Anaheim, Calif. – The Orioles' road trip has moved to California as the Angels (64-73) host them (85-51) tonight at Angel Stadium to start a three-game series. 

The Orioles improved to 28-13-3 in series play and to 12-7 in rubber match games after taking Sunday’s game 8-5 at Arizona to win that series 2-1.

The Orioles scored just two runs in losing Friday, but scored 15 runs on 25 hits, going 8-for-20 with runners in scoring position, in the series’ final two games.

Los Angeles (64-73) has struggled big time recently and got swept three in a row over the weekend at Oakland with losses by 9-2, 2-1 and 10-6. The Angels have lost six of seven and 10 of their past 13 games.

On Aug. 1, they were 56-51 and had decided to not trade Shohei Ohtani at the trade deadline. But they are 9-22 since that date.

Anaheim, Calif. - The Orioles will face three left-handed starters this series against the Angels, a rare occurrence. For tonight, it puts Ryan O'Hearn on the bench as Adley Rutschman rests.

O'Hearn is hitting .300 with an .830 OPS in 83 games. He has just 22 plate appearances this year against lefty pitching and is 5-for-20, but two of the five hits are homers.

"Well, it gives guys opportunities," manager Brandon Hyde said of his lineup against left-hander Kenny Rosenberg tonight. "But a lot of times in those games, too, those lefties come off the bench in big spots. So even though we are facing a lefty a lot of times O (O’Hearn) will hit, (Adam) Frazier will hit. I have Adley off the bench tonight, too.

"Best-case scenario is we can chase a starter early and get into their bullpen, which kind of sets us up for the series. We are going to face a lot of righties after this. At least two of three in Boston and at least two with St. Louis and probably four against Tampa."

Speaking of the Rays, they lost today 7-3 at home to the Red Sox. So the O's Amarican League East lead is three games at the moment and could be 3.5 games at the end of tonight.

The Orioles begin their series in Anaheim tonight with Adley Rutschman out of the lineup for the second time in six games.

The Angels are starting three left-handers, and Austin Hays moves into the leadoff spot tonight. Gunnar Henderson is playing third base and batting cleanup.

Jordan Westburg is playing second base and batting fifth. Jorge Mateo is the shortstop.

Aaron Hicks is in right field, and Anthony Santander is the designated hitter.

Rookie Grayson Rodriguez has allowed 11 runs in his last seven starts over 42 2/3 innings. He faced the Angels on May 15, before his reset, and allowed eight runs and nine hits in 3 1/3 innings. Shohei Ohtani and Chad Wallach homered in the fourth.

PHOENIX – He has now played 50 games in the big leagues, and it feels like that went by pretty fast for O’s rookie Jordan Westburg. 

As a pinch-hitter on Sunday at Arizona, he produced an RBI double in the sixth inning which turned a 5-4 Baltimore lead into a 6-4 edge that would become 8-4 before the inning was out.

It was a nice contribution from Westburg, who is batting .281 with an OPS of .829 with runners in scoring position.

It was another game where the Orioles showed they are resilient. After Arizona tied the game in the fifth and the Orioles didn’t get what they felt was a sure running out of the baseline call by the D-backs Geraldo Perdomo, they just came back to bat and put up four runs to take charge of the game for a second time.

“I think we’ve been doing it (bouncing back well) all season,” said Westburg. “You brush off the losses and you come back with a brand-new mindset. It’s a new day and everyone in the clubhouse trusts the offense. I think the hitters know that we are good enough to put up 10 runs on a given night.”

PHOENIX - Baseball's No. 1 prospect is moving on up. Again. Shortstop Jackson Holliday will play for his fourth team of the minor league season when he joins Triple-A Norfolk from Double-A Bowie this week, according to a source. 

Holliday, 19, will play his first game for the Tides on Tuesday at Harbor Park when Norfolk hosts Jacksonville at 6:35 p.m.

The Tides will play their next 12 games in Norfolk before capping off the regular season with a six-game series at Buffalo. After that, Norfolk will host a best-of-three International League championship series at Harbor Park that begins Sept. 26. If the Tides win that series they will play the Pacific Coast League winner in the Triple-A National Championship Game Sept. 30 in Las Vegas.

Holliday batted .396 with an OPS of 1.182 in 14 games at the start of the season with Single-A Delmarva. His first game with High-A Aberdeen was April 25, and in 57 games he batted .314 with a .940 OPS with the IronBirds. On July 14 he moved to Double-A Bowie and hit .338/.421/.507/.928 in 36 games with nine doubles, three triples, three homers and 15 RBIs.

So over 107 games for the year at three levels, Holliday has hit .333/.451/.517/.968 with 26 doubles, nine triples, 10 homers, 95 runs, 23 steals and 66 RBIs. He has walked 85 times with 101 strikeouts.

PHOENIX - The Orioles' path to a series win today at Arizona – and their 85^th victory of the season – was far from easy. They took an early lead, got tied up in a two-run Arizona fifth and had to win this game a second time today.

They did by scoring four runs in the sixth to break a 4-4 tie and beat the Diamondbacks 8-5 to win the last two games of this series.

The O's start a nine-game road trip with a series win and are now 85-51. Baltimore has won eight of 11, 11 of 15 and 22 of its past 32 games as the road trip now heads to Anaheim, California. 

The Orioles had lost their previous four series at Arizona, making today their first win of a series in this ballpark, and they are now 9-15 all-time against the Diamondbacks and 5-10 at Chase Field.

The task was made even tougher today because the opposing starter was Zac Gallen, a right-hander having a great year. He was the National League starting pitcher in this year's All-Star game.

PHOENIX - The Orioles have played four regular season series in Arizona and lost all four to the Diamondbacks. They lost series there in 2002, 2007, 2013 and 2019.

But after winning 7-3 Saturday night at Chase Field, the O's can take this series with a win this afternoon against Arizona (70-66).

The D-backs, who won 4-2 on Friday night, have won five of their last six series, and are 11-6 their past 17 games and 13-7 in the last 20. They are 36-33 at home and 18-18 versus American League clubs.

Right-hander Kyle Bradish, pitching for the first time in his home state as a big leaguer, got the win last night for the Orioles, allowing two runs and four hits over six innings on a career-high 107 pitches. 

He has allowed two earned runs or fewer for five consecutive starts, recording a 1.88 ERA in that span. In 14 games since mid-June he has gone 8-4 with a 2.28 ERA.

The Orioles are trying today to claim their 28^th series as they conclude their visit to Arizona.

Ryan Mountcastle has returned to the lineup after missing the past few games due to an illness. He’s batting cleanup and playing first base.

Anthony Santander was hit on the right hand last night in the ninth inning, left the game and underwent testing, and is serving today as designated hitter.

Two positive developments before the first pitch is thrown.

Aaron Hicks, reinstated from the injured list today, is in left field. Ryan O’Hearn is the right fielder. Austin Hays is on the bench.

The Orioles have made the following roster moves:

• Activated RHP Jorge López. He will wear #73.
• Reinstated OF Aaron Hicks (low back strain) from the 10-day Injured List.
• Optioned OF Colton Cowser to Triple-A Norfolk after yesterday’s game.
• Designated RHP Austin Voth for assignment.

The Orioles’ 40-man roster currently has 39 players.

The Orioles’ roster has changed again.

Get used to it.

Jorge López was activated this morning after the Orioles claimed him on waivers yesterday from the Marlins. Aaron Hicks was reinstated from the injured list.

To make room, outfielder Colton Cowser was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk and reliever Austin Voth was designated for assignment.

López enters a bullpen that includes Yennier Cano. They were involved in the 2022 deadline trade with the Twins.

PHOENIX - Kyle Bradish said it was the most nervous he's been in a major league game. It was the first time he pitched as a big leaguer in his home state of Arizona, first time he faced his boyhood team, the Diamondbacks, and the first time he had 70 family and friends in person hanging on his every pitch.

But the local (Arizona) kid made good. He got another win and so did the Orioles as Bradish allowed two runs over six innings in the Orioles' 7-3 win over Arizona.

“I didn’t think he had his best command tonight, honestly, or his best breaking ball," manager Brandon Hyde said of Bradish, who is 8-4 with a 2.28 ERA over his last 14 starts. "He’s just really tough to hit. Because it’s firm and it goes in different directions. To get through six innings, throw a bunch of pitches there, really happy about that. He competes."

Bradish was born in Peoria, just a few miles from Phoenix, and went to Millennium High School in Goodyear, about 20 miles west of Phoenix.

“I’ll be honest, that was probably the most nervous I’ve been," he said after picking up his 10th win. "Even more so than my debut, knowing I would have that many people out there. You want to go out and have a good game.

PHOENIX - If you watched the first three innings of the Orioles game at Arizona tonight, you would not have had a clue about what was going to happen in the top of the fourth.

Through three the Orioles had two hits and no runs against Arizona rookie right-hander Slade Cecconi, their No. 14 prospect via MLBPipeline.com. His slider was working nicely and the O’s had scored just two runs in the first 12 innings of this series.

On top of that a messy last of the third saw Arizona take a 2-0 lead against right-hander Kyle Bradish.

Things could have been better. And they soon would be.

Suddenly the Orioles were producing loud contact and suddenly they had a six-run fourth inning which featured seven straight hits and led 6-2.

PHOENIX – After scoring 23 runs on 34 hits in their three-game series at home with the White Sox, the Orioles offense got off to a slow start on their nine-game road trip that began Friday night.

They were held to one run over six innings by former O’s draft pick Zach Davies and to two runs on the night in a 4-2 loss to Arizona.

The Orioles (83-51), who have 28 games remaining in the regular season, begin play today leading the Rays by 1 1/2 games atop the American League East.

Baltimore is trying to avoid a three-game losing streak tonight, which would be their longest since dropping four in a row June 27-July 1.

Right-hander Kyle Bradish (9-6, 3.03 ERA), a native of Peoria, Ariz., about 13 miles from Phoenix, will get the start today in his home state, making his 25^th start.

PHOENIX – The Orioles are hoping to recapture the magic with right-handed reliever Jorge López. Added by the Orioles today on waivers from Miami, López has not yet reported to the team, but he is going to and the O’s hope he can help them win the American League East.

Being acquired after the cutoff date for postseason eligibility, López will not be able to pitch in the playoffs with Baltimore.

Between the Twins and Marlins this year, López is 6-2 with a 6.13 ERA and 1.574 WHIP over 47 innings. He has a 3.8 walk rate and 6.7 strikeout rate. But when last an Oriole, he was a bullpen weapon who made the 2022 AL All-Star team.

“You know, Lopy is someone a lot of us in that clubhouse are really close with,” manager Brandon Hyde said today in the visitor’s dugout. “Had some really good moments. First half last year was the best closer in baseball. What he did making the All-Star team. It was great to see him a couple of months ago in Minnesota. You know we are hoping he can help us down the stretch.”

They helped López once go from struggling starter to top reliever and the Orioles hope to get him going again when he joins the team.

Ryan Mountcastle is out of the Orioles lineup again tonight in Arizona. He was scratched last night due to an illness.

Gunnar Henderson, who went 2-for-4 last night with two runs scored, stays at shortstop. Adley Rutschman is the designated hitter.

Ryan O’Hearn is the first baseman and Ramón Urías is playing third base. Adam Frazier is the second baseman.

Henderson is batting .330 or better when he’s ahead or even in the count, but .172 when behind.

Anthony Santander is slugging .809 against fastballs since the start of August after slugging .276 against them in July.

The Orioles have made the following roster moves:

• Claimed RHP Jorge López off waivers from the Miami Marlins. He has not yet reported.
• Designated RHP Logan Gillaspie for assignment.

The Orioles’ 40-man roster currently has 40 players.

PHOENIX - On night one of a three-city, nine-game road trip, the O's offense fell flat but Gunnar Henderson reminded us why he has become the leading contender in the eyes of many for American League Rookie of the Year.

Playing shortstop, Henderson, running with his back to the infield, made an over-the-shoulder catch in the last of the fourth and then threw home to double up Corbin Carroll, who tagged up at third and tried to score. 

One Rookie of the Year candidate nabbed another. 

“He’s one of the best rookies in the game right now," O's starter Cole Irvin said. "He’s just exciting to watch. Brings the energy, plays hard. I think if there is any time Gunnar showed who he is, it’s when he could have had the cycle (needing only a single to complete the cycle, Henderson nonetheless went to second on his hit into the right field corner in the Orioles' 12-1 win over the Athletics on Aug. 20). He plays hard and plays the right way. He’s definitely awesome to have."

Henderson made the play yesterday sound easy. It was far from that.

PHOENIX - The Orioles haven't lost often this year when scoring first and when playing the opening game of a road series.

They did both tonight but lost 4-2 at Arizona to start the regular season's final month and begin an important nine-game road trip.

Former Orioles Zach Davies and Christian Walker helped beat the Orioles in front of 18,248 at Chase Field as Baltimore fell to 83-51 and missed a chance to move 2.5 games ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays, who lost to Cleveland.

Each team scored in the first inning, which ended with Arizona leading the Orioles 2-1.

Against right-hander Davies, the Orioles’ 26^th round pick in the 2011 MLB Draft, the Birds got a one-out single in the first from Gunnar Henderson and he advanced to second on a groundout. With two men out, he scored on Ryan O’Hearn’s RBI single to center. It was RBI No. 46 for O’Hearn, a .306 hitter with runners in scoring position.

PHOENIX – Just 12 days after ending a nine-game West Coast road trip, the Orioles are about to begin another. This one will end back East at Fenway Park, but it starts tonight at Chase Field against the Arizona Diamondbacks and continues Monday in Anaheim, Calif. at the Los Angeles Angels.

The first-place Orioles (83-50) have been a strong road team this year and are 41-24 in road games and 13-6-2 in road series. They are 16-5 in road series-opening games.

They have a better win percentage on the road (.631) than at home (.618, 42-26).

The Orioles are coming off a 6-3 homestand where they went 2-1 each against Toronto, Colorado and the Chicago White Sox.

Despite a 10-5 loss to the White Sox Wednesday afternoon, the Orioles finished August going 18-9 and they are 29-15 in the second half. They have won six of eight, nine of 12 and 20 of the last 29 games. Their 18 wins in August, matched their win total from April when they were also 18-9.

PHOENIX - Two players who spent time on the Orioles roster earlier this year officially returned to the team today as the September roster expanded from 26 to 28 players. Outfielder Colton Cowser and right-handed reliever Joey Krehbiel are back.

Cowser was the O’s top draft pick, taken No. 5 overall, in the 2021 MLB Draft. Krehbiel, 30, was a big part of the 2022 Orioles bullpen, going 5-5 with a 3.90 ERA and 1.231 WHIP.

"Honestly, really encouraged with how Joey was throwing the ball in Triple-A," manager Brandon Hyde said this afternoon in the visitor's dugout at Chase Field. "Some really good appearances as of late and threw the ball well for us in a few brief moments this year. And Colton, just kind of where we are from an outfield standpoint, a health standpoint, have a lot of guys that have played a lot of innings out there. He adds outfield depth with a guy that can play all three spots. We thought that was important."

Hyde was asked if Cowser will be up for the rest of the season?

"I think we're day-to-day right now with everybody," he said.