The Orioles couldn’t conclude the unofficial first half of their season until downing a few more shots of misfortune.

Another player went on the injured list. The start was delayed 1 hour and 38 minutes due to rain. And a former teammate homered three times as part of a five-hit, six-RBI day.

It kept getting incrementally worse for the Orioles, who lost to the Marlins 11-1 before an announced crowd of 17,759 at eventually sunny Camden Yards. They were outscored 17-1 in the last two games but avoided their 11th shutout on Ramón Laureano’s 426-foot home run in the eighth.

The chance to win three straight series for the first time this season disappeared along with four baseballs thrown by rookie Brandon Young.

Kyle Stowers produced a solo homer and a pair of two-run shots within the first five innings, and he also singled twice to further celebrate his return to Baltimore. Otto Lopez also went deep, and the Orioles were down 7-0 before the bottom half of the fifth.

The Orioles are ending the first half of the season today with Coby Mayo staying on the bench and the club sticking to its reasoning that winning games is the priority.

Mayo has started twice in the last 11 games and is 0-for-6 this month.

“I’ve talked to him a few times about it, just trying to communicate with him as good as I can, but a lot of it was the roster, and the addition of (Jordan) Westburg and T.O. (Tyler O’Neill) kind of take away spots,” said interim manager Tony Mansolino.

“Every day you have a scenario with four outfielders that you want to play – (Cedric) Mullins, (Colton) Cowser, T.O. and Ramón (Laureano) who, when Ramón got here earlier in the year, I don’t think he was expected to become what he’s become. He’s been a really good player. And then, you have three corner infield guys, essentially, and the fourth would be Mayo. You have (Ramón) Urías, who’s in the lineup, who I think everybody in the room would agree needs to play more. But who do you play Urías over? Do you play him over Westburg? Do you play him over (Ryan) O’Hearn on the corners? When you’ve got the four outfielders, one of them is going to run through to the DH, and you have Coby, too.”

Mayo went through an 11-for-36 stretch over 11 games to finish June but isn’t benefiting from Ryan Mountcastle’s extended stay on the injured list with a Grade 2 hamstring strain. The sudden roster crunch hurts him. And the Orioles aren’t ready to use the majors as an extension of player development while fighting to make up ground in the Wild Card chase.

The Orioles have reached the point in their season where a quality start from a veteran on a one-year contract raises hopes and also the chances of another trade.

Charlie Morton remains on an upward trajectory after a disastrous beginning with his new club, holding the Mets to one run in six innings this afternoon in the Orioles’ 3-1 victory over the Mets before an announced Game 1 crowd of 25,262 at Camden Yards.

Gunnar Henderson’s first-career pinch-hit homer, a two-run shot off reliever Ryne Stanek in the eighth, made the difference and improved the Orioles to 41-50. A sweep would get them eight games below .500 for the first time since May 6.

"It’s good, especially with what happened the other night," said interim manager Tony Mansolino, referencing Tuesday's blown 6-2 lead in the eighth. "I think I probably had a pretty bad attitude there after the first four or five innings, just kind of watching how our offense was performing there for a little bit. And I think (Cody) Asche did too. We kind of all had bad attitudes, the coaches there for a few innings and probably so did the whole dugout as a whole, jokingly of course.

"But it’s nice to struggle for a little bit in the game, and Gunnar comes off the bench and pinch-hits a homer, and just to feel the energy and eruption in the dugout and change some of our unfortunate bad attitudes there for a few innings."

The Orioles have traded reliever Bryan Baker to the Rays this morning for Tampa Bay's No. 37 pick, in the competitive balance round. FanSided's Robert Murray was first with the Baker trade.

Baker said he felt "shock" after receiving the news, perhaps in part because he's under team control through the 2028 season. He was preoccupied with the "logistics," getting to Boston and "doing my job there."

"I'm sure more thoughts will come to me as the day goes on," he said.

Baker leaves with a 3.52 ERA and 1.096 WHIP, emerging as one of the club's top relievers.

Unfortunately for Baker, his last outing with Orioles on Tuesday resulted in a pair of two-run homers in the eighth inning that erased a 6-2 lead against the Mets.

Colin Selby threw two scoreless relief innings last night in Tampa and he’s headed back to Triple-A Norfolk.

Another swap of arms has brought left-hander Grant Wolfram to the Orioles. They recalled Wolfram today and optioned Selby.

Wolfram has appeared in two games with the Orioles and allowed two runs and three hits in 1 1/3 innings. He pitched in back-to-back games in Detroit on April 26-27.

Wolfram has a 4.87 ERA and 1.426 WHIP in 18 appearances with Norfolk. His stay with the Orioles could be as brief as Selby’s, since they need a starter for Wednesday night.  

Dean Kremer has allowed nine runs and 13 hits this month in 12 1/3 innings and he gets the ball tonight. He was used in bulk relief in his last outing, covering seven innings and allowing four runs in the fourth.

DETROIT – Tyler O’Neill tried to play through the neck soreness and had to succumb.

The Orioles put O’Neill on the 10-day injured list yesterday. He’s hoping to be back when eligible to return.

“That’s obviously the goal,” he said last night. “Just, unfortunately, dealing with some pain and immobility for the better part of a week. It’s just better to get it dealt with now and not have it lingering around over the course of the season.

“Hopefully, we can knock it out and be back out there as soon as possible.”

The issue began on the last homestand, leading to O’Neill’s 15^th career trip to the injured list but the first involving his neck.

The Orioles won't have pitcher Albert Suárez for much longer than anticipated.

Suárez was moved to the 60-day injured list today with a right subscapularis strain to create room on the 40-man roster for left-hander Grant Wolfram, acquired from the Brewers in exchange for Triple-A Norfolk outfielder Daz Cameron and cash considerations.

The subscapularis is the largest and strongest muscle of the rotator cuff and is essential in shoulder movement and in helping maintain glenohumeral joint stability.

The Orioles broke camp with Suárez in their bullpen and he allowed an earned run and two total with five hits in 2 2/3 innings in a March 28 appearance in Toronto. His fastball velocity was down about two mph from its 2024 average speed, and he went on the 15-day IL March 30 with right shoulder inflammation.

Left-hander Cade Povich beat out Suárez for the fifth spot in the rotation. Suárez is out of options and capable of going multiple innings in relief, which made a return to the bullpen a logical move for the Orioles.