Ryan Mountcastle is out of the Orioles lineup tonight after leaving last night’s game in the ninth inning with wrist soreness.

Ryan O’Hearn is playing first base and Adley Rutschman is the designated hitter and batting second.

The Orioles began the day 1 ½ games behind the Yankees in the division race and they’re counting on rookie Cade Povich, making his 10^th major league start, to give them length before turning to the bullpen.

Povich lowered his ERA to 5.77 by holding the Red Sox to two runs over a career-high 6 1/3 innings in his last start. He was optioned later that night but returned with Zach Eflin on the injured list.

Left-hander Keegan Akin was reinstated from the paternity list and the Orioles optioned lefty Nick Vespi, who tossed a scoreless inning last night.

Orioles' manager Brandon Hyde wasn’t ready to commit to a six-man rotation when asked about it earlier this week. Too many balls in the air to grab hold of an exact plan.

Actions could be pointing the team in that direction.

By keeping Cole Irvin and also needing a starter for Sunday night against the Astros, the Orioles could commit to the six-man alignment at least for the moment. And it provides extra rest for the entire crew.

There’s no other reason to keep Irvin unless he’s starting or the Orioles don’t want to run him through waivers again and risk a claim, which didn’t happen the first time.

Irvin isn’t any use to the bullpen this weekend after throwing 83 pitches Wednesday at Citi Field. The Orioles added two fresh relievers yesterday in Nick Vespi and Matt Bowman and sent down Colin Selby, who tossed three scoreless innings in two appearances.

NEW YORK – Another injury is forcing the Orioles to change their rotation and curse their luck.

Zach Eflin, with four quality starts and wins in his four appearances with the Orioles, went on the 15-day injured list this afternoon with right shoulder inflammation. Left-hander Cade Povich was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk.

Eflin felt some soreness after his last outing and it didn’t improve to the point where he could stay on the roster. The starter for Wednesday is TBD, with manager Brandon Hyde saying Corbin Burnes wouldn’t get the assignment on normal rest.

Povich started Saturday, allowed two runs in a career-high 6 1/3 innings and was optioned. He’s eligible to return because he’s replacing an injured player.

The Orioles also placed left-hander Keegan Akin on the paternity list today and he’s left the team to be with his wife for the birth of their second baby.

The Orioles honored Corbin Burnes on Friday with his own bobblehead night. He appreciated the gesture and took one home.

It just wasn’t anything new to him.

Teams have come up with the idea to doll up Burnes pretty much at every level after Little League.

“I’ve had a bunch of bobbleheads,” he said. “I had two or three in Milwaukee, I’ve had a couple in the minor leagues. My college (St. Mary’s of California) did one this year at the basketball game they had. I have quite a few Corbin Burnes bobbleheads in the office.”

Burnes isn’t a rabid collector, one hint being that he isn’t exactly sure of the number while pitching for the Brewers.

The Orioles recalled reliever Colin Selby this morning from Triple-A Norfolk as the replacement for Cade Povich, who was optioned following last night’s 5-1 loss to the Red Sox.

Selby was acquired from the Royals for cash considerations on July 11. He’s allowed six earned runs and seven total with 10 hits in nine innings.

Selby, 26, appeared in two games with the Royals this season and allowed two earned runs and three total in three innings. His last appearance was May 4 against the Rangers, which came after a scoreless inning the previous night. He posted a 9.00 ERA in 21 games (five starts) with the Pirates in 2023.

His last appearance with the Tides was Thursday. He didn't allow an earned run in four straight outings before surrendering three in two-thirds of an inning.

Povich’s latest stay in Baltimore was destined to be brief. He was charged with two earned runs last night in a career-high 6 1/3 innings and left to a standing ovation, but the Orioles recalled him only to make the one start and push back everyone else in the rotation.

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde was asked before tonight’s game whether rookie Cade Povich could stay in the rotation or perhaps move to the bullpen.

“I think we’ve got 40 games to go, and it’s 40 of day-to-day right now,” Hyde said. “Just kind of never know. And we’ve got rosters expanding. A lot of things can happen.”

A quick return to Triple-A Norfolk also was possible, or more like probable with no plans for a six-man setup. How much of the decision was really in the rookie’s hands?

The left one gave the Orioles lots to ponder.

Recalled earlier today to make his ninth major league start, Povich retired 15 of the first 17 batters and carried a shutout into the sixth inning before allowing a run. He lasted a career-high 6 1/3 in the Orioles’ 5-1 loss to the Red Sox before an announced crowd of 38,921 at Camden Yards.

The Orioles have had a homestand with two kinds of ugly losses and two well-pitched, well-played wins. Tonight they play Game 3 of a four-game series with Boston and Game 5 of their six-game homestand.

The Orioles (72-51) are 2-2 on the homestand, but had fallen one game behind the New York Yankees (73-50) for the AL East lead through Friday. Boston (64-57) is in third place, eight games back of the division leaders.

The Orioles are now 1/2 game back of New York after thier 4-0 loss to Detroit this afternoon as they were held to four hits in falling to 73-51. The O's can tie for first with a win tonight.

The Orioles beat the Red Sox 5-1 Thursday to open this series, as Zach Eflin and four relievers teamed on a seven-hitter with 10 strikeouts. But the O’s staff allowed 14 hits and four homers in last night’s 12-10 loss.

Boston hit four doubles, and added those four homers and scored two or more runs in four different innings. It was the third-most runs the Orioles have allowed in a game this season. They lost 19-8 at Oakland July 6 and 14-11 at Houston June 21.

The Orioles have made the following roster moves:

• Recalled LHP Cade Povich from Triple-A Norfolk. He will start tonight’s game.
• Optioned RHP Bryan Baker to Triple-A Norfolk.

The Orioles can move back into a first-place tie if they win tonight. The Yankees lost to the Tigers this afternoon 4-0 in Detroit.

Adley Rutschman is out of the lineup after being a late scratch last night with lower back discomfort.

Colton Cowser is leading off and playing left field. Anthony Santander is the designated hitter.

Ryan O’Hearn is in right field.

For the Orioles

The Orioles recalled left-hander Cade Povich, who was on their taxi squad, and he’s starting tonight against the Red Sox at Camden Yards. Manager Brandon  Hyde confirmed last night that Povich would get the ball.

Reliever Bryan Baker was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk as the corresponding move. That one was anticipated but not revealed until this afternoon.

Povich registered a 6.27 ERA and 1.688 WHIP in eight starts with the Orioles and is 6-1 with a 3.48 ERA and 1.107 WHIP in 15 games (14 starts) with Norfolk. He's averaging 10.3 strikeouts per nine innings with the Tides.

MLB Pipeline ranks Povich as the organization’s No. 5 prospect.

Albert Suárez is expected to be pushed back to Sunday. Hyde said yesterday that the club wanted to provide some extra rest for the rotation and downplayed the possibility of a six-man setup.

Left-hander Cade Povich is with the Orioles and expected to start Saturday night against the Red Sox. He’s spending tonight on the taxi squad with no indication from the club that he’s staying beyond the weekend.

Manager Brandon Hyde explained in his media session that Povich “potentially” would join the active roster and pitch Saturday and Albert Súarez would get pushed back to Sunday. Trevor Rogers would start Monday night against the Mets at Citi Field.

No one in the rotation is being skipped and the long-term plan isn’t for a the same six-man rotation that the Orioles used down the stretch last year.

“Probably not,” Hyde said. “We’d like to give these guys as much of a break as possible. We’ll see what happens. But we feel like, especially Al, Al threw more than he’s ever thrown before the last start. We’re kind of getting in a spot in the schedule where a lot of guys are getting up there in innings and aren’t used to it, so anytime we can give a guy a break or an extra day or two, we’re going to.”

Suárez has offered back-to-back scoreless outings since replacing Grayson Rodriguez in the rotation. He threw 94 pitches on Sunday at Tropicana Field, and his 6 2/3 innings were a career high, exceeding the 6 1/3 he logged on June 7, 2016 with the Giants.

Colton Cowser laid into a fastball, watched it soar to right field and raised his right leg. It probably won’t become his signature home run pose, but he was in the moment.

Jordan Westburg wasn’t as confident in the outcome of his fly ball the following inning until it landed in the bullpen area to tie Game 2. He went the more conventional route, with bat dropped and feet motoring.

The Orioles brought early power to the back end of the doubleheader, but lapses on the mound and in the field cost them a chance at a sweep.

Cade Povich didn’t make it through the fifth inning, the walks hurting him again, and the Orioles lost to the last-place Blue Jays 8-4. The twinbill drew an announced crowd of 22,272, with the nightcap starting late due to rain.

An 11^th loss in 17 games lowered the Orioles' record to 63-44. The Yankees are a half-game back for the division lead after hammering the Phillies 14-4.

ARLINGTON, Texas – Danny Coulombe and John Means are visiting teammates at Globe Life Field this weekend, another reminder of how much they are missed.

Means is recovering from his second Tommy John surgery and has his left elbow in a brace. Coulombe underwent a procedure to remove bone chips from his left elbow.

Coulombe said his recovery is “going along really well.”

“I feel like it’s right on track. We’re pretty optimistic about it,” he said.

“We’re still just working on a little bit of range-of-motion stuff. But it’s coming along really well. And, hopefully, soon we can start some catch and then just get it rolling.”

The Orioles traded a National League Central opponent tonight for one in the American League East. They had won 73 percent of their division games this year. But even that wasn’t enough to get their offense going again.

After scoring two runs in being swept by the Cubs, the Orioles ended their scoreless innings streak tonight but extended a losing streak to four.

Gerrit Cole allowed one run on 106 pitches over six frames as the New York Yankees beat the Orioles 4-1 in front of 39,566 at Camden Yards in the opener of a three-game series.

But what happened in the last of the ninth will be the lasting memory of this night. Yankees closer Clay Holmes hit Heston Kjerstad with a pitch in the batting helmet and a few minutes later both dugouts emptied as O's manager Brandon Hyde had words with someone in the visiting dugout.

"I was walking back and I hear stuff from their dugout," Hyde said. "So I just reacted the way I did. Saw what they were pointing at me and the whole thing, so just reacted the way I did.

They are the top two teams in the American League East, with the Orioles (57-36) leading the Yankees (56-39) by two games atop the division. But both have been playing under .500 ball for a couple of weeks or more. 

Heading into the weekend series, the Orioles are coming off being swept three straight by the Cubs. They have lost four of five and five of their past seven games. They are 8-11 since June 21. But they have actually gained 2.5 games on the Yankees since that date as New York is 5-13 since then.

The Yankees have lost three of four and seven of their last nine games. They are 6-17 since June 15 with a -35 run differential and 5.91 team ERA in that span, allowing 40 homers in those 23 games.

Will one team get well at the expense of the other this weekend?

Both have struggled with pitching lately, although the Orioles scored just two runs in the series with the Cubs. They still are among the best pitching staffs in baseball on the stat sheet. With a 3.60 team ERA, the Yankees rank second in the AL and at 3.66, the Orioles are fourth. O's starters have a 3.54 ERA to rank third while New York is fifth in the AL with a 3.66 rotation ERA. The Yankees bullpen is second (3.55) while the O's are eighth (3.86).

Cade Povich brings a certain level of curiosity into tonight’s start against the Yankees.

Specifically, how will the rookie respond to his worst outing in the majors, when he failed to retire a batter in the second inning in Oakland and was charged with eight runs.

Povich has surrendered six runs in the first inning and six more in the second over his six starts. Three runs scored in the first in his last outing and the Athletics tacked on seven more in the second, with Dillon Tate unable to stop the bleeding.

So yes, manager Brandon Hyde is curious about tonight.

“I think we’re going to find out in the first inning,” Hyde said. “His first innings have been a little rocky, where he has a tough time kind of finding his command. So hopefully tonight he finds that command early.

The Orioles hold a two-game advantage over the Yankees in the American League East and they begin a weekend series tonight that leads into the break. They haven’t lost a division series in the last 22.

They haven't scored in the last 24 innings.

Heston Kjerstad is in left field and Cedric Mullins is in center. Colton Cowser is on the bench again.

Jordan Westburg is at second base. Ryan O'Hearn is the designated hitter.

Ryan Mountcastle is batting seventh.

In the final game of a three-game series and six-game road trip, the Orioles (56-33) play at Oakland (34-57) today. The O's won the series-opener 3-2 Friday and lost 19-8 on Saturday. 

That game produced season-highs or really lows for the Orioles.

* It was the most runs they have allowed this season, topping the 14 from June 21 at Houston.

* It is the most runs the Orioles have allowed since a 22-7 loss on Sept. 12, 2021 against Toronto.

* The Orioles also allowed season highs in hits with 18 (the previous most was 15) and homers, allowing five, one more than the four they gave up to Texas on June 29.

OAKLAND – Cade Povich issued two walks in the first inning and took one of his own.

Brent Rooker, the third batter faced, made loud contact on a cutter that traveled 414 feet to the seats above the out-of-town scoreboard in left field. The ball was in flight as Povich drifted toward the third base line, his head turned in the direction of the landing spot.

The rookie had to watch. He didn’t have to stand on the mound to do it.

He’d leave it for good the next inning.

Max Schuemann also hit a three-run homer after the first two Oakland batters reached in the second. A walk and bloop single followed and Povich was removed from the game, his worst outing in the majors leading to the Orioles’ 19-8 loss before an announced crowd of 8,526 that witnessed five home runs from their team.

OAKLAND – A home run and walk in the first inning last night and a leadoff single and an error in the second threatened to detonate Albert Suárez’s start.

A runner stood on third base with one out. With his typical calm demeanor, Suárez struck out the next two batters to escape the jam and retired 12 in a row and 17 of his last 20.

Suárez allowed two runs in six-plus innings, and Orioles starters have surrendered only four in the last 23 1/3.

The Orioles began the series ranked first in the American League and second in the majors with a 3.42 ERA. Their 3.28 rotation ERA also was first and second, respectively.

They held those spots after last night’s 3-2 win at Oakland Coliseum, the staff at 3.40 and rotation still 3.28. The starters have allowed two earned runs or fewer in eight of the last nine games.