“I thought that tied it!”

My grandfather, with a chuckle, quickly realized from the reactions around him that Dylan Beavers had just won the game for the Orioles in the bottom of the ninth, and had not, in fact, just tied things up. 

Baltimore came roaring back in the eighth, highlighted by Coby Mayo’s two-run home run, but complimented by the less highlight-worthy Ryan Mountcastle run scored on a wild pitch. With things knotted in the ninth, Beavers only needed one pitch to send Orioles fans home happy. 

That feeling of elation, shared by my Pop and O’s fans that had come to Camden Yards to put a bow on the 2025 season, was one that they hadn’t felt as often as they would’ve liked at their favorite ballpark. The victory improved Baltimore’s home record to 39-42, even if some walkoffs felt as if they should count as an extra crooked number in the win column. 

But among the 81, No. 81 itself carries a different weight. 

The intent wasn’t to create a baseball game show, with Orioles catchers spinning like a wheel through the season. It just happened over time.

They used seven in 2025 to set the franchise record. The 2022 Pirates are the last with eight.

David Bañuelos, an Orioles taxi squad catcher for what feels like the entire season, got into one game as the designated hitter. He doesn’t count.

Samuel Basallo was drilled on the right wrist by Pete Fairbanks’ 96.6 mph fastball leading off the ninth inning Wednesday night. Bañuelos might have gotten a shot. Or the Orioles could have brought back someone else. But X-rays were negative for a fracture and Basallo, who had the wrist taped yesterday, is expected to play this weekend in the Bronx.

Trevor Rogers was my first contestant this week in trying to name the seven catchers and how many he pitched to this season. I could have made it easier on myself by writing the names on an index card, but I worked from memory with Basallo, Adley Rutschman, Gary Sánchez, Alex Jackson, Maverick Handley, Jacob Stallings and Chadwick Tromp.

The Orioles turned on the power at closing time.

Fans stood and cheered Orioles left-hander Cade Povich this afternoon as he walked off the mound for the last time in 2025. The game didn’t turn out as he wanted. The effort and ability to make 20 starts, along with two relief appearances, seemed to be appreciated. A kind gesture from the crowd.

The place erupted on Coby Mayo’s game-tying two-run homer in the eighth, and again in the ninth when Dylan Beavers demolished Kevin Kelly's first-pitch cutter and reached the flag court. Both appreciated and celebrated with gusto. The ballpark came alive, absolutely electric, with placement in the division standings irrelevant. 

Beavers' walk-off homer gave the Orioles a 6-5 win over the Rays before an announced crowd of 16,777 at Camden Yards, which brought the season total to 1,803,655. The ball left his bat at 107.7 mph, he took a few steps toward first base and flipped the lumber so high he could have brought rain.

A teammate tossed him a Ravens helmet before he touched home plate. Beavers scored the game-winner and didn't fumble his opportunity.  

The 2025 season hasn’t gone the way that anyone had hoped. 

At 73-81, the Orioles are likely on their way to a losing season, playing spoiler rather than contender. Just two active members of Baltimore’s roster have played more than 85 games, and only two pitchers have started more than 20 contests. 

Yet, despite disappointing results, there have been no shortage of positive stories. This week on “The Bird’s Nest,” we broke down some of our favorites. 

If you missed this week’s show, you can watch the full episode here: https://masn.me/v3mmyrwe. 

Trevor Rogers 

CHICAGO – The Orioles are back home for a four-game series against the Yankees that begins tonight, followed by three against the Rays and a final trip to the Bronx. The light at the end of the tunnel isn’t another oncoming train. The season is almost done.

An entire day passed yesterday without a roster move, if you don’t count the Braves claiming reliever Carson Ragsdale on waivers. No one was hurt. No one was put on a plane with instructions to join the team.

Poor health has wrecked the Orioles’ hopes of a third consecutive playoff berth, but they aren’t leaning on that excuse.

It might not support their weight, and the crash could bring physical harm.

“It’s gonna be a huge part of (the story) in a lot of ways,” said interim manager Tony Mansolino. “We’re not gonna blame it all on injuries. I think that’s a little bit of a copout, it’s not very accountable from our perspective to do that. But yeah, it’s hard when all your players aren’t on the field at the same time.

CHICAGO – With a Wild Card berth no longer a mathematical possibility, official elimination arriving late last night, the Orioles must set other goals over the last few weeks.

Perhaps they can finish in fourth place in the division. Maybe post a non-losing record along the way.

Sights are lowered for a team in the basement.

The Orioles completed their sweep of the White Sox this afternoon with a 3-1 victory before an announced crowd of 10,919 at Rate Field. They return home to play the Yankees and Rays and make their final trip with a weekend series in the Bronx.

That’s a wrap on 2025.

CHICAGO – What seemed inevitable has become official. The numbers can’t be manipulated. Optimism can’t be manufactured.

The 2025 Orioles are eliminated from the playoff chase.

Tonight’s 8-7 victory over the White Sox at Rate Field won't prolong their bid for a miracle run at the final Wild Card. The Mariners and Astros won, and those teams held the Orioles' fate in their hands.

Finishing above .500 remains a possibility if the Orioles (71-80) win their last 11 games. Their most recent non-winning season was in 2021, when they lost 110.

They shocked the industry in ’22 by posting 83 victories and signaling an end to the rebuild, and they went 101-61 the following year to claim the division.

TORONTO – For the last few weeks, the Orioles had been the ones doing the walkoffs. 

In fact, Baltimore had won four consecutive games in that fashion back at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. 

This afternoon in Toronto, though, Baltimore was on the other side of things in a 5-4 loss. 

The Gatorade was far less cold.

Alejandro Kirk was the hero for the Blue Jays with a walk-off sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth as Toronto stormed back with four runs in the final two innings of play. 

TORONTO – The legacy of three active pitchers in Major League Baseball towers above the rest. 

Between them, they have combined for nine Cy Young awards and two Most Valuable Player awards, the last pitchers not named Shohei Ohtani to win that honor since Dennis Eckersley in 1992. 

They’re the only active pitchers in the game with over 200 career wins. They’re also the only trio to each accumulate over 3,000 strikeouts over their Hall of Fame careers. 

Justin Verlander, Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer have another thing in common, too: They’re the last three starters to oppose Tomoyuki Sugano. 

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Sugano is set to become the second pitcher in O’s history to face a 200-game winner in three consecutive outings, joining Dave Schmidt in 1987, who faced Bert Blyleven twice and Joe Niekro. So, Sugano will actually become the first Oriole to face three different 200-game winners consecutively. 

The Orioles looked like they were trying to maintain their run of walk-off wins this afternoon. Tie the game, take a lead and be tied again within the first three innings. Get in and out of jams. Pin the opposing pitcher on the ropes and let him escape.

Just get them to the ninth or past regulation, when something magic happens.

Dylan Beavers was last night’s hero with his bases-loaded single in the 10^th. He delivered the go-ahead run again today, but it came from an infield hit in the seventh inning to propel the Orioles to a 3-2 win before an announced crowd of 13,957 at sunny Camden Yards.

Four of the previous five games ended with walk-off wins, but wild celebrations aren’t promised.

The Orioles (69-77) have won eight of their last nine games and nine of 11. Twelve more victories guarantee a .500 finish or better.

Tyler Wells isn’t in a band and he isn’t interested in playing second fiddle.

He knows how to conduct himself against a phenom.

Wells was the other starter tonight opposite the Pirates’ Paul Skenes, the former first-overall draft pick and reigning National League Rookie of the Year who naturally drew most of the attention. Wells didn’t care. He’s just glad to be back on a mound.

Skenes shut out the Orioles for five innings before manager Don Kelly removed him from the game as part of a planned ramp down. Wells kept going, lasting 6 2/3 innings with one run and one hit allowed, and the Orioles produced their fourth walk-off win in five games, 2-1, over the Pirates before an announced crowd of 18,210 at Camden Yards.

Jackson Holliday’s two-out RBI single off former Orioles reliever Isaac Mattson tied the game in the eighth. Albert Suárez didn’t let the automatic runner score in the 10^th, the bullpen’s exceptional month continuing with 3 1/3 scoreless innings, and Dylan Beavers pulled a full-count 98 mph fastball down the left field line to score pinch-runner Jorge Mateo and ignite another celebration.

Only the top two minor league affiliates are playing regular season games at this point in the summer, so the Orioles brought their first four draft picks to Camden Yards yesterday – Ike Irish (19^th overall), Caden Bodine (30^th), Wehiwa Aloy (31^st) and Slater de Brun (37^th).

The group visited the clubhouse, weight room and other areas of the ballpark, took batting practice and watched the game from a suite. Smiles and waves accompanied their introductions to the crowd after the first inning.

Irish shared his early impressions of Camden Yards with the media while sitting in the dugout.

“The warehouse is pretty sick,” he said.

Maybe he can aim for it in a few years.

Perhaps the finest accomplishment that Jackson Holliday can reflect upon after the season is staying away from the injured list, but only if he makes it through the last three weeks unharmed. He’s in rare company. He’s a left-handed hitting unicorn.

Holliday sat yesterday after breaking up Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s no-hit bid Saturday with a two-out home run in the ninth inning. His 134^th game arrives after the off-day, second only to Gunnar Henderson, who will play in his 136^th.

Holliday is first on the team in at-bats with 525 and home runs with 17. His .710 OPS, 130 hits, 20 doubles, three triples, 53 RBIs, 47 walks, 65 runs and 15 stolen bases are second behind Henderson.

The free passes are coming in bunches now. Holliday had two more Friday and closed August with six in San Francisco. He’s drawn 23 in his last 25 games. He also has 12 hits in his last nine games.

The 47 walks are the fourth-highest among Orioles 21 or younger after Curt Blefary’s 88 in 1965, Boog Powell’s 49 in 1963 and Eddie Murray’s 48 in 1977, according to STATS. Cal Ripken Jr. had 46 in 1982.

SAN DIEGO – The season moved into a new month today, the last before the Orioles can board flights home and begin to put it behind them. They will use it to give Kyle Bradish innings in preparation for a normal offseason and spring training. They will keep evaluating rookie Jeremiah Jackson and whether he can be a piece moving forward in a role that fits. They will expose Dylan Beavers to major league pitching, reap the rewards, and be careful to keep his rookie status intact for 2026.

Bradish’s second post-surgery start lasted four innings, a step back results-wise but still encouraging as he retired the last seven Padres batters and turned up the heat on his fastball. Jackson singled twice and homered to keep suggesting that the bat might play at this level.

Wins have been in short supply, but the Orioles eked one out today, getting a tie-breaking single from Beavers off Robert Suarez in the seventh inning to defeat the Padres 4-3 before an announced crowd of 45,586 at Petco Park.

Rico Garcia retired the side in order in the eighth and Keegan Akin stranded a runner in the ninth for the save, improving the Orioles’ record to 62-76 with their third win in 12 games.

"We hung in there, man," said interim manager Tony Mansolino. "Listen, we’re just trying to piece this together. I’ve told you guys there’s gonna be days where it works and there’s gonna be days where it doesn’t. We’ve got guys kind of pitching up in terms of like roles they’re throwing and today it worked out. I’m proud of the guys. They did awesome, and we were kind of due for a good one, so happy for that.”

SAN FRANCISCO – The mailbag didn’t empty on my first attempt, so let’s try again.

Here are some leftover questions as we await the second game of the series against the Giants, with a starting time of 4:15 p.m. on the West Coast.

Which prospects recently brought up are you most surprised by with their performance, whether good or bad?
So we’re not counting Jeremiah Jackson, right? You said “prospects.” But he’s definitely a surprise. I didn’t put much stock in his Triple-A numbers. Dylan Beavers is an on-base machine, which isn’t to be confused with Vimael Machín. I just assumed that he’d start slowly like so many others, but he’s worthy of an elevated spot in the lineup – next season after he retains rookie status.

Should Ryan Mountcastle change positions, since first base is crowded with Samuel Basallo on the roster?
Mountcastle already has played four since the Orioles drafted him – shortstop, third base, left field and first base. I don’t think there are plans to put him in the five-timers club and give him a special jacket. He’s also a two-time Gold Glove finalist at first. He’s fine. The bigger question is whether the Orioles give him another raise in arbitration in his final year before free agency, and if so, how they work the lineups with Basallo, Adley Rutschman and Coby Mayo.

Do you have any preferences for any of the rumored expansion cities? Guess one has to be on the West Coast?
Not sure I’m caught up on the rumors. Salt Lake City and Nashville? I saw the USA Today report last month that those cities are targeted. Bring back Montreal so I can finally make a trip. The Expos had the undisputed worst ballpark in the majors and every beat writer circled those dates on the calendar. Had nothing to do with Olympic Stadium. It was all about the city, which, as the backup on the beat, I never got to experience. Delmarva would be ideal because I could stay with my mom.

The business side of baseball reared up and bit reliever Roansy Contreras earlier today with news that the Orioles designated him for assignment to make room for right-hander Shawn Dubin.

Contreras finally got the call this week and made his Orioles debut last night, tossing 4 1/3 scoreless innings behind opener Dietrich Enns. He’s out of minor league options and would need to pass through waivers before the Orioles could outright him.

“Those are tough decisions,” said interim manager Tony Mansolino. “There was a lot of time spent on that, trying to figure out what the right thing to do was. We’ve got a lot of smart people who are looking at a lot of different type of information and trying to make the best decision they can.

“The coach in me wants him to get claimed because we want our players to play in the major leagues and get opportunities. The Baltimore Oriole in me wants him to get through and go unclaimed and be back in the fold for us.”

Dubin will be in the bullpen today.

The schedule delivers another day game after a night game. And maybe another round of Samuel Basallo stories.

Just playing the odds here.

Basallo has been the center of attention for his major league promotion, early RBI binge, agreement on the most lucrative contract extension for a pre-arbitration catcher and yesterday’s press conference to talk about it.

“Wonderful day for us,” said executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias, “and we look forward to working with Sam for a very, very long time, and hopefully leading us to much success and many championships during his time here.”

Maybe in 2026.

Samuel Basallo has been a major leaguer for less than a week and he’s on a record pace.

Basallo was the first player signed and developed by the Orioles’ new international program to reach the majors. He became only the second player to record an RBI in his first three games and to collect five over that same period. And most stunning, of course, is his distinction as the first to receive a contract extension of four-plus years under executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias.

It wasn’t Adley Rutschman or Gunnar Henderson or Jackson Holliday or Colton Cowser or Jordan Westburg or Coby Mayo or Dylan Beavers.

It was the kid who just turned 21 and made his debut on Sunday.

Maybe the organization’s plan is to start with the youngest and work its way up.

Brandon Young couldn’t duplicate the drama.

Young was perfect for 7 2/3 innings in Houston, returned home tonight and allowed a hit and home run among his first four batters. The Astros didn’t let the rookie get on another roll.

Christian Walker’s two-run shot with two outs in the first inning was followed by Carlos Correa’s two-run single in the second. Houston scored three times in the third before Young retired a batter, and the Orioles stayed down in a 7-2 loss before an announced crowd of 18,061 at Camden Yards.

Young was charged with seven runs and nine hits in 5 1/3 innings and exited after covering first base to retire Jacob Melton on a ground ball to Coby Mayo leading off the sixth. Young came down hard on his left leg, began limping past the bag, and interim manager Tony Mansolino removed him and called for reliever Yaramil Hiraldo.

The club announced that Young had left hamstring discomfort. Depending on the severity of the injury, he could be the starter who steps aside for Kyle Bradish’s return next week.

BOSTON – The Orioles didn’t bring their smoke machines and disco lights to Fenway Park. The ballpark is so old, the equipment might have blown out the fuses or started a fire. But you could hear players through the walls celebrating after Monday night’s win.

Voices were loud. Veteran pitcher Trevor Rogers made a speech praising 21-year-old rookie catcher Samuel Basallo on his first major league game behind the plate. Basallo didn’t understand every word but appreciated the kindness, smiling through most of his postgame interview at his locker.

The words coming from the stereo last night were understood and not suited for a post-game television broadcast. The music had to be turned down, but you couldn’t kill the party.

This group is having fun again.

Coping with adversity is a big part of it, including the latest round of physical setbacks.