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The Orioles gave up on wondering what else could go wrong a long time ago.
Their luck wasn’t going to change for the better. A horseshoe would come from the thoroughbred that trampled them.
Shortstop Gunnar Henderson, starter Grayson Rodriguez and reliever Andrew Kittredge didn’t break camp with the team, and that should have provided a hint. The 2025 season was going to destroy everything in its path. It was going to break them.
Only nine players are on the active roster from the 26 who made the club on Opening Day. Seven are on the injured list, including utility player Jorge Mateo, who was questionable throughout camp after undergoing left elbow reconstructive surgery.
Remember when his status in Sarasota was worthy of daily updates?
PHILADELPHIA – Tyler O’Neill is wearing a soft brace on his right wrist after leaving last night’s game in the sixth inning. He’s out of today’s lineup.
O’Neill sustained the injury while leaping at the right field wall for Max Kepler’s home run ball. He stayed in the game for four more innings and underwent X-rays that came back negative.
The testing isn’t done.
“Just sore this morning,” said interim manager Tony Mansolino. “He’ll get some imaging tomorrow, and after we go through the imaging tomorrow we’ll have a better idea of what it looks like. I does sound like, talking to Scott (Barringer), our trainer, that there’s a little bit of progress and he’s feeling a tick better. But he’ll be out today.”
O'Neill has made two trips to the injured list this season with neck inflammation and a left shoulder impingement.
TAMPA – The Orioles got on a serious draft signing roll today, with two more players entering the organization.
The club reached agreements with left-hander Joseph Dzierwa, a second-rounder out of Michigan State, and right-hander JT Quinn, a Competitive Balance B Round selection out of Georgia.
Five of the Orioles’ first six picks have signed professional contracts.
Catcher Caden Bodine, the 30th-overall pick out of Coastal Carolina, will report to the Sarasota complex on Sunday and meet up with 19th-overall selection Ike Irish, a catcher/outfielder from Auburn.
Bodine, who began switch-hitting when he was 4 years old, wasn’t fazed by the Orioles taking another catcher before him.
Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino said initial projections have catcher Gary Sánchez missing eight to 10 weeks with a right knee sprain.
Sánchez, who’s on the 10-day injured list retroactive to Sunday, met with doctors earlier today.
“There’s always a scenario where it could go really good for Gary and it can be a little earlier,” Mansolino said, “but I think initial estimates are probably that.”
Sánchez missed more than six weeks with right wrist inflammation. He was 18-for-61 (.295) with five home runs since returning to the active roster.
“It is gonna be tough,” Mansolino said. “He’s been swinging the bat so good. He’s carried us. He hit a lot of big homers, carried us in a lot of ways."
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.
Orioles catcher Gary Sánchez avoided a second trip to the injured list after a Gregory Soto pitch in the dirt nailed him on the finger Tuesday night at Globe Life Field.
Can he do it again?
Sánchez exited today’s game against the Braves in the bottom of the fifth inning with right knee soreness after making a tag at the plate to end the fourth. He was in obvious pain, as shown on the MASN broadcast.
Austin Riley doubled to left field with two outs to score Ronald Acuña Jr. with the tying run. Colton Cowser retrieved the ball and fired to Gunnar Henderson, whose relay nabbed Matt Olson.
Sánchez made the sweeping tag and got his left arm tangled with Olson, which appeared to be the source of the injury. But the team identified it as his knee.
Tony Mansolino delivered the news Wednesday afternoon, first on the lineup posted and then in his daily dugout media session. The interim manager was given the freedom to write in Gary Sánchez’s name. Among another flurry of Orioles roster moves, an activity that qualifies as cardio on this team, they wouldn’t need a sixth catcher this season.
Not yet, anyway. It would be dumb to think that only five players will wear the tools of ignorance.
The Orioles broke camp with the expected pairing of Sánchez and Adley Rutschman. The competitions didn’t spill behind the plate. Only an injury would disrupt the duo.
And then, it happened. Again and again.
Sánchez went on the IL April 29 with right wrist inflammation. Maverick Handley was involved in a home plate collision June 22 in New York and remains on the concussion list. Handley was recalled because Rutschman strained his oblique the previous day during batting practice.
ARLINGTON, Texas – Gary Sánchez stays in the Orioles lineup tonight after being hit on the finger last night in the eighth inning.
The X-rays must have come back negative because Sánchez is the designated hitter. Jacob Stallings makes his first start with the Orioles.
Jordan Westburg is out of the lineup for a fifth consecutive day due to soreness in his left index finger.
Ramón Laureano is playing right field and batting second. Ryan O’Hearn is the first baseman and cleanup hitter. Coby Mayo is on the bench.
On a busy day, the Orioles also signed infielder/outfielder Jose Barrero to a minor league contract.
ARLINGTON, Texas – The Orioles got rid of any no-hit talk tonight with Cedric Mullins’ leadoff bunt single in the top of the third inning. Jacob deGrom, the two-time Cy Young winner, wouldn’t make another run at baseball history.
Getting a run against him figured to be the more daunting task.
Gary Sánchez made sure that Gunnar Henderson wouldn’t be stranded in the fourth, barreling a 99.4 mph fastball with two outs and clearing the left field fence. Forget the shutout, too. But there wasn’t much else that the Orioles could do.
deGrom held them to two runs in six innings, and the Rangers scored three times against rookie Brandon Young in the third and twice against Matt Bowman in the fifth and sixth to set up a 10-2 victory over the Orioles before an announced crowd of 30,933 at Globe Life Field.
The rubber game is Wednesday night and the Orioles are 4-10 in those scenarios. Their overall record is 37-48.
ARLINGTON, Texas – Jordan Westburg is out of the lineup tonight for the fourth consecutive game with a sore left index finger.
Westburg could be available to pinch-hit, but the Orioles don’t want to risk worsening his condition. They also are hesitant to put him on the injured list. So, he sits.
Ramón Laureano is batting second as the designated hitter. Gary Sánchez is catching.
Dylan Carlson, recalled earlier today, is in right field and batting ninth.
Charlie Morton is playing long toss in the outfield to test his right elbow.
Moving Tony Mansolino into the manager’s office on an interim basis didn’t provide a permanent solution to the Orioles’ issues in 2025.
That’s a huge ask.
However, the club is 21-19 since he replaced Brandon Hyde, and most of the improvement is credited to an uptick in starting pitching and in health. The early record assuredly would have been better if the Orioles hadn’t failed in those areas. But nothing is sustainable this year except for the setbacks.
The rotation had produced only two quality starts in the last 16 games before Dean Kremer’s seven scoreless innings yesterday. The injured list is growing again, with starter Zach Eflin likely to join it a second time later today with lower back tightness. But the Orioles took two of three games from a Rays team that's challenging for first place in the American League East.
Mansolino was a popular coach on the staff and he remains that way in a new role unexpectedly thrust upon him.
Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino hung the label of “day game Deano” on his starting pitcher this afternoon, though Kremer’s splits in reality are slightly better at night.
Mansolino turned out to be correct, whether by accident or some sort of premonition.
Kremer shut out the Rays on three hits over seven innings and the Orioles claimed the series with a crisp 5-1 victory before an announced crowd of 19,226 at Camden Yards.
The homestand ends with the Orioles splitting six games to leave their overall record at 36-47. They’ve gone 15-11 this month and are 20-13 since Game 2 on May 24.
"Every divisional series win is beneficial and advantageous down the road," Kremer said. "If we get into a spot where we’re competing for a Wild Card spot, we get to hold it over their head down the stretch. So it’s big winning all of our divisional games."
Interim manager Tony Mansolino remains confident that infielder Jordan Westburg will avoid the injured list.
Westburg dived into second base last night and jammed the left index finger that he sprained in New York, but X-rays for a fracture were negative.
“Very day-to-day, not nearly as bad as last time,” Mansolino said. “Probably couple days would be my guess. So I think it will be a little quicker than last time.”
Emanuel Rivera is in the clubhouse to give the Orioles an extra infielder.
“With the way things are kind of situated right now, it made sense,” Mansolino said.
As the industry perception builds that the Orioles will be sellers at the trade deadline, their bullpen is attracting the expected interest.
The collective stats aren’t impressive, but woven in are numbers from position players Gary Sánchez, Emmanuel Rivera, Jorge Mateo and Luis Vázquez. The first three combined to allow 17 runs in three emergency innings. Vázquez tossed a scoreless inning last Saturday.
Catcher Jacob Stallings, signed to a major league contract on Tuesday and sent to Triple-A Norfolk, has made nine career relief appearances and allowed five runs in 11 innings. But he’s in the organization to fill a need behind the plate, not on the mound.
Pending free agents Seranthony Domínguez and Gregory Soto are obvious targets due to their contracts and past production. Domínguez retired the side in order last night in the sixth and extended his streak to 14 appearances in a row without an earned run allowed. An automatic runner scored against him in the 10th inning Tuesday against the Rangers.
Domínguez has let only one of 20 inherited runners score. Mark Thurmond holds the single-season franchise record of 10.5 percent scoring in 1988. Domínguez’s five percent is second on the club this year behind Keegan Akin’s 4.2.
The good news came early for the Orioles tonight, as if they were owned a few breaks. The temperature dipped into the mid-70s to provide some relief from the scorching heat. CB Bucknor wouldn’t work the plate in the series, confined instead to the bases for three games. Tomoyuki Sugano struck out the first two batters he faced and retired the Rays in order. Jordan Westburg doubled in the bottom of the first on a 106.6 mph liner that deflected off third baseman Junior Caminero.
And then, the bad times rolled. Westburg dived into the bag and reinjured his index finger, which led to his removal an inning later. The Rays homered three times off Sugano in the second, including Brandon Lowe’s three-run shot.
The cliché about two teams heading in opposite directions unfolded and then paused, with the Orioles playing the opposite role in a big blown lead versus the Rays. They did the rallying this time, along with some major venting, in a preposterous 22-8 victory before an announced crowd of 20,047 at misty Camden Yards.
Gary Sánchez had four RBIs, including a go-ahead two-run homer in the fifth, Coby Mayo hit his first major league homer - off a shortstop - and also drove in four runs, and the Orioles (35-46) won for the second time in six games. The Rays (46-36) lost for only the fourth time in 14 games.
"You know over the course of 162 there's going to be a lot of ups and downs. There's going to be a lot of highs and lows, and we've had our lows. Tonight was a high," said interim manager Tony Mansolino.
The Orioles looked like a team that finally had reached its limit, that was done being pushed around. They were no-hit for seven innings Saturday in New York and for six tonight on their home turf. And then they exploded, launching three consecutive home runs to take the lead.
But these aren’t the comeback Orioles of previous seasons, when they’d routinely close the deal. That’s why a club in a state of desperation to build a winning streak that might get it into the Wild Card chase can’t stop spinning its wheels.
Félix Bautista put a runner on second base with no outs in the top of the ninth and escaped the jam, but Evan Carter scored on Sam Haggerty’s fielder’s choice grounder against Seranthony Domínguez in the 10th, and the Orioles lost to the Rangers 6-5 before an announced crowd of 16,909 at Camden Yards.
Cedric Mullins laid down a sacrifice bunt against Robert Garcia that moved automatic runner Luis Vázquez to third base. Dylan Carlson struck out and Jackson Holliday flied out.
The outcome moved the Orioles 11 games below .500 again at 34-45. They can claim the series on Wednesday but they’re 3-9 in rubber games.
Infielder Jordan Westburg remains out of the Orioles lineup for tonight’s series opener against the Rangers at steamy Camden Yards.
Westburg is day-to-day with a sprained left index finger.
Gary Sánchez is the designated hitter and batting fourth. That’s sort of like getting a break.
Coby Mayo is starting at first base.
Ramón Laureano is batting second for the first time this season.
NEW YORK – Jackson Holliday singled on the first pitch thrown this morning. The Orioles had their fill yesterday of no-hit tomfoolery. Get that drama out of the way quickly and go about trying to win a series.
They made it to the eighth inning before losing their lead, and the series.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. lined a two-run double into right-center field off Bryan Baker to move the Yankees past the Orioles 4-2 before an announced crowd of 45,571.
Ben Rice led off the inning with a single and Giancarlo Stanton lined a one-out single into left field at 110.7 mph. Chisholm brought home Rice and pinch-runner Paul Goldschmidt, who slid across the plate as catcher Gary Sánchez tried to make a lunging tag.
Chisholm went to third base, and he scored an insurance run when Sánchez failed to hold onto Gunnar Henderson’s throw on DJ LeMahieu’s grounder. Plate umpire Jansen Visconti called Chisholm out before seeing the ball roll away.
NEW YORK - Less than 24 hours after plotting how to navigate the many bullpen restrictions in a regulation game, Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino stood in the visiting dugout at Yankee Stadium and watched Zach Eflin throw 30 pitches in the first inning.
Only one run scored on Trent Grisham’s homer, but it’s become an exercise in this series that Mansolino would rather sit out.
Eflin threw 29 more in the second and surrendered two second-deck home runs. By the conclusion of the third, Eflin’s pitch count had risen to 90 and the Orioles were barreling toward a 9-0 loss to the Yankees before an announced sellout crowd of 46,142.
Clarke Schmidt no-hit them for seven innings, his removal coming after 103 pitches. He walked two batters in the first and nailed Ryan O’Hearn in the fourth. JT Brubaker entered in the eighth inning, his first major league appearance since 2022, and former Yankee Gary Sánchez led off with a full-count single at 103.2 mph for the Orioles' lone hit.
The Orioles have been no-hit seven times, the most recent by the Mariners’ Hisashi Iwakuma on Aug. 12, 2015 in Seattle. Today would have marked the first combined effort for both teams. Instead, the Orioles settled for being shut out for the seventh time this season.
