’m excited to see those people.”

Rogers was an All-Star and Rookie of the Year runner-up to the Reds’ Jonathan India in 2021, the height of a career that dropped him on his head – and down to Triple-A Norfolk after the trade.

ATLANTA – The Orioles’ catching situation didn’t seem like it could go from bad to worse. 

Famous last words. 

On June 21, Adley Rutschman hit the injured list with a left oblique strain, with an expected return after the All-Star break. Just two days later, Maverick Handley collided with Jazz Chisholm and went on the concussion injured list. He has yet to resume baseball activities. Same with Chadwick Tromp, who hit the IL on July 1 with lower back tightness. 

Now, it’s Gary Sánchez who heads to the IL, with a moderate right PCL strain. There’s no timeline for his return just yet. 

Sánchez had previously missed a significant amount of time with a wrist injury before returning on June 14. Since then, though, his offensive production has been a huge boost in the absence of Rutschman. 

The Orioles go for their fourth sweep this morning in an 11:35 a.m. Roku game against the Braves.

Their record against the National League improved to 7-13, and they’re 1-6 in interleague series.

A win today would bring them to nine games below .500 for the first time since June 20 in New York.

Catcher Gary Sánchez left yesterday’s game with right knee discomfort and is out of today’s lineup. He underwent an MRI and the Orioles summoned David Bañuelos from Triple-A Norfolk for their medical taxi squad.

Running thin again at the position, the Orioles acquired catcher Alex Jackson from the Yankees today in exchange for international bonus pool space and a player to be named later or cash considerations.